ompletely devoid of negative influence, for Millamant's six thousand pound fortune is repeatedly an issue, they are still honorable in contrast to the relationships surrounding them. Marriage is depicted as entirely centered around greed for money, and protection of honor. Debauchery, greed, and deceit permeate this social world and all its interactions. It is exactly this "way of the world" that Congreve believes should be improved.Congreve offers a critique of this whittled down and desensitized view of marriage by using the secondary characters to flesh out the negative aspects of society. He contrasts the situation those characters find themselves in at the conclusion of the play with that of Mirabell and Millamant. All of the characters who married with false intentions, or who stood in the way of the marriage of the two protagonists ended up unhappy or dissatisfied upon the closing of the play. In particular, the key antagonist of the play, Mr Fainall characterizes this obsession with money and as previously mentioned, he provides great contrast to Mirabell. Furthermore, all of his relationships are full of falsehood and deceit. He admits to never having loved his wife "wherefore did I marry but to make a lawful prize of a rich widow's wealth" (p.339), and he has already squandered the wealth of his mistress, Mrs. Marwood. His jealousy and greed drive him to ruthlessly blackmail Mrs. Wishfort who only wants to protect the reputation of her daughter. However, his debauchery comes full circle in the end, when he finds his reputation preceded him in marrying his wife. Not only did he lose all moral standing with his social world, but lost all chances at acquiring any money from any of the women in his life and is finally left to fend for himself. The parasite finally got his due. Similarly all those who married under false pretenses, such as Mrs. Fainall, or who was an obstacle to the model couple, such as Mrs. Marwood,...
