of the World's recreation of the older Restoration comedy's patterns is only one of the things that made the play unusual. The 1688 revolution concerning the overthrow of James II created a new set of social codes primarily amongst the bourgeoisie. The new capitalist system meant an increasing emphasis on property and property law. Thus, the play is packed with legal jargon and financial and marital contracts. These new legal aspects allow characters like Mrs. Fainall to secure her freedom through an equitable trust and for Mirabell and Millamant's marriage to be equal through a prenuptial agreement. This shift in social perspectives is perhaps best shown in the characters of Fainall and Mirabell, who represent respectively the old form and new form of marital relations: sexual power at first and then developing into material power. Further points of consideration Several aspects of the play give rise to critical discussion: The love expressed in the play tends to be centred on material gain rather than the love of the partner. Women's subjugation to their husbands under both law and custom at the time, and an attempt to improve the position of wife, underlie a scene where Millamant states her terms for a pre-nuptial agreement with Mirabell. None of the characters in the play can really be seen as 'good', and as such it is difficult to find a hero or heroine, or indeed anybody whom one would find deserving of sympathy. References Congreve, William (2000). The Way of the World. London, England: A & C Black Limited. Klekar, Cynthia. “Obligation, Coercion, and Economy: The Gift of Deed in Congreve’s The Way of the World.” In The Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-Century England, ed. Linda Zionkowski and Cynthia Klekar. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009 External links . Oxford Playhouse Review of The Way of the World on the BBC website. 1700 plays Restoration comedy Plays by William Congreve Plays set in the 17th century Plays set in the 18th century