The Way of the World: Proviso Scene

It was customary in Restoration plays to represent a legal negotiation or "bargain" in the form of
"proviso scenes" in Restoration plays. This transaction or bargain used to take place between the hero
and the heroine. In William Congreve's The Way of the World, the Proviso Scene (Act IV Scene V)
captures the Restoration comic convention at its civilized best. In the words of Richard Kroll, the
scene is emblematic of a social agreement with only "potential" legal force." At no time do the
characters descend to any obvious display of emotion, let alone pathos. In spite of being in love,
Millament and Mirabell execute the scene with ample decorum. Generally speaking, in the
Restoration convention, in every interaction between a man and a woman, each tries to give vent to
his or her own ego. All encounters are duels, and to be beaten in the game of wits is to lose. The
Proviso Scene offers a resolution of these ostensible irreconcilables.
The Proviso Scene apparently possesses a subversive intent in that it allows for certain prenuptial
proceedings to take place between Millamant and Mirabell. However, this idea is deconstructed by the
fact that it is only the female character who needs to formulate certain terms and conditions to protect
her independence after marriage. The Proviso Scene does not only play with dramatic convention - it
subverts the norms of polite society by showing that a woman can equal men. The very idea that a
woman can lay down conditions for being married is subversive, to say the least. In so-called polite
society at that time, women would have been expected to do as they were instructed in matters
relating to marriage as in much else. Millamant embodies this subversion when she makes demands of
her future husband, albeit in a spirit of mutual love and respect. Though she may be far from
representing contemporary ideals of liberated womanhood, Millamant, by asserting on certain terms
and conditions, challenges the prevailing gender relations of her age. It cannot be wholly agreed that
the scene in the play facilitates a progression towards equality and liberation for women in the modern
sense sue to the presence of several restrictive examples that occur throughout the scene (these
examples have repercussions in Act V).
Mirabell, being a deviant representative of patriarchal society, does not need to lay down his own set
of terms and conditions. Instead he lays down any terms only to regulate and counter those proposed
by Millamant. The rights and privileges of the man in a conjugal union is taken for granted, and by
and large, represent his perceived superiority. The fact that Mirabelll does not offer his own
independent terms, destabilizes the facade of the equality of the sexes. The Proviso Scene, indeed,
dramatizes the "battle of sexes" where the power-struggles between man and woman are quite
evident. Arguably, it is Millamant who is at the centre of Congreve's play as she confronts the reality
of losing her "natural power over men," namely, her beauty, which shall diminish as she grows old in
a "man's world". The critical significance of the Proviso Scene lies in the careful orchestration of
Millamant's "withdrawal from the monopoly of knowledge" (Kroll). The "chase", as described by
Mirabell, does come to an end as Millamant accepts the impending "loss of her power" and agrees to
negotiate the term of marriage. Millamant's initial assumption of a transgressive stance in giving voice
to her opinions and dismay is not seen through, however, to its proper, logical conclusion by
Congreve. At first, she is characterized as an "intense" woman whose "delicate intelligence" curiously
enables her to deal with her passions as well as the legal realities of marriage. As Alan Roper points
out, she may "laugh aggravatively" and use "defensive" language, yet she does not cut herself off
from the social reality. She comes to accept the fact that the price that one needs to pay even for a
partial social and political freedom is the capacity to arrange things according to contracts that hold
the very fabric of society. Furthermore, the Proviso Scene can be seen as accommodating Mirabell's
obedience to Millamant without relinquishing the former's autonomy.
Before further inquiry into the prenuptial dynamics of Mirabell and Millamant, it is important to go
through the terms and conditions set down by them:
Millamant's Terms:
1) Allowed to stay in bed as late as she wishes
2) Mirabell cannot call her by pet names
3) No public displays of affection will be allowed
4) She should be allowed to have any visitors without question
5) She should be allowed to write and receive any letters without question
6) She should not be required to spend time with Mirabell's friends or family
7) She should be allowed to eat dinner together or alone as she wishes
8) She should be allowed to dress as she pleases
9) She should be allowed to be in charge of her tea table
10) Mirabell must always knock before entering her room

Mirabell's Terms:
1) Millamant must not have friends who are women
2) Millamant must always like her own face
3) Millamant cannot wear makeup or other cosmetics
4) Millamant must not wear corsets
5) Mirabell should be allowed to restrict Millamant's drink intake (tea-table drinks, as tea, chocolate,
and coffee).

The Proviso Scene has been fashioned on the basis of the Lockean view of 'conjugal society',
according to which, marriage is a "voluntary compact" between man and woman. According John
Locke, a husband and wife can lay claim to each other's bodies only for "procreational purposes" and
must draw on "mutual support", "assistance", and "communion of interest" to nurture their offspring
until maturity is attained. Thus, the "compact" stands for the "forging of all ties" and not just personal
gratification. This interpretation and appropriation of marriage as a "social contract" is, of course,
endorsed by some critics and rejected by others. Vivian Davis postulates that the "conventions of the
stage are traded in for a round of legal bargaining" in the Proviso Scene. In other words, the insecurity
and apprehensions of Mirabell are laid to rest by the certainty provided the law. It is through these
legal procedures that Mirabell is finally able to liberate Millamant from Lady Wishfort’s "vicious
circle" and settle the terms of their impending union. Thus, in this interpretation, law in the form of
the marriage contract, helps establish control over, what Davis calls, "a volatile female subject". As
the negotiations continue in the scene, Millamant transforms into the "negotiated" from the negotiator.
However, to interpret it in different terms, Mirabell and Millamant have the potential to become a true
partnership even by modern standards, the love and trust shared between two intelligent and
independent characters, set against the tableau of falsehood, greed, and jealousy that surrounds them