Wishfort Millamant and Fainall live like this They follow high society rules In the following way Fainall makes a humorous remark about city women Now I remember last night was one of their cabal-nights they have em three times a week and meet by turns at one another s apartments to sit upon the murdered reputations of the week Fake Love and Marriage In this play marriage is not for love It is for money or gain Mirabell wants to marry Millamant for her money Through the subsequent words Mirabell falsely shows his love for Millamant I like her with all her faults nay like her for her faults Lady Wishfort wants her daughter to marry a rich man Mrs Fainall once loved Mirabell and then married Fainall Nobody truly loves each other Love is a tool to get something This fake love makes the story funny and sad So the play clearly shows false love and marriage Wit and Clever Talk This play is full of wit The people talk in smart and funny ways They use jokes and sharp words Millamant and Mirabell talk in this way Their proviso scene is full of clever words They talk about marriage and set funny rules Even foolish people like Witwoud and Petulant speak in odd and silly ways This clever talk is a key part of the Comedy of Manners Fashion and Vanity The people in this play love fashion Lady Wishfort is fifty-five But she tries to look young She puts on heavy makeup Millamant also talks about her fashion She wants freedom even after marriage The following quote shows Lady Wishfort s extreme vanity I look like an old peeled wall Thou must repair me Foible before Sir Rowland comes Here she acts like a foolish lover She wants Sir Rowland to like her This foolish fashion life is a big part of this comedy Moral Weakness All the people in the play are weak in values Fainall and Mrs Marwood are both cheaters Mirabell also cheated Lady Wishfort Mrs Fainall had a love affair before marriage Nobody in the play is honest They lie cheat and plan to hurt others They do not care about good or bad The play shows this moral fall in a funny way In summary The Way of the World is a true Comedy of Manners It shows the funny and fake life of rich people It has wit love tricks fashion and lies It makes fun of city people and their silly lifestyle The play also shows how people forget good values It is full of sharp talk and comic acts William Congreve uses smart jokes to show deep truths So this play is a great example of this type of comedy