Money Behind Marriage

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Name : Soraya Nurfadila NPM : 180410080075 Introduction to Drama Money behind Marriage The Way of the World by William Congreve is a story about marriage and marriage purposes in the aristocrat society. These marriage purposes become interesting to discuss because there are not only about love but also about money, relationship, and reputation in the society. From the passage below we can see the reason from Mr. and Mrs. Fainall marriage. “MRS. FAIN: You have been the cause that I have loved without bounds, and would you set limits to that aversion of which you have been the occasion? Why did you make me marry this man?” “MIRA: Why do we daily commit disagreeable and dangerous actions? To save that idol, reputation. If the familiarities of our loves had produced that consequence of which you were apprehensive, where could you have fixed a father's name with credit but on a husband? I knew Fainall to be a man lavish of his morals, an interested and professing friend, a false and a designing lover, yet one whose wit and outward fair behaviour have gained a reputation with the town, enough to make that woman stand excused who has suffered herself to be won by his addresses. A better man ought not to have been sacrificed to the occasion; a worse had not answered to the purpose. When you are weary of him you know your remedy.” (Scene IV) From the passage above we can see that the reason Mrs. Fainall marriage is not about love or biological purposes, but it’s about family name, reputation and money. Her marriage was made to save someting which is very important, that is father’s name. Mrs. Fainall was a young widow and being a widow in the society at that time is a problem, so that the only thing to fix her name and her family name is marriage. In my opinion, Mr. Fainall was choose as Mrs. Fainall’s husband because he is a friend of Mr. Mirabell and it will
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