Proviso scene
Scene in which the witty couple of a Restoration Comedy (usually a witty, but virtuous lady and a rake) agree on conditions for their marriage. These conditions usually comprise the demand that the rake give up his promiscuous and irresponsible ways and thus show a tendency towards a more equal relationship of the genders. Proviso scenes were typically used in Restoration comedy after 1690. They were influenced by Locke’s contract theory model (contracts between equals) and reflect a shift in cultural values and society, as well as an orientation on a mainly middle class audience and females.
An especially famous example of a proviso scene is the debate between the witty couple Mirabell and Millamant in William Congreve’s The Way of The World (1700).