To what extent would you agree that whereas Restoration Comedy in general celebrates the

excesses of ‘post-Puritan’ libertarianism, the Way of the World is primarily centred on the idea of
‘social contract’?

The demonstration of profanities is apparent in the comedic plays during the Restoration period,
however, the text Way of The World is slightly disparate as it chiefly focuses on the social contract.
In the essay, I intend to explore how Restoration comedy was the renaissance for English drama as
community stage performances were discontinued under the Puritan regime. Once the general
public was made exposed to stage plays again, the monarchy encouraged the exploration of themes
that were commonly agreed upon as immoral and indecent. Way of The World is unlike other plays
that were produced during the restoration era because along with comedy of manners, the play also
emphasizes on the social contract, which in this context is marriage, as it examines the themes of
adultery, love and money, etc.

Restoration Comedy, or the Comedy of Manners, is the English comedy that was written and
performed in the Restoration period, which started in 1660 and lasted until around 1710. In the 16 th
and 17th centuries emerged the Puritans, who were English Protestants. They wanted the
purification and reformation of the Church of England of Roman Practices, as they believed that the
Church of England should be made more Protestant. Theatres were closed during the time period
which is now known as the Commonwealth, and this forced the masses to watch theatre dramas
privately, as the supervision under the Puritan regime greatly suppressed drama works. No actor or
spectator was safe, especially during the early days of the Puritan rule, nor was there any inspiration
for the dramatists. Before the Restoration Period, dramatists were forced to work in discreet ways
and be cautious about their art. Poet Laureate and accomplished playwright William Davenant had
to present his drama in the safety of his own home because his drama was risk of being censored by
the public theatre. Once the Restoration Period sets in, drama and creative arts prosper as
dramatists discover a newfound sense of freedom in the themes they could now display to the
audience. There came forward many advancements in the theatre business, like professional female
actresses being seen on stage for the first time, along with a revitalized liking for lewd and dirty
humour. But by having his plays take place in the vicinity of his home, he was successful in not being
censored publicly, as there were placed many restrictions on the art of drama and theatrics.
Davenant could finally present his plays in a fully equipped theatre because there emerged many big
and small changes in the trends that reigned the theatre plays of that time. The lack of restraints in
the Restoration Period helped playwrights to bring about more entertaining, lively themes in drama,
and this was a big victory for drama enthusiasts as they could finally indulge in topics without any
inhibitions.

The Stuart dynasty was restored to the throne of England in 1660. The King, Charles II was familiar
with the fashion and mannerisms of Paris as he had spent a great amount of time in Paris with the
royalist party. The King felt the need to maintain the prestige of the Parisian lifestyle, especially upon
the return of the court. Therefore in 1660, he allowed two drama companies to be established as the
major production companies and present plays, one of the two royal patents being granted to
William Davenant, the other being granted to Duke of York’s Company. Historian George Norman
Clark said, “The best-known fact about the Restoration drama is that it is immoral. The dramatists
did not criticize the accepted morality about gambling, drink, love, and pleasure generally, or try, like
the dramatists of our own time, to work out their own view of character and conduct. What they did
was, according to their respective inclinations, to mock at all restraints. Some were gross, others
delicately improper...The dramatists did not merely say anything they liked: they also intended to
glory in it and to shock those who did not like it.” Charles II was infamous for having one of the most
decadent courts in English history, full of flirtations, seductions, infidelities and carnal desires. This
fact played a significant role in the emergence of libertarian themes in the literature and stage
drama of the Restoration period. Post-Puritan comedy elicit muffled laughs that are usually on the
immoral topics of cuckoldry and infidelity. Such performances were the impression of the realities of
the upper class societies, where they are usually preoccupied with marriage, money, sex, and the
politics surrounding it. Women, especially wealthy and young women, were the most sought after.
People were usually married off at early ages, reasons being as selfish as obtaining the spouses’
money or property. If marriage is the mirror of society, then the portrayal of companionship and
love in the plays of the Restoration Period show something very dark and sinister about order.

A play may be considered immoral because it contains foul language or because the wicked
characters are not punished or because the attitude of the dramatist is felt to be corrupt. During a
second wave of Restoration comedy in the 1690s, the "softer" comedies of William Congreve
reflected mutating cultural perceptions and great social change. Although the game of love and
money were a recurrent theme for Restoration comedies, the genuine attraction and dedication that
the characters of Millamant and Mirabell depict for each other hold potential of making them a
memorable couple even by modern day standards, and this was a new and progressive change that
the audience sees in the characters of a play. The strength that the two protagonists hold both
individually and together is crucial to their status as an almost ideal couple, as the audience
involuntarily compares their bond to the bonds shared amongst other characters, like Mrs. Fainall
and Fainall, or Fainall and Mrs. Marwood, and it is evident that there exist contrasting dynamics in
between the characters. Mrs. Wishfort is a stock character of Restoration drama as she is the “aged
woman who is trying her best to get herself a husband.” A character that wants to be pursued and
never wants to pursue, whose vanity is injured when she finds out that the most desirable Mirabell
is in fact, not in love with her, is self-conscious of her external appearance and reads anti-theatrical
literature – she is offensive yet laughable, but for the larger part, she is looking for a commitment, a
social contract; she is desperately wishing to be someone’s wife.

I believe that Congreve makes Way of The World deviate from the widely popular themes by
centering the play around marriage and in not just an unhealthy manner - as he shows not only
Mirabell and Millamant plotting to end up with each other in wedlock, but also a trusting friendship
between Mrs. Fainall and Mirabell even after their physical relationship came to an end - and yet
manages to woo the audience by still sticking to the popular themes of the time that made the
masses laugh and exposing the disgusting and unappealing side of adult relationships and greed.