A Selection from the Comedies of MarivauxMarivaux, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de
General
A Selection from the Comedies of Marivaux
Marivaux, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de
Comedy plays
ANGELIQUE, _riant_.
D'accord; mais mon amie redira tout a ma mere; l'une est inseparable de
l'autre.
MADAME ARGANTE.
Eh bien! je les separe, moi; je t'en fais serment. Oui, mets-toi dans
l'esprit que ce que tu me confieras sur ce pied-la, c'est comme si ta mere
ne l'entendait pas....
Little by little the mother gains the daughter's confidence, until at
last, emboldened, Angelique confesses:
Vous m'avez demande si on avait attaque mon coeur? Que trop, puisque
j'aime!
MADAME ARGANTE, _d'un air serieux_.
Vous aimez?...
ANGELIQUE, _riant_.
Eh bien! ne voila-t-il pas cette mere qui est absente? C'est pourtant elle
qui me repond; mais rassurez-vous, car je badine.[123]
Nothing could be more graceful or more natural. This, then, is that
_marivaudage_, against which so much has been said!
Madame Argante has discovered the secret, and, fearful for her daughter's
welfare, she allows the mother nature to assume the upper hand, and points
out the danger of her course to Angelique, who, at last, comprehends, and
agrees to renounce her lover. This she attempts to do, but love will have
its way, and will not be put down. An elopement is arranged, which is
interrupted by the arrival of Madame Argante, who takes Dorante to task
for his indifference to the real happiness of Angelique. He is covered
with confusion, confesses his mistake, and by his manly attitude gains the
mother's heart and the daughter's hand. Ergaste, the rejected suitor,
proves to be an uncle of Dorante, and in a spirit of self-abnegation, well
nigh superhuman, devotes himself to celibacy and his fortune to the
lovers. Lisette plays the role of the _intrigante_ and temptress of her
mistress. The comic of the piece is in the hands of Lubin, a peasant in
the service of the family, who is bribed by each party to spy upon the
other.
Lack of space forbids more than a mere mention of the remaining plays,
many of which are worthy of being compared favourably with those which
have been outlined. We have seen enough to convince us that, although his
drama may be classified in general as psychological and _feminin_ there is
great diversity in the individual plays, and never monotony.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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