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Satire
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Key Examples in The Way of the World
Act 1, Scene 5
Explanation and Analysis:
The Way of the World is set in late 17th-century London. Everything happens over the course of one day, and the action takes place in a chocolate house, in a park, and in Lady Wishfort's house. All these places are important to high society. The chocolate house was a place where men could go meet with one another in public, all while consuming chocolate, an expensive delicacy. The park, as Mrs. Fainall makes clear in a biting remark to her husband, is a public place where people walk about talking to one another and also watching one another: you could start a scandal by walking with the wrong person in the park. Lady Wishfort's house is where all these rich people go to gossip with one another at their "cabal" nights. Because Lady Wishfort's wealth is largely consolidated in her estate, it is also the physical manifestation of the fortune everyone is so concerned with. The caper mostly takes place right on top of the wealth everyone is fighting over.
Related Themes:
