Analyse the character of Mirabell as a true wit.
Mirabell is the ideal Restoration
beau, a combination of the cynical and the gracious. He has the vices and the
virtues of his kind. In his day, he has been a successful woman-chaser. As a
cover for an affair, he cynically arranged for the marriage of his mistress to
a man presumably his friend. He cynically flattered Lady Wishfort, for whom he
feels contemptuous amusement. He devises a plot that would blackmail Lady
Wishfort into consenting to her ward's marriage; it would also humiliate her
grossly. And he has no faith in his assistants in his plot; before Waitwell can
masquerade and woo Lady Wishfort, he makes certain that Waitwell be married,
for he "would not tempt [his] servant to betray [him] by trusting him too
far." It is easy to see why he would trust very few people; he has only to
consider how he would act under similar circumstances. He can anticipate
treachery on Waitwell's part. He can distrust Fainall and forestall his
villainy to protect Mrs. Fainall's future.
