dramatic irony of "the way of the world".

Dramatic irony abounds, perhaps as much or more than in any other Restoration Comedy, in the scene in which Ms. Marwood overhears Foible and Mrs. Fainall's conversation from inside Lady Wishfort's closet. This dramatic irony is not just comedic, in that Foible flippantly exposes Mirabell's lack of desire for Ms. Marwood, but foreshadows and leads to Ms. Marwood and Fainall's plot and the exposure of Mirabell's plot and prior relationship with Mrs. Fainall, all which comprise the escalation into the Act V climax.