Out of all the characters in A New Way to Pay Old Debts, Overreach acts out of radically private motives. He views everyone around him as rivals and he views a conflict based on winning or losing. He was also an ambitious character who would do anything to dominate in order to succeed in his plans. Margaret, his daughter and Marall were two people Overreach sought to dominate in order for his ambitions to go through,but since that failed, so did his plans and schemes.
Not only does Overreach want to be one step ahead of the others, he also laughs at the misfortunes of the other characters. He was a social climber who would do anything to climb up the ladder. Unlike other characters, who were good, Overreach acts against his past, denying it and not bound and respecting it. He also threatens his daughter Margaret to marry and was not a redeemable character because of his undesirable behavior and believes that “losers weepers, finders keepers” as a setting in his world.
Daisy’s reference to Overreach’s denial of his past helps to focus on the value that Massinger places on tradition in this play, which, as several of you have noted, differentiates its essential spirit from the more subversive implications of works by authors like Marlow and Webster.