18TH CENTURY COMEDY Marivaux - One of most original French dramatist of 18th century – while others followed Molière tradition, writing for Théâtre Français, he wrote principally for the Théâtre Italien and dared to be different, actually attracting critics because he so openly repudiated Molière - composed comedies in prose, mostly in one or three acts, on subjects not commonly used in plays of predecessors, and in a style not previously found in French dramatic literature - Many of his plays failed when they were first performed – firstly, theatre still dominated by Molière meant his were placed automatically in an inferior position; plus, he developed a unique style that, while natural for him, was unsuited to the declamation of French actors at the time; innovations were overlooked which actually influenced others like Diderot and Beaumarchais almost half a century later o e.g. Arlequin in Arlequin poli par l’amour is not dissimilar to Chérubin in Le Mariage de Figaro in his ignorance of love, and some of Chérubin’s reactions correspond to Arlequin’s outburst o in La Double Inconstance, Arlequin’s serious side anticipates Figaro, depicting a free man who dares to challenge the authority of his superior, although the servant-master relationship in the later play is between subject and monarch here, as Arlequin protests the Prince’s pursuit of Silvia: ‘Que voulez-vous, Monsieur? J’ai une fille qui m’aime; vous, vous en avez plein votre maison et nonobstant vous m’ôtez la mienne…’ – however, the Prince succeeds in winning Silvia, whereas Beaumarchais’ treatment is harsher and more radical, Marivaux is well known for his moralising o Figaro seems to be an imitation of Trivelin in La Fausse Suivante, too; the earlier valet, in I,i, ‘Tantôt maître, tantôt valet; toujours prudent, toujours industrieux’ compared with the later version in Le Mariage, V,iii, ‘maître ici, valet là, selon qu’il plait à la fortune; ambitieux par vanité, laborieux par nécessité.’ – only difference is that Beaumarchais’ character is much more developed, becoming the personification of ‘la Revolution accomplie’, although one could say Marivaux was ahead of his time for his original type performed before a society as yet uninformed this would develop, too, with Cléanthis in L’Ile des Esclaves, her tirade in scene 10 resembling closely the ideas Figaro will pick up on over fifty years later: ‘Fi! Que cela est vilain de n’avoir eu pour tout mérite que de l’or, de l’argent et des dignités! C’était bien de la peine de faire tant des glorieux !’ ; though, once again, original masterservant relationships are restored in the end. o Seems that the sum total of his servants, with their vein of aggressiveness, constitues the personality of Figaro, even down to certain phrasings -
Influence of Italian commedia dell’arte – v. diff. structure to French plays, lacked dialogue in sense of script, and were generally just scenarios which the author outlined and the actors improvised every time – thus, considerable variation between stagings, and if an actor struck the right mood with audience, his lazzi could last for up to a quarter of an hour, incorporating various slapstick devices from indecent gestures to falling over – plays were conventional, utilised standard collection of characters such as young lover, jealous rival, old doctor, and above all, a buffoon, although they also parodied public figures and ridiculed religion – thus, scope was limited, but great variation within this; eventually, French writers supplied comedies
