Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

The first act is set in a chocolate house (a kind of coffee shop). We are introduced to the two major male characters, Mirabell and Fainall, who are playing cards. When Mirabell loses, Fainall asks him why he does not seem to be paying much attention to the game. Fainall says it is not as much fun to win against a player who does not really care about the game. Mirabell confesses that his time with the woman he loves, Mrs. Millamant, was cut short when she welcomed two other men, Witwoud and Petulant, and her aunt Lady Wishfort. Also included were Mrs. Marwood, Fainall's wife, and a few other ladies.

Mirabell describes how the women became very silent, and then Wishfort talks about how some people stay too long when they are visiting. Millamant agrees with her statement, and so...