...is one in which practically everyone is a secret schemer, and I wonder whether Sheridan not only exploited the enormous comic potential of that for laughs, but also (harking back to the thread about which Muse is at work in this play, Comedy, Tragedy or both?) had a more serious message as well in this regard, i.e., that in the real non-farcical world, practically everyone is a secret schemer about SOMETHING, too, and sincerity is not as prevalent as we might wish to believe.