Love
This play is all about relationships, courtships, marriage, and rivalry. Love among the upper classes is satirically depicted as being shallow and fickle in this play. For example, both Plume and Worthy become more interested in their lovers when they become wealthier. Indeed, desirability in this play is based purely on wealth and status.
Class
In this text, when people fall in love it is based entirely on status and social class. Characters are constantly looking out for someone who is of better social standing than they are. For example, when Melinda does not have money at the beginning of the play, Worthy debates whether to make her his mistress. However, when she inherits significant wealth, he is suddenly very interested in her. Similarly, Justice Balance believes that Plume is a good match for his daughter before she is set to inherit his wealth. However, when Balance’s son dies and Sylvia is set to inherit all his money, Plume becomes an undesirable match for his daughter.
Army recruitment
This text explores and satirizes the process of army recruitment. The recruiting officers are presented as manipulative and unscrupulous. For example, Kite promises significant wealth and heroism to the people he is trying to recruit. When this doesn’t work, he disguises himself as a fortune teller and tells his customers that they will have a great future if they enlist. As such, a significant aspect of this text is the criticism of army recruitment.
