 NAME : Puja Das

 CLASS: PG 1ST Semester

 ROLL NO. 123

 PAPER : 104, 18TH Century

Studies

 TOPIC : Assess character of

Millamant in the ‘Way of The
World’ as a heroine of ‘Restoration
Age’.

 UNIVERSITY : North Bengal

University

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 INTRODUCTION
When England had established their colonial power throughout the world, during
that time the Restoration period begins. This historical period was an age of materialism,
trade, the people of that time would run after money, worldly and sexual pleasures. Love and
marriage were decided on money basis. Artificiality and show off were the main traits of that
age. People were more fond of relaxation, luxuries, than the serious matters. We can see the
effects on this era on the literature of this period. William Congreve’s comedy ‘The Way of
The World’ is a restoration comedy which was written in early 1700s which highlights the
issues and incidents related with money, marriage, illicit love, sex and the behaviour of the
people at that time. In ‘The Way of The World’, we can see the presence of many characters.
These characters portray many interesting traits and aspects of the aristocratic society of that
time. Congreve has created his women characters in this play in a portrayal of positivity.
They are impressively independent and in these characters we can see much more depth.
Among these female characters, the heroine of the play Millamant is a heroine of Restoration
comedy with too much wit and independence. During Restoration period, we can observe
three important theatrical development of women characters- 1. The direct involvement of a
woman as a actress of the play or a perfect playwright, 2. Increasing the number of female
audience. 3.and a new interest of women in the play, especially in comedy. But, Carlson
notes that many times these matters are given more importance to portray this fact that
Restoration comedy presents the uprising of new women. Any study about the character of
Congreve’s Millamant is cleared to depict her as a powerful woman who never surrenders,
but, would therefore portray a vary generalised view of the play in which she features.
Congreve in ‘The Way of The World’, testifies the contemporary gender stereotypes at that time.
Women are presented as inferior in comparison to male character. They are dissimulating and
unable to show any kind of logical qualities, and they have an obsession about physical
attraction and desires.

In ‘The Way of The World’, Congreve’s female character Millamant is a woman

who possesses some interesting qualities in her character, like- beauty, wit, charm, self
confidence, tantalizing, infuriating, playful, and surprisingly innocent. She follows her whims,
impulse and imaginations, she changes her mind whenever she wants without thinking
anything, and always uses her power to keep herself as a mysterious and a highly attractive
and tempting woman with uncertain personality to men. The character of Millamant is a
combined picture of a typical Restoration comic heroine and also a stereotypical woman in
general. As other Restoration heroines she is very much outstanding and crisp in dialogue.
She is very much tactful in finer and delightful wordplay. In fact we cannot see the intense
traits of honest innocence in her dialogues, that Congreve thinks that it is much needed in
female characters for being virtuous.

Millamant is somewhat straightforward in her own language. It depends on

Mirabell or audience’s ability to catch her flow through her lines; for her- “motion, no
method is occupation”1. The words of Millamant are risky entities, different material to be
withheld, disguised, exchanged and totally mystical. She chooses a way of salacious double
entendre full of hazards to maintain the thin balance between an acceptable intellect and very
sophisticated understanding. Millamant is more updated version of the heroines of comedy

1. Henderson. II.1.547-548

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Of the Restoration period, within whom we can see double standard of the dramatic feminine
ideal. A social position of that time which is mentioned by ever-cautious linguistic self
awareness may seem uncomfortable, it is not necessary to mention, but it is the only resort
of showing feminine power highlighted in this play. Some of elements are applicable for the
women of this aristocratic class of Restoration society- and we can see Millamant is adamant
in her intention to maintain it.

The first appearance of Millamant is presented in a careful way. When she arrives
following her court, Mincing and young Witwoud, she manually takes the centre of the stage,
like it is definitely her right. Her character is portrayed in the situation about putting up
one’s hair: prose would never do, only poetry, a part of vocalisation in which Mincing
upholds her. In this passage she is portrayed as a perfect beauty. She has full confidence and
surety about her feminine power. Congreve has provided her the line for supporting her
assurance. The sentences about suitors- one makes them, one destroys them, and one makes
others- are all gossip and flippant. She knows her own abilities and can laugh at herself.
Like she can tease Mirabell-

“Sententious Mirabell1....what, what that face.......in a love-sick

Face. Ha, Ha, Ha...”(II.VI.476-484)

Within the limitations of the world she leads, She is intelligent. She sees through
the forced false wit of young Witwoud’s humour and manages him tactfully and nicely.
“Truce with your similitudes” and “Mincing stand between me and his wit”(II.V) are
skilled lines, which give Witwoud the proper attention. Millamant is diplomatic and tricky
enough to see through Mrs. Marwood and quiet her violent air.

In the story we can see the love between Millamant and Mirabell. She and
Mirabell are deserved partners, but she will not express her love to Mirabell, because she
thinks her expression of love to Mirabell means to be committed to him, and it means
surrender for which she may lose her own identity. She has deep confidence about Mirabell’s
love for her. Her control to herself is a perfect example of the efficient Renaissance wit,
which puts her love on top. Millamant is fighting for herself for the right of women, women
freedom and their individuality, which is a different traits into her as a Restoration heroine.

Like many Restoration women but unlike many Restoration heroines, Millamant is
quite worried about her life after marriage. Mirabell’s adoration is a serious demand of
Millamant- “To the very last, nay, and afterwards”(IV.V.180-181), saying that she thinks
she were “poor and had nothing to bestow” if freed from the “agreeable fatigues of
solicitations”(IV.V.227-231). In the wedding proviso scene, Millamant and Mirabell perfectly
make plan for a perfect Restoration marriage, an imaginary utopian union of elegant
conversation, operable morality, in lively and graceful manner. Millamant puts her proposal to
Mirabell, and says-

“let us never visit together, nor go to a play together

But let us be very strange and well-bred; let us be

As strange as if we had been married a great while,

And as well-bred as if we were not married at all.”(IV.V.227-231)

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 The proviso scene can be regarded as the most obvious example of gender relation
in this play. Mirabell and Millamant enact some contracts in this scene before getting
married. This scene can also be read as finer dramatic expression of gender inequality, which
can be explained in a traditional way, in terms of equality. In this scene Millamant demands
her right to select her own possession, friends, companions, visitors and to write letters, and
in these matters she does not want to take Mirabell’s permission. She refuses to talk with
wits and fools even though they are Mirabell’s relatives or friends. She also demands, that
she be allowed to have-

“Have my closet inviolate; to be sole impress of my tea table, which you

Must never presume to approach without first asking leave. And lastly,

Whenever I am, you shall always knock at the door”(IV.V.244-247

Her appeal seems fairly in decent way. She claims for a private place which is easily
available for a women of her class and society, although the common decency she wants
may not easy in all cases. We can see the mentioning of women’s handling of her own
inviolate closet in the works of Samuel Richardson, Fanny Burney and Ann Radcliffe, less than
a hundred years later in the next century from that time, cannot be seen in Millamant’s time.
Mirabell is not concerned about Millamant’s demand for private chamber but for her public,
familial, social behaviour and activities. Mirabell sets some conditions to Millamant’s claim
for domination of the tea table-

“lastly, to the domination of the tea-table I submit; but with a proviso, that you
exceed not in your province, but restrain yourself to native and simple tea-table drinks,
as tea, chocolate, and coffee. As likewise to genuine and Tea-table talk, such as mending
of fashions, spoiling reputations, railing at absent friend and so forth. But that no
account you encroach upon the men’s prerogative, and Healths, or toast
fellows;”(IV.V.288-297)

The discussion between Mirabell and Millamant, the two protagonists of the play,
about the domestic terms and conditions which is related with Millamant’s freedom and way
of living after marriage has been viewed only as the attempt for impose one’s dominance to
another, and it is an significant part of the play’s moral satire. By the discussions about the
preconditions before marriage Millamant supplies a conservative rhythm to the way of the
world, which is always variable. The conditions which Millamant puts forward about her
freedom after marriage, are exceptional as a Restoration heroine, though her demands are not
inconsistent and inappropriate. Millamant not only worried of losing her “will and
pleasure”(IV.V.199), but also the romance before marriage. Her preconditions tries to keep
the mystery of acquaintance and to restrain as usual familiarity to prevent knowledge of
intimacy and outcome. She fears that after marriage Mirabell turns into a arrogant orthodox
husband. She has falsely made an artificial distinction to secure her mysteriousness to
Mirabell, that is strange but a different kind which makes her a ideal love object for that
situation. She expresses as available but not easily reachable, which makes her quite different
from the common Restoration heroine. But it can be noticed that Millament’s conditions for
her freedom and power efforts not to increase her special abilities but to coagulate time, to
stay eternally same.

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 Under the formwork of high comedy, there are some conventional conceptions of
Restoration women as, who is unreliable, frail and is always bounded within limitations to
maintain and obey social orders. Mirabell is a free thinking man, without any orthodox
preconceptions about women, but the demands which he wants to impose on Millamant
before marriage, represents the patriarchal preference of his inner mind. Through this scene
we can understand that, after marriage Mirabell may turn into a typical complacent husband,
and Millamant may become a mere wife, whose husband dominates her. When Mirabell
accepts all the conditions of Millamant, we can see that she does not appear as a powerful
woman to grant Mirabell’s conditions. We can understand this through her language in which
we cannot see dominative vocabulary power. She becomes a passive acceptor, all her
demanding languages become mere words. In the ending of the proviso scene Mirabell gives
forcefully a conclusion on the unwillingness of Millamant-

Millamant: “O horrid provisos! filthy strong waters! I toast fellows,

odious man! I hate your odious provisos”.

Mirabell: “Then we’re agreed. Shall I kiss your hand upon the contract?”(iv.v.284-289)

The provisos of Millamant marks her significant as an individual figure but it does not show
the women right and freedom. What Millamant achieves, these are totally limited in which
we cannot observe the empowerment of Post-Restoration women in England. She remains just
as a Restoration heroine with some exceptions.

CONCLUSION
In this play we can identify Millamant or relate her with 17th century Restoration
women, Who struggle to gain her freedom for life, her own choice and control of her living.
Congreve did not only show Millamant as a mere Restoration heroine, but through her
portrayal he tries quickly to highlight the fact that how the conceptions and views of society
towards women changes over time. Congreve constructs a strong female protagonist in this
play, Millamant, which provides old form of modern female heroines which can be seen in
the plays of a century later. Millamant’s character helps to teach society of Restoration period
how a modern society treats women. Millamant though a heroine of Restoration period, but
her activities and attitudes differentiate her from other earlier female character, which closely
matches the people of the present time.

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WORK CITED

1. www.archive.org
2. www.cliffsnotes.com
3. www.questia.com
4. www.go.gale.com
5. www.books.google.co.in
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8. www.academia.edu
9. www.sodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in- ‘Conclusion’
10. www.resources.saylor.org