Representation of Women in Early British Literature

In most early British literature a woman is often presented as only one thing: an object. They can be objects of desire, objects of beauty, or merely objects to be owned, but it is rare that a woman is anything more than that. It is even more uncommon to find a female character in literature that is presented as an equal to the men around her. In William Congreve's The Way of the World he plays on the similarities of both his female and male characters to establish just how much of an issue gender really is because though their actions might be similar, the consequences are not. The tangled web of relationships that connect each character in this story are what drive Congreve's play forward. With each past affair (or current) affair that is revealed the plot gets more and more complicated, but what does not change is the double-standards that arise because of them. The reader is made aware quite early in the play that Mirabell was once known as a rake, someone society would identify as a womanizer by today's standards. It seems that every character is also aware of this fact, that Mirabell used to be a man that slept around, but it is never made much of an issue. He was previously linked to Mrs. Fainall and apparently wooed Lady Wishfort to get closer to her niece, Millamant, who he is attempting to wed throughout the story. It is puzzling that Millamant never seems to have any reservations about him, knowing all of this information. What is even more puzzling, however, is the fact that such a reputation would permanently damage any of the women in this play. It's no secret, to the audience that Fainall is cheating on his wife with Mrs. Marwood and it probably wouldn't be too hard for the other characters to discover this. However, he is never truly punished for his adultery. While he is the prime candidate for most "evil" character of the play due to his plotting and his affair, the only thing Fainall is denied is money that was never meant for him in the first