The Way of the World gives a commentary on the absurd nature of the lives of the privileged classes through a satirical and comedic lens. The play is about two lovers, Mirabell and Millamant, who wish to marry each other but not at the cost of losing their inheritance. They need blessings from Millamant’s aunt, Lady Wishfort, to inherit the fortune. Lady Wishfort disapproves of Mirabell and instead wants Millamant to marry her nephew, Sir Wilful. It is play full of characters interweaving through each other’s lives with Fainall having a secret affair with Mrs Marwood, who is not only Mrs Fainall’s friend but also once had an affair with Mirabell. W. Congreve depicts themes such as deception, materialism, greed, different natures of love and so on through various other characters in the main and the sub plot. Largely, through this play Congreve has expressed the tendency of material gain overtaking one’s love for their partner.

The play, which was not successful when it was first published, gained positive reception over the years for its complexities and true depiction of society at the time. Written in the late seventeenth century, it is considered one of the best Restoration comedies to this day.