I received a note from a reader who asked whether he could use my posts in his research. The answer was the usual answer. No one can copy or quote posts without acknowledging their source. It is the author’s intellectual property.
However, I remain a specialist of Molière, by virtue of a PhD thesis on his theatre, peer-reviewed articles on his plays, and editing articles on Molière.
Please note that my posts are informed readings of Molière rather than scholarly articles. Scholarly articles are written in the context of previous books and articles. I no longer have access to the services of a research library and can only use materials I keep at home or material sent to me by fellow scholars. At a Toronto meeting of scholars on the Age of Theatre in France, Anne Ubersfeld said that she was “admirative de votre travail.” She admired my short contribution. Would that I could have continued, but I faced obstructionism, extremely demanding workloads and, basically, and I was fooled into accepting a retirement arrangement.
Let us say, that although I do not ask anyone to pay a fee for reading my posts, they remain my intellectual property which means that copying them without proper acknowledgement is plagiarism, which is fraud and punishable. My post are my intellectual property. One simply names one’s source.
I have not finished my analysis of L’Étourdi. It is a very rich play. In a footnote to his translation of l’Étourdi, Henri van Laun wrote that Victor Hugo considered L’Étourdi a masterpiece. I felt too timid to express the same opinion. Once again, Henri van Laun came to my rescue: a footnote.
We will continue reading L’Étourdi. I’m simply breathing a little and taking care of personal issues.
Best regards to all of view. 💕
You may notice little errors: repetitions, spelling, etc. It is illness.
L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps is a comédie d’intrigue. The plot dominates, rather than a portrayal of manners. L’Étourdi‘s plot could be described as an “all’s well that ends well,” which suggests a struggle. In most comedies, young lovers, such as the innamoratiof the commedia dell’arte, overcome an obstacle to their marriage.
However, L’Étourdi differs from most comedies because Molière juxtaposed two forms of virtue one of which is standard virtue, and the other, a zanni or rogue virtue. For instance, in Act One, Lélie returns to Anselme a purse that fell to the ground. By doing so, he is morally in the right, by standard virtue. But he unknowingly lost the money Lélie and Mascarille needed to purchase Célie, which was virtue by Mascarille’s standards.
Mascarille calls “virtue” the devilish tricks, or stratagems, he uses in order to ensure the marriage of the young lovers of comedy. His stratagems are an upside-down morality, but they are the means that justify the end. To a certain extent, a zanni’s tricks border on Machiavellianism (see Machiavelli). But, ironically, in L’Étourdi, the young lover himself, Lélie, crosses so many of Mascarille’s plans that the dénouement, the happy ending of comedies, barely stems from the activity of clever characters undoing a pater familias or other blocking character. It stems instead from a largely theatrical anagnorisis, a recognition scene.
You may remember that, in Act One, Lélie, Pandolfe’s son, returned a lost purse, une bourse, to its owner, Anselme, thereby crossing Mascarille’s plan to use the money to purchase Célie, a slave to Trufaldin. Lelio has a rival, Léandre, a “fils de famille,” so matters are pressing.
Sous quel astre ton maître a-t-il reçu le jour? (Célie, v. 152) Dessins par Lorentz, Jules David, etc. Gravures par les meilleurs artistes, Paris, Schneider, 1850. (fr.wikipedia)
LÉLIE, (Lelio, son of) fils de Pandolphe/Pandolfe.
CÉLIE, (slave of) esclave de Trufaldin.
MASCARILLE, (servant to) valet de Lélie.
HIPPOLYTE, (daughter of) fille d’Anselme.
ANSELME, (an old man) vieillard.
TRUFALDIN, (an old man) vieillard.
PANDOLPHE/PANDOLFE, (an old man) vieillard.
LÉANDRE, (son) fils de famille.
ANDRÈS, (believed to be) cru égyptien.
ERGASTE, valet.
UN COURRIER.
DEUX TROUPES DE MASQUES.
The scene is in Messina
Pandolfe’s feigned death
In Act Two of L’Étourdi, Mascarille’s plan is to make believe that Pandolfe has died. Pandolfe has been sent to his farm, where something has gone wrong. So Mascarille tells Anselme that Pandolfe has died and that Lélie needs money to bury his father appropriatly. The money is therefore lent to Lélie and Mascarille under false pretense. Pandolfe and Anselme are friends and Anselme doubts that Pandolfe is dead. Fearing trouble, he asks for a receipt from Lelio. Mascarille reports that Lélie’s grief is so overwhelming that he cannot provide a receipt. However, from the very moment he is told about Pandolfe’s unexpected death, Anselme suspects a ruse.
Qui tôt ensevelit, bien souvent assassine,/ Et tel est cru défunt qui n’en a que la mine. Anselme (II. ii) [He who puts a shroud on a man too hastily very often commits murder; for a man is frequently thought dead when he only seems to be so.] Anselme (II. 3, p. 24)
However, Pandolfe returns, scaring Anselme. Is Pandolfe a ghost?
Ah ! bon Dieu, je frémi ! Anselme (II. iv)
[Oh Heavens! how I tremble!] Anselme (II. 5, p. 26)
Therefore, Anselme knows that he has been played and he is quite ashamed of himself:
Et moi, la bonne dupe, à trop croire un vaurien,/630Il faut donc qu’aujourd’hui je perde, et sens, et bien? Il me sied bien, ma foi, de porter tête grise,/ Et d’être encor si prompt à faire une sottise!/ D’examiner si peu sur un premier rapport…/ Mais je vois… Anselme, seul (II. iv)
[And I, like a ninny, believe a scoundrel, and must in one day lose both my senses and my money. Upon my word, it well becomes me to have these gray hairs and to commit an act of folly so readily, without examining into the truth of the first story I hear…! But I see…] Anselme, alone (II. 5, p. 28)
Lélie returns his money to Anselme’s promptly, but foolishly, by a tricskter’s “virtue”. In order to be reimbursed, Anselme also uses a trick, a harmless trick. He claims that some of the money could be counterfeit. However, Lélie is delighted to return the money he and Mascarille had borrowed, and he doubts that any is counterfeit.
Vous me faites plaisir de les vouloir reprendre; Mais je n’en ai point vu de faux, comme je croi. Lélie à Anselme (II. v)
[I am very much obliged to you for being willing to take them back, but I saw none among them that were bad, as I thought.] Lélie to Anselme (II. 6, p. 28)
LÉLIE HAS JUST BLUNDERED
In Act One, Lélie had returned the purse that had fallen to the ground to its owner, Anselme. Matters now differ albeit slightly. Mascarille has a plan. He and Lélie borrow money to bury Pandolfe respectfully which is a nasty ruse. But once the money is returned, Célie cannot be bought. Moreover, Anselme will not allow his daughter Hippolyte to marry Lélie, as previously arranged by their respective fathers. He is disillusioned at an early point in the comedy, except that, in Act One, Scene Seven, Pandolfe, Lélie’s father, told Mascarille, that he is disappointed with his son.
… À parler franchement, Je suis mal satisfait de mon fils. Pandolfe à Mascarille (I. vii)
[To tell you the truth, I am very dissatisfied with my son.] Pandolfe to Mascarille (I. 9, p. 19)
But let us return to Act Two, Scene Five
Ma foi, je m’engendrais* d’une belle manière!/ Et j’allais prendre en vous un beau-filsfort discret./ Allez, allez mourir de honte, et de regret. Anselme (II. v)
* from gendre (son-in-law)
[Upon my word, I was going to get a nice addition to my family, a most discreet son-in-law. Go, go, and hang yourself for shame and vexation.] Anselme (II. 6. p. 29)
A Rogue’s Honour
As noted above, in L’Étourdi, Molière juxtaposes Lélie’s morally acceptable behaviour (by societal standards) and the frequently despicable rules of conduct that constitute a rogue’s honour.
Although they remain resourceful, Mascarille, a zanni, and Lélie, the young lover, are now penniless. However, as Mascarille is reprimanding his master, Léandre can be seen purchasing Lélie’s “divinity,” Célie. A clever Mascarille screams and claims to have been beaten by Lélie. He tells Léandre, he will no longer serve Lélie, which is a lie among a multitude of lies. However, all is not lost. Léandre has purchased Célie, but he cannot “collect” her, so to speak, until his father has consented to the marriage. Mascarille is delighted. He has a hiding place: a house where Célie will be “safe.”
Célie will therefore be taken “hors de la ville,” (II. viii), outside town, to a house where Lélie will get her back. Although Mascarille tells everyone he is working for them, he works for his master.
Vivat Mascarille, fourbum imperator!
In Act II,Scene Nine, Léandre is showing the ring Trufaldin must see before freeing Célie. Fearing Célie will be removed, Lélie has a courier deliver a letter to Trufaldin. According to the letter, Célie is the daughter of Dom Pedro de Gusman, from Spain, who will come to get his daughter back. Lélie ruined a perfect plan, so Mascarille is mortified. This episode, however, suggest that Célie may have a father.
Vous avez fait ce coup sans vous donner au diable? Mascarille à Lélie (II. xi)
[And you did all this without the help of the devil?] Mascarille to Lelio (II. 14, p. 35)
In Act Three, Scene One, Mascarille wonders whether he should continue to serve a master who jeopardizes, or ruins, ploys that should be successful. He thinks matters over and decides that he will carry on, but that, henceforth, he will work for his glory, not his master’s.
915Mais aussi, raisonnons un peu sans violence ;/ Si je suis maintenant ma juste impatience,/ On dira que je cède à la difficulté,/ Que je me trouve à bout de ma subtilité ;/ Et que deviendra lors cette publique estime,/ Qui te vante partout pour un fourbe sublime, /Et que tu t’es acquise en tant d’occasions, À ne t’être jamais vu court d’inventions ? L’honneur, ô Mascarille, est une belle chose;/ À tes nobles travaux ne fais aucune pause./Et quoi qu’un maîtrepour te faire enrager,/ Achève pour ta gloire, et non pour l’obliger. Mascarille (III. i)
[But let us argue the matter a little without passion; if I should now give way to my just impatience the world will say I sank under difficulties, that my cunning was completely exhausted. What then becomes of that public esteem, which extols you everywhere as a first-rate rogue, and which you have acquired upon so many occasions, because you never yet were found wanting in inventions? Honour, Mascarille, is a fine thing; do not pause in your noble labours; and whatever a master may have done to incense you, complete your work, for your own glory, and not to oblige him.] Mascarille (III. 1, pp. 36-37)
By now, Léandre has purchased Célie, but it turns out that he cannot “collect” her, so to speak. Trufaldin cannot release Célie without first seeing a ring and Léandre must first seek his father’s consent. He is a “fils de famille.” Not a problem! Mascarille can take Célie to a safe house. Léandre is duped. Once Clélie leaves Trufaldin’s house, she will be handed over to Lélie, Mascarille being Lélie’s servant, not Léandre’s.
LÉLIE HAS BLUNDERED
In Act Three, Scene Two, Mascarille questions Célie’s integrity. Léandre, if he marries her, he will marry le bien public, public property.
Non, vous ne me croyez pas, suivez votre dessein,/ Prenez cette matoise, et lui donnez la main;/ Toute la ville en corps reconnaîtra ce zèle,/ Et vous épouserez le bien public en elle. Mascarille à Léandre (III. ii)
[No, pray do not believe me, follow your own inclination, take the sly girl and marry her; the whole city, in a body, will acknowledge this favour; you marry the public good in her.] Mascarille to Léandre (III. 2, p. 38)
Given that this information comes from Mascarille, whom he trusts, Léandre is inclined to believe that Célie is a loose woman. Lélie is furious. Mascarille confirms that he told Léandre that Célie was not as she appeared. However, Mascarille works for Lélie, not for Léandre. A rogue can do little unless he gains the confidence of the persons he plays. By Lélie’s standard, Léandre’s words are slanderous, whether or not they are Mascarille’s words. He is ready to beat Léandre, which does not surprise Léandre. Mascarille ran away from Lélie because his master, Lélie, was beating him, which was a lie.
Lélie/Lelio is so angry that Mascarille walks in and confirms that Léandre repeated his words, Mascarille’s words. False statements are his “industrie.”
Doucement, ce discours est de mon industrie. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv) [(In a whisper to Lelio). Gently; I told him so on purpose.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 4, p. 40)
Lélie is sinning by a rogue’s standards and appeasing him is difficult. He even draws his sword. Léandre walks away and Mascarille cannot believe that Lélie could not see that that he had lied to Lélie’s benefit. Zanni lie. He defamed Célie, but his words were the means that could lead to a happy ending. “All’s well that ends well.” Mascarille is indignant.
LÉLIE HAS BLUNDERED
Et vous ne pouviez souffrir mon artifice?/ Lui laisser son erreur, qui vous rendait service,/ Et par qui son amour s’en était presque allé?/1090Non, il a l’esprit franc, et point dissimulé:/ Enfin chez son rival je m’ancre avec adresse,/ Cette fourbe en mes mains va mettre sa maîtresse;/ Il me la fait manquer avec de faux rapports;/ Je veux de son rival alentir les transports:/1095 Mon brave incontinent vient qui le désabuse,/ J’ai beau lui faire signe, et montrer que c’est ruse;/ Point d’affaire, il poursuit sa pointe jusqu’au bout,/ Et n’est point satisfait qu’il n’ait découvert tout:/ Grand et sublime effort d’une imaginative/1100Qui ne le cède point à personne qui vive! C’est une rare pièce! et digne sur ma foi,/ Qu’on en fasse présent au cabinet d’un roi! Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv)
[And you could not let the artifice pass, nor let him remain in his error, which did you good service, and which pretty nearly extinguished his passion. No, honest soul, he cannot bear dissimulation. I cunningly get a footing at his rival’s, who, like a dolt, was going to place his mistress in my hands, but he, Lelio, prevents me getting hold of her by a fictitious letter; I try to abate the passion of his rival, my hero presently comes and undeceives him. In vain I make signs to him, and show him it was all a contrivance of mine; it signifies nothing; he continues to the end, and never rests satisfied till he has discovered all. Grand and sublime effect of a mind which is not inferior to any man living! It is an exquisite piece, and worthy, in troth, to be made a present of to the king’s private museum.] Mascarille to Lélie (III. 5, p. 42)
Mascarille’s tirade provides insight in the difficult role zanni play, a role that may cause Mascarille to be jailed. He changes the subject because he wants to know if Lelio has made peace with his father.
… C’est que de votre père il faut absolument./ Apaiser la colère. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv)
[You must, without delay, endeavour to appease your father’s anger.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 5, p. 44)
Mascarille has learned that Pandolfe is angry.
Il craint le pronostic [approaching death], et contre moi fâché, On m’a dit qu’en justice il m’avait recherché : Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv) [The good sire, notwithstanding his age, is very fond of life, and cannot bear jesting upon that subject; he is alarmed at the prognostication, is so very angry that I hear he has lodged a complaint against me.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 5, p. 44)
Consequently, Mascarille could find himself in the confined “logis du Roi,” jail, and fears he may feel so comfortable that he could be there for a very long time:
J’ai peur, si le logis du Roi fait ma demeure,/ De m’y trouver si bien dès le premier quart d’heure,/ Que j’aye peine aussi d’en sortir par après : / Contre moi dès longtemps on a force décrets ;/ Car enfin, la vertu n’est jamais sans envie,/ Et dans ce maudit siècle, est toujours poursuivie./ Allez donc le fléchir. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv) [I am afraid that if I am once housed at the expense of the king, I may like it so well after the first quarter of an hour, that I shall find it very difficult afterwards to get away. There have been several warrants out against me this good while; for virtue is always envied and persecuted in this abominable age. Therefore go and make my peace with your father.] Mascarille to Lélio (III. 5, p. 44)
Mascarille’s virtue is a rogue’s virtue. It is upside down. It is not virtue as Lelio sees it. And it is dangerous. He has “killed,” as a joke, a man who is nearing death and who therefore fears his human condition: we die.
Je l’ai fait ce matin mort pour l’amour de vous;/ La vision le choque, et de pareilles feintes/ Aux vieillards comme lui sont de dures atteintes,/ Qui sur l’état prochain de leur condition/ Leur font faire à regret triste réflexion./ Le bonhomme, tout vieux, chérit fort la lumière/ Et ne veut point de jeu dessus cette matière;/ Il craint le pronostic, et, contre moi fâché,/ On m’a dit qu’en justice il m’avait recherché. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv)
[Yes, but I am not; I killed him this morning for your sake; the very idea of it shocks him. Those sorts of jokes are severely felt by such old fellows as he, which, much against their will, make them reflect sadly on the near approach of death. The good sire, notwithstanding his age, is very fond of life, and cannot bear jesting upon that subject; he is alarmed at the prognostication, and so very angry that I hear he has lodged a complaint against me.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 5, p. 44)
Lélie will blunder again: the maskerades, the dinner at Trufaldin’s. He will also be beaten, disguised as an Armenian. Two Egyptian women will fight so vigorously that both will loose their wig. But one knows that Andrès, who is about to be seen, will be another rival, though briefly. It will be found that he and Célie are in fact Trufaldin’s long lost children. An anagnorisis, a theatrical device, will close the play. (to be continued)
Car enfin la vertu n’est jamais sans envie,/ Et dans ce maudit siècle, est toujours poursuivie. Mascarille (III. iv) [… for virtue is always envied and persecuted in this abominable age.] Mascarille (III. 5. p. 44)
I was unwell and my computer was failing me. I asked a local technician and friend to buy a computer for me and to set it up. The former computer had not been repaired properly.
Polichinelle is a well-known character in the commedia dell’arte. He is Pulcinella.
Sincere apologies for the delay and love to everyone. We return to L’Étourdi, The Blunderer.
In the case of L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps, the short video featured on 5 February is very useful. It is about the young lovers of comedy, called the innamorati in the commedia dell’arte. Molière’s comedies are often rooted in the commedia dell’ arte. Monsieur de Pourceaugnac features a cruel zanno. Sbrigani goes too far in ensuring that Julie marries Éraste.
In the Blunderer, we have a kind zanno, Mascarille but a young lover who blunders. Lélie is in love with Célie, but in Scene One of Act One, he tells us that he has a rival. The rival is a fine young man named Cléandre. So he needs help, Mascarille’s help. Mascarille is the best fourbe or trickster, but Lélio is, the worst young lover. He foils every one of Mascarille eleven attempts to ensure Célie marries Lélie. Mascarille is the best among zanni.
Sources
L’Étourdi originates in Nicolo Barbieri’s L’Inavvertito. Barbieri is also known as Beltrame di Milano. Molière’s play also borrows from Luigi Groto’s Émilia, Fornaris’ Angelica, Cervantès’ La Belle Égyptienne, a Christmas tale by Noël du Fail, and by Tristan’s le Parasite. In the Middle Ages, it may have been called a sotie. Molière also used elements from Plautus and Terence.
L’Étourdi was first produced in Lyon in 1655, but it may have been written earlier. In 1655, Molière still toured the provinces. After Molière returned to Paris, l’Étourdi was performed at the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon in November 1658 by the Troupe de Monsieur, Frère Unique du Roi. Molière had found patronage, Louis XIV’s only brother, called Monsieur. The play was a great success.
Lelio (Lélie in the French original), a young aristocrat
Leander (Léandre), Lelio’s rival
Mascarille, Lelio’s servant
Hippolyta (Hippolyte), a young woman
Celia (Célie), a gypsy girl
Trufaldin, an old man
Pandolphus (Pandolfe), Lelio’s father
Anselmo (Anselme), Hippolyta’s father
Ergaste, a servant
Andrès, a young man
The Scene is in Messina.
Lélie, who loves Célie, has learned that he has a rival. Léandre also loves Célie. He therefore needs Mascarille’s help.
In an attempt to know Célie’s wishes, Mascarille visits Célie. Lélie follows. Mascarille needs to ascertain whether Clélie would marry Lélie. Lélie tells Célie that he loves, but uses metaphors she does not like; she does not want to injure anyone’s eyes.
Mon cœur qu’avec raison votre discours étonne,/ N’entend pas que mes yeux fassent mal à personne;/ Et, si dans quelque chose ils vous ont outragé,/ Je puis vous assurer que c’est sans mon congé. Célie à Lélie (I. iii, p. 6)
[My heart, which has good reason to be astonished at your speech, does not wish my eyes to injure any one; if they have offended you in anything, I can assure you I did not intend it.] Célie to Lélie (I. 3) Gutenberg’s [eBook #6563]
Clélie lives in Trufaldin’s house. He has bought her when she was a child and is willing to sell her. She loves Lélie.
In Scene Four, Célie says
Si ton maître en ce point de constance se pique,/165Et que la vertu seule anime son dessein,/ Qu’il n’appréhende pas de soupirer en vain;/ Il a lieu d’espérer, et le fort qu’il veut prendre/ N’est pas sourd aux traités, et voudra bien se rendre. Célie à Mascarille (I. iv, pp. 8 – 9)
[If your master is really constant in his affections, and if virtue alone prompts him, let him be under no apprehension of sighing in vain: he has reason to hope, the fortress he wishes to take is not averse to capitulation, but rather inclined to surrender.] Célie to Mascarille (I. 4)
She’s about to tell Mascarille what he must do:
Je vais vous enseigner ce que vous devez faire. Clélie à Mascarille (I. iv, p. 9) I am going to teach you what you ought to do. Clélie to Mascarille (I. 4)
FIRST BLUNDER
But Lélie/Lelio joins the group. He wants to know how much he must pay:
Cessez, ô! Trufaldin, de vous inquiéter,/ C’est par mon ordre seul qu’il vous vientvisiter;/175 Et je vous l’envoyais ce serviteur fidèle,/ Vous offrir mon service, et vous parler pour elle,/ Dont je vous veux dans peu payer la liberté,/ Pourvu qu’entre nous deux le prix soit arrêté. Lélie à Trufaldin (Clélie’s owner) (I. iv, p. 9)
[Trufaldin, give yourself no farther uneasiness; it was purely in obedience to my orders that this trusty servant came to visit you; I dispatched him to offer you my services, and to speak to you concerning this young lady, whose liberty I am willing to purchase before long, provided we two can agree about the terms.] Lélie to Trufaldin (I. 4) La peste soit la bête.
[(Aside). Plague take the ass!]
We are still in Act One. Mascarille no longer wants to help Lélie, but he wants to protect his reputation as a fourbe.
Lélie needs money. So he visits Anselme, Hippolytes’ father and tells him that his Nérine is in love with him and wants to marry him. Anselme is flattered. He wants la bourse, a word he replaces with bouche (mouth): “la bouche avec la sienne.”
[So that…
(Endeavouring to take the purse). So that she dotes on you; and regards you no longer…
The purse has fallen to the ground.]
Anselme is about to leave, but turns around. He would like to buy Nérine a ring or other bagatelle. Mascarille has a ring which he will give to Nérine. Anselme will pay if the ring pleases her. Mascarille planned to return.
SECOND BLUNDER
In Scene Six, Lélie sees the purse on the ground and returns it to Anselme. Mascarille planned to take the fallen purse, but Lélie has made a mistake. Lélie says that Anselme would have lost his money, which is to his credit. Lélie doesn’t realize that the money would be used to help him marry Clélie.
Lélie asks: Qu’est-ce donc? qu’ai-je fait? [What is the matter now? What have I done?]
Mascarille tells him that he has been a sot. Le sot, en bon françois, (I. vi, p. 14) Mascarille à Lélie
[…you have acted like a fool.]
(I. 8)
275Oui, bourreau, c’était pour la captive,/ Que j’attrapais l’argent dont votre soin nous prive. Mascarille à Lélie (I. vi, p. 15)
[Yes, ninny; it was to release the captive that I was getting the money, whereof your officiousness took care to deprive us.] Mascarille to Lélie
In Scene VII, Pandolfe (Lélie’s father) tells Mascarille that he is not very pleased with his son. Mascarille agrees with Pandolfe. He’s having a hard time. Given that Pandolfe wants Lélie to marry Hippolyte (Anselme’s daughter), Pandolfe and Mascarille have different reasons to object to Lélie’s behaviour. Ironically, he tells Pandolfe that Lélie should not refuse to marry Hippolyte.
À l’heure même encor nous avons eu querelle,/ Sur l’hymen d’Hippolyte, où je le vois rebelle;/ 305 Où par l’indignité d’un refus criminel,/ Je le vois offenser le respect paternel. Mascarille à Pandolfe (I. vii, p. 16)
[Just now we had a quarrel again about his engagement with Hippolyta, which, I find he is very averse to. By a most disgraceful refusal he violates all the respect due to a father.] Mascarille to Pandolfe (I. 9)
Pandolfe is surprised. But Mascarille has the audacity to tell Pandolfe that he urges his son, Lélie, to be like his father.
He adds that reason is no longer his son guide and that Pandolfe’s wishes are betrayed. He is in love with Célie, which Pandolfe knew.
… Sachez donc que vos vœux sont trahis,/ Par l’amour qu’une esclave imprime à votre fils. Mascarille à Pandolfe(I. vii, p. 17)
[Know then that your wishes are sacrificed to the love your son has for a certain slave.] Mascarille to Pandolfe (I. 8)
Anselme is on good terms with Trufaldin. So, Mascarille suggests to Pandolfe that Anselme be asked to buy Célie, who will be transported to a foreign land. However, she will not be sold, will be given to to Lélie.
Hippolyte, Anselme’s daughter, is within hearing distance. She feels betrayed, by Mascarille , but Mascarille reassures her.
Non; mais il faut savoir que tout cet artifice/ Ne va directement qu’à vous rendre service:/385Que ce conseil adroit qui semble être sans fard,/ Jette dans le panneau l’un et l’autre vieillard:/ Que mon soin par leurs mains ne veut avoir Célie,/ Qu’à dessein de la mettre au pouvoir de Lélie:/ Et faire que l’effet de cette invention./390Dans le dernier excès portant sa passion,/ Anselme rebuté de son prétendu gendre,/ Puissetourner son choix du côté de Léandre. Mascarille à Hippolyte (I. viii, p. 19)
[No; but you must know that all this plotting was only contrived to serve you; that this cunning advice, which appeared so sincere, tends to make both old men fall into the snare; that all the pains I have taken for getting Celia into my hands, through their means, was to secure her for Lelio, and to arrange matters so that Anselmo, in the very height of passion, and finding himself disappointed of his son-in-law, might make choice of Leander.] Mascarille to Hippolyte (I. 10)
At this point, everyone thinks that Mascarille is working for a person other than Lélie. He makes believe he is working for Pandolfe and for Hippolyte. But, Mascarille continues to work for Lélie, who blunders. Lélie is his master.
THIRD BLUNDER
In Scene Nine, when Anselme tries to purchase Célie, Lélie believes that she will belong to Anselme and not to him. So, he prevents Anselme from buying Célie. She is returned to Trufaldin.
Blunders
In forthcoming acts, Lélie continues to blunder, but he is not always to blame. How could he know the purse he returned to Anselme contained money that would be used to buy Célie, who is a slave. At one point, it is suggested that the two should accorder leurs flûtes. But if this were done, we would lose our Étourdi.
I will tell about other blunders in a second post, but one should know that all ends well.
It turns out that Célie is Trufaldin’s daughter and Andrès, whom Célie once loved, is her brother. A marriage between Andrès and Célia is impossible. Andrès allows Lélie to marry his sister. Anselme had rejected Lélie. Hippolyte will marry Léandre.
Commedia dell’arte troupe I Gelosi in a late 16th-century Flemish painting (wiki2.org)
L’Étourdi (The Blunderer, or the Counterplots, c. 1653) is our next play by Molière. In fact, it is the last play we read, but although I wrote at least one post on every play, I have not always included dialogues. I will edit posts that require quotations. There will remain two short plays that are reflections on Molière’s use of the genre, by Molière and his troupe.
Once again, we have gradations within stock characters originating in the commedia dell’arte. Sbrigani, one of the zanni, is the very devil, but Mascarille, who helps Lélie, is a forgiving zanno.
Similarly, Molière’s plays feature excellent young lovers, such as the Bourgeois gentilhomme‘s Cléonte, but Lélie, L’Étourdi, spoils the work done by Mascarille. Like all the jaloux, he is his own worst enemy, but he is not a jaloux.
Lélie is a scatterbrain. Every time Mascarille succeeds in his attempts to help Lélie marry Célie, Lélie spoils the stratagem. Célie, a slave bought by Trufaldin, can be purchased, but the play features an anagnorisis, a recognition scene.
The Captain uses bravado and excessive shows of manliness to hide his true cowardly nature. Engraving by Abraham Bosse. (wiki2.org)
The Old Men: the Vecchi
The video inserted in Comments on “Monsieur de Pourceaugnac”, was about zanniin the commedia dell’arte. Zanni range from astute servants, confidantes, and laquais to unscrupuloustricksters: Sbrigani. But the video inserted below is about old men, called vecchi (a vecchio). They stand in the way of the innamorati‘s marriage. The innamorati are the commedia dell’arte‘s young lovers.
Among vecchi, we have the pedant or doctor (Il Dottore), the captain (Il Capitano), the miserly Pantalone, the miles gloriosus, (the braggart soldier and fanfaron, and the vecchio (the senex iratus [the angry old man]) Roman dramatist Plautus wrote Miles Gloriosus. Miles Gloriosus finds its origins in a lost Greek play entitled Alazṓn. The alazṓn is the name now given characters opposing the marriage of comedy’s young lovers. Characters supporting the young lovers or the eirôn. The word irony is derived from eirôn (see eirôn, wiki2.org).
In general the vecchi are portrayed as selfish, and quite prone to committing any and all of the seven deadly sins (lust, sloth, greed, pride, wrath, gluttony, envy.)
Pulcinella in 1700 (1860) by Maurice Sand, found in Masques et bouffons: comédie italienne.
Maurice Sand is the son of famous French writer George Sand. She was a prolific writer and a woman of extraordinary vitality. She and composer Frédéric Chopin were very close friends, lovers I believe.
I looked at my post this morning, but suddenly it disappeared. I had a copy of my article and reinserted it. However, it was missing a few sentences and I had not printed the images. Besides, I had no captions and older versions of the post surfaced.
The post has been rebuilt. I can’t understand what happened.
Pulcinella (Polichinelle) was a scapegoat among stock characters of the commedia dell’arte.
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