MB UNIUD

1) Mirabell and Millamant are the two characters of the extract: Mirabell suggests a person who looks like beautifoul and in addition a person who looks for nice; Millamant suggests a person who has got thousand lovers.

2) The two characters are talking about their own future married life.

3) Millamant is afraied of losing her independence.

She doesn't want that after marriage her man calls her with cant; she doesn't want go go together to Hide-Park with a new chariot, let visit together, go to a play together, to pay and receive visits to and from whom she pleases.

She doesn't want to be proud only the first week, she wants to write and receive letters without strange reactions on his part, come to dinner when she please, to be the only one "empress" of her tea-table, and last he has always to knok at the door before he come in.

Mirabell speacks little but he answers in a ironical way (ex: "have you any more conditions to offer?").

4) The wife hasn't got the same rights of her housband: she can't visit or receive without permess, she is obliged to talk about what does her housband want and she has got no privacy.

I think that Millamant is not agree with this behaviors because she doesn't want to conform herself into them.

Mirabell uses an ironical way of speaking and this maybe underlines that he's agree with the behaviours or that he doesn't give much imortance to Millamant's words.

Congreve's view is nonconformist with social behaviours because he created a character like Millamant, he wants to affirm in this character his ideas.

5) Millamant is: independent, outspoken, domeneering, determined and nonconformist.

6)  Abstract vocabulary: lines 5-9

    Latinised words: Hitherto

    Figures of speech: similes, (ex: like my lady Fadler), use of latinisms, use of french words.

    Epigrammatic sentences: I won't be called Names!