Set in England in 1712, during the final months of the War of the Spanish Succession, The Glass of Water exemplifies Scribe’s theory that history consists of great effects arising from small causes. Rather than presenting likenesses of heroes of epic or tragedy, Scribe depicts political leaders as basically ordinary people, ambitious and selfish, sometimes petty or inept. The major antagonists of The Glass of Water, the Duchess of Marlborough and Henri de Saint-Jean, later Lord Bolingbroke, are of a higher caliber—geniuses at calculation and manipulation, who fascinate with their quick wits and vitality while failing to demonstrate genuine loyalty to any moral or political ideas beyond their own self-interest.