What is the basic human drive in The School for Scandal?

The basic human drive in the novel, The School for Scandal, is wealth and status. London's poor were much too busy trying to find shelter and food to engage in such idle distractions as gossip or gaming. Wealth sets the characters apart from the rest of society. For instance, Sir Peter complains that his wife spends too much on silk dresses and fresh out-of-season flowers.