Portrait of Philip II by Titian, c. 1550 (Photo credit: Wikipedia).
Above is a portrait of Élisabeth de Valois, or Élisabeth de France (1545-1568). She was the first daughter born to Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. It had been arranged for her to marry the King of Spain’s son: Carlos. However, the Prince’s father, Philip II, would not sign the long-awaited Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis unless he could marry Élisabeth. She was 14 and died during pregnancy at the age of 23. She had shared a bedroom with Mary Queen of Scots, Marie Stuart, since childhood. Marie Stuart, who married Francis II of France, was brought up in France and is referred to as the Queen-Dauphin. She would be Queen of France after Henri II sustained a serious injury in a tournament. He died on 10 July 1559. Ambroise Paré could not save him.
After constant entreaties, the Princess confesses that she is in love with another man. This scene is called l’aveu, the confession. But she will not say whom she loves. The Prince of Clèves is a bit of a villain. He is increasingly jealous. Madame de Clèves is an aristocrat but she was brought up by a virtuous mother away from the court, or the world.She will not enter into a liaison. Her only defence is to avoid seeing the Duc de Nemours. The Prince de Clèves opposes her wish. He will not accept absences, unless they are short.
La Princesse de Clèves is a realistic novel. In no way can it be associated with lengthy romances such as Honoré d’Urfée‘s L’Astrée, a pastoral, or other anciens romans. Her novel is a petit roman. She was influenced by Marguerite de Navarre’s L’Heptaméron,[1]but her novel is otherwise a roman fondateur, a foundind novel. (See La Princesse de Clèves, Wikipedia). The novel is currently read as a series. It is preceded by La Princesse de Montpensier and followed by La Comtesse de Tende. For the last few years, La Princesse de Montpensier has attracted considerable attention. It is a Franco-German film by Bertrand Tavernier, released in 2010.
I apologize for publishing these posts slowly. I reread the novel three times. I am also older and life is teaching me new lessons. As well, my memory is now rather poor. So, I must convert to short posts or end my career as a blogger. The above is not my complete post, but nearly so.
_________________________ [1] Ellen J. Hunter-Chapco, Theory and Practice of the Petit Roman in France(1656-1683): Segrais, Du Plaisir, Madame de La Fayette, A Bibliographical Guide (Regina: University of Regina, 1977), p. 14 and elsewhere.
the Duke of Nemours, the man who falls in love with the Princess, illicit love.
the Vidame de Chartres who lies to Catherine de Médicis, the Queen.
Marie Stuart, the Princess’s friend and the future Queen of France.
Before her death, Madame de Chartres warns her daughter. Appearances are deceptive. This could be looked upon as a lieu commun, a common assumption. In his Pensées, Blaise Pascal also warns that we may be the victims of a deceitful environment. In other words, court is not as it appears. Diane de Poitiers, Duchesse de Valentinois, Henri II’s mistress had been his father’s mistress. For the Princesse de Clèves, these dramas are very real. She and the Duc de Nemours have fallen in love. She knows therefore what kind of sentiments the Prince of Clèves expected of his wife.
Elle vit alors que les sentiments qu’elle avait pour lui étaient ceux que monsieur de Clèves lui avait tant demandés ; elle trouva combien il était honteux de les avoir pour un autre que pour un mari qui les méritait. (ebooks, p 20) […she then found, that the sentiments she had for him were such as the Prince of Cleves had required of her; she perceived how shameful it was to entertain them for another man, and not for a husband that deserved them …] Wikisource [32-33])
As we enter Part Two, the Prince of Clèves tells his wife about his friend Sancerre who fell in love with a widowed woman, whose feelings started to change. She had fallen in love with another man, Etouteville (Estouteville). This tale is a long digression on the topic of disloyalty and the pain that ensues. However, we must skip the details and return to La Princesse de Clèves’ main narrative. Madame de Clèves has returned to court, only to learn from the Queen Dauphin that the Duke of Nemours is in love, that he has not told anyone the name of the person he loves, but that his love is so powerful that he has lost interest in marrying Elizabeth of England.
Mais ce que j’ai le plus d’envie de vous apprendre, ajouta−t−elle, c’est qu’il est certain que monsieur de Nemours est passionnément amoureux, et que ses amis les plus intimes, non seulement ne sont point dans sa confidence, mais qu’ils ne peuvent deviner qui est la personne qu’il aime. Cependant cet amour est assez fort pour lui faire négliger ou abandonner, pour mieux dire, les espérances d’une couronne. (eBooksgratuits, p.28) [she related to her a great many extraordinary things; but what I have the greatest desire to inform you of, added she, is that it is certain the duke de Nemours is passionately in love; and that his most intimate friends are not only not entrusted in it, but can’t so much as guess who the person is he is in love with; nevertheless this passion of his is so strong as to make him neglect, or to speak more properly, abandon the hopes of a crown. (Wikisource [48])
Her husband has spoken, so Madame de Clèves remains at Court, a prey to dangers. Court is hell because she is the woman the Duke loves to the point of losing interest in Elizabeth I of England. By the Duke’s standards, Madame de Clèves may be at fault. But what would life be if she gave in? Allow me to quote my former classmate and colleague, Dr Ellen Hunter-Chapco.
Madame de La Fayette invite son publiclecteur à une remise en question du rôle de la femme mariée tel tel qu’élaboré dans la littérature prescriptive des années 1630 et 1640, et, aussi, à une réflexion sur le décalage entrele statut officiel du mariage et les attentes des femmes de son époque. [Madame de La Fayette invites her readers to reassess the role of the ill-wedded woman as it develops in the prescriptive literature of the 1630s and 1640s, and, also, to reflect on the discrepancybetween the official status of marriage and the expectations of the women of her time.] [1]
See footnote [1]
THE LETTER
I must end this post. I will discuss l’aveu (the confession) in another post. Moreover, I have left out the tale of Ann Boylen, Elizabeth I of England’s mother. It is a digression and it is not. The letter episode is central. The Queen-Dauphin gives the Princess a letter which, reportedly, fell out of the Duke’s pocket after un jeu de paume, tennis. The letter has been written by a woman who has been betrayed. The grief that arises in the Princess’ mind is the worst of torment.
Jamais affliction n’a été si piquante et si vive : il lui semblait que ce qui faisait l’aigreur de cette affliction était ce qui s’était passé dans cette journée, et que, si monsieur de Nemours n’eût point eu lieu de croire qu’elle l’aimait, elle ne se fût pas souciée qu’il en eût aimé une autre. Mais elle se trompait elle−même ; et ce mal qu’elle trouvait si insupportable était la jalousie avec toutes les horreurs dont elle peut être accompagnée. Elle voyait par cette lettre que monsieur de Nemours avait une galanterie depuis longtemps. (eBooksgratuits, p.38) [Never was affliction so cutting as hers; she imputed the piercingness of it to what had happened that day; and believed that if the duke de Nemours had not had ground to believe she loved him, she should not have cared whether he loved another or not: but she deceived herself; and this evil which she found so insupportable was jealousy, with all the horrors it can be accompanied with. This letter discovered to her a piece of gallantry the duke de Nemours had been long engaged in.] (Wikisource [68])
The following morning, the Duke goes to see the Princess. The letter did not fall out of his pocket. The letter was written to the Vidame de Chartres who has come to him because the Queen, Catherine de’ Medici, would like him to be her confidant if he is not engaged in a galanterie, an affair. Earlier, he has lied to the Queen.
C’est parce que je vous parle sincèrement, Madame, lui répondis−je, que je n’ai rien à vous dire ; et je jure à Votre Majesté, avec tout le respect que je lui dois, que je n’ai d’attachement pour aucune femme de la cour. (eBooksgratuits, p. 41) [It is, madam, answered I, because I deal sincerely, that I have nothing more to say; and I swear to your majesty, with all the respect I owe you, that I have no engagement with any woman of the court.] (Wikisource [75])
Madame de Clèves will not speak with the Duke. She thinks that she has been betrayed. Consequently, the Duke of Nemours asks the Prince de Clèves to lead him to Madame de Clèves’ room. The Princess is so broken that she can barely believe the Duke is not the recipient of this letter. She has experienced jealousy and, by the same token, she has discovered that she loved. She and the Duke must rewrite the letter, so no one recognizes the handwriting. These are happy moments, but they cannot last.
_____________________________ [1]Homo narrativus – La cour et le cabinet : l’espace-femme dans La Princesse de Montpensier, La Princesse de Clèves et La Comtesse de Tende de Madame de La Fayette – Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée (openedition.org)
Madame de La Fayette, gravure de 1840 d’après Desrochers.
Molière’s La Comtesse d’Escarbagnas was first performed in February 1672 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where royal divertissements often took place. (See toumoliere.net) Its first public performance took place on 8 July 1672 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The play’s source is Greek author Theophrastus (Characters), who is also one of Molière’s sources for Les Fâcheux. Théophraste wrote portraits.
The date shown in this image is inaccurate. It should read February 1672. (toumoliere.net)
Le Ballet des ballets
The nine scenes of our current play were to constitute a one-act comedy of manners, followed by a pastorale, now lost, and an intermède from Psyché. The divertissement would therefore be a comédie-ballet entitled Le Ballet des ballets. It was written by Molière, composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and choreographed by Pierre Beauchamp. In 1671, Molière had fallen out with Lully. When the play was performed for the public, on 8 July 1672, the pastoral was replaced by Molière’s Le Mariage forcé, to which intermèdes were added. These are included at the foot of this post.
LA COMTESSE D’ESCARBAGNAS.
LE COMTE, son fils (her son).
LE VICOMTE, amant de (in love with) Julie.
JULIE, amante du Vicomte.
MONSIEUR TIBAUDIER, conseiller, amant de la Comtesse.
MONSIEUR HARPIN, receveur des tailles (tax farmer), autre amant de la Comtesse.
MONSIEUR BOBINET, précepteur de (tutor to) Monsieur le Comte.
ANDRÉE, suivante de la Comtesse.
JEANNOT, laquais de Monsieur Tibaudier.
CRIQUET, laquais de la Comtesse.
Most of Scene One is a conversation between Julie and le Vicomte, the comedy’s young lovers. First, the Vicomte tells Julie that he bumped into a fâcheux, which delayed him. He then goes on to say that he doesn’t like making believe he is in love with the Comtesse. He laments his role. It is a “comedy.”
Que cette feinte où je me force n’étant que pour vous plaire, j’ai lieu de ne vouloir en souffrir la contrainte, que devant les yeux qui s’en divertissent. Que j’évite le tête-à-tête avec cette comtesse ridicule, dont vous m’embarrassez, et en un mot que ne venant ici que pour vous, j’ai toutes les raisons du monde d’attendre que vous y soyez. Le Vicomte à Julie (Scène première)
[[…] I am induced not to wish to suffer the annoyance of it, except in the presence of her who is amused by it; that I avoid the tête-à-tête with this ridiculous Countess, with whom you hamper me; and, in one word that, coming here but for you, I have all the reasons possible to await until you are here.] The Vicount Julie (Scene One, p. 64)
The Comtesse is besotted with rank and has just returned from Paris where she was surrounded by aristocrats. This, no doubt, has further consolidated her conviction that aristocrats are personnes de qualité. Julie reports to the Vicomte, the man she loves, that glittering Paris has besotted the Comtesse.
Notre comtesse d’Escarbagnas, avec son perpétuel entêtement de qualité, est un aussi bon personnage qu’on en puisse mettre sur le théâtre. Le petit voyage qu’elle a fait à Paris, l’a ramenée dans Angoulême, plus achevée qu’elle n’était. L’approche de l’air de la cour a donné à son ridicule de nouveaux agréments, et sa sottise tous les jours ne fait que croître et embellir. Julie au Vicomte (Scène première)
[Our Countess of Escarbagnas, with her perpetual hobby of quality, is as good a character as one could put on the stage. The little excursion which she has made to Paris has brought her back to Angoulême more perfect than she was. The proximity of the court-air has given new charms to her absurdity, and her silliness does but grow and become more beautiful every day.] Julie to the Viscount (Scene One, p. 65)
We know why the Vicomte has entered the fray. How can two bourgeois compete with a person of rank? In fact, our bourgeois are somewhat tired of courting the Comtesse. It is hoped that a petite comédie, le Vicomte as suitor, will make Monsieur Tibaudier and Monsieur Harpin press their suit. Le Vicomte, a real aristocrat is about to treat the Comtesse with a comédie. Le Vicomte‘s bourgeois rivals have been invited to attend.
SCENE TWO
We meet the Comtesse in Scene Two. She has caught a glimpse of the Vicomte leaving through a back door. She is alarmed, but Julie, her suivante, reassures her:
Non, Madame, et il a voulu témoigner par là qu’il est tout entier à vos charmes. Julie à la Comtesse (Scène II)
[No, Madam, and by this he wished to show that he is entirely to your charms.] Julie to the Countess (Scene Two, p. 67)
The Comtesse‘s haughty behaviour is mostly objectionable. She scolds Andrée for using the word armoire, instead of garde-robe (closet). She scolds both Andrée and Criquet, for not knowing the word soucoupe, saucer. In fact, Criquet doesn’t know the word écuyer (equerry). We also have the matter of wax candles. They may have disappeared. Andrée has suif candles, tallow candles. Finally, Andrée gets so nervous that she drops a glass sitting on a tray and breaks it. The image at the top of this post shows Andrée dropping a glass. However, SceneTwo contains an extremely revealing conversation between la Comtesse and Julie, which will be discussed.
SCENE THREE
Before he arrives, Monsieur Thibaudier, one of the Comtesse‘s bourgeois suitors has Jeannot take pears to the Comtesse, to which a note is attached. The note will be read by the Vicomte to everyone in Scene Four. However, the Comtesse surprises us. As Scene Three is closing, she praises Monsieur Tibaudier:
Ce qui me plaît de ce Monsieur, c’est qu’il sait vivre avec les personnes de ma qualité, et qu’il est fort respectueux. La Comtesse à tous (Scene III)
[What pleases me in this Mr. Tibaudier is, that he knows how to behave with persons of my rank, and that he is very respectful.] The Countess to all (Scene Fourteen, p. 74)
SCENE FOUR
In Scene Four, le Vicomte tells the Comtesse that the comedians are ready and that, in a quarter of an hour, they should all leave for the large room, la salle. The Countess warns that she does not want une cohue, a crush.
Je ne veux point de cohue au moins. Que l’on dise à mon suisse qu’il ne laisse entrer personne. La Comtesse au Vicomte (Scène IV)
I will have no crush at least. (To Criquet). Tell my porter to let no one enter. The Countess to the Viscount (Scene Fifteen, p. 74)
So the Vicomte, who is treating la Comtesse to a comedy, is ready to cancel the performance. One cannot let in the whole town, but spectators are needed.
En ce cas, Madame, je vous déclare que je renonce à la comédie, et je n’y saurais prendre de plaisir, lorsque la compagnie n’est pas nombreuse. Croyez-moi, si vous voulez vous bien divertir, qu’on dise à vos gens de laisser entrer toute la ville. Le Vicomte à la Comtesse (Scène IV)
[In this case, Madam, I must inform you that I shall abandon the comedy; and I cannot take any pleasure in it, if the company be not numerous. Believe me, that if you wish to amuse yourself well, you should tell your people to let the whole town come in.] The Viscount to the Countess (Scene Fifteen, p. 74)
The Viscount then reads the note Monsieur Tibaudier has sent with the pears. Monsieur Tibaudier has made it clear that the Comtesse has been cruel, so we expect the Comtesse to be to react angrily, but she doesn’t. Some académicien might find fault with the note, but she likes it.
Il y a peut-être quelque mot qui n’est pas de l’Académie; mais j’y remarque un certain respect qui me plaît beaucoup. La Comtesse à tous (Scène II)
[There may, perhaps, be some word in it which does not belong to the Academy; but I can read a certain respect in it which pleases me much.] The Countess to all (Scene Fifteen.75)
Julie says:
Vous avez raison, Madame, et Monsieur le Vicomte dût-il s’en offenser, j’aimerais un homme qui m’écrirait comme cela. Julie à la Comtesse (Scene IV)
[You are quite right, Madam, and, at the risk of offending the Viscount, I should love a man who wrote to me in this way.] Julie to the Countess (Scene Fifteen, p. 75)
SCENE FIVE
In Scene Five, the Comtesse welcomes Monsieur Tibaudier rather warmly and the Viscount reads aloud Monsieur Tibaudier’s poems. They are so lovely that the Viscount says to himself that he has been outranked by Monsieur Thibaudier.
The Comtesse enjoys being courted by a Viscount, which we have seen in Scene Two, but she likes Monsieur Tibaudier’s note.
Self-interest and Jealousy
Scene Two is most revealing. It points to the organising principles of the play. Self-interest informs the behaviour of the Countess, and so does vanity. She may first appear obsessed with rank, but she is guided by vanity, and fear of losing the Comtesse‘s affection keeps her suitors vying for her affection.
Scene Two: Julie wonders how, having just travelled to Paris, the Comtesse can manage lowly Angoulême. She has been at Court where she met le beau monde (celebrities). Can she return to the company of a Counsellor at Law, Monsieur Tibaudier, and a tax farmer, Monsieur Harpin. They do not have a title.
Je m’étonne, Madame, que de tous ces grands noms que je devine, vous ayez pu redescendre à un monsieur Tibaudier, le conseiller, et à un monsieur Harpin, le receveur des tailles. La chute est grande, je vous l’avoue. Car pour Monsieur votre vicomte, quoique vicomte de province, c’est toujours un vicomte, et il peut faire un voyage à Paris, s’il n’en a point fait; mais un conseiller, et un receveur, sont des amants un peu bien minces [thin], pour une grande comtesse comme vous. Julie à la Comtesse (Scène II)
[I am surprised, Madam, that after all these great names at which I guess, you have been able to come down again to a Mr. Tibaudier, a counsellor at law, and to a Mr. Harpin, a receiver of taxes. The fall is great, I confess; for, as for your Viscount, though but a country Viscount, he is at any rate a Viscount, and may make a journey to Paris, if he have not already done so: but a counsellor at law, and a receiver of taxes are somewhat inferior lovers for a grand Countess like you.] Julie to the Countess (Scene Eleven, p. 71)
There can be no doubt that the Comtesse inhabits the world La Rochefoucauld described. Self-interest makes it necessary for her to accommodate her bourgeois suitors who must be rivals.
Ce sont gens qu’on ménage dans les provinces pour le besoin qu’on en peut avoir, ils servent au moins à remplir les vides de la galanterie, à faire nombre de soupirants; et il est bon, Madame, de ne pas laisser un amant seul maître du terrain, de peur que faute de rivaux, son amour ne s’endorme sur trop de confiance. La Comtesse à Julie (Scène II)
[They are people whom we conciliate in the provinces for the need we may have of them; they serve at least to fill up the vacancies of gallantry; to increase the number of suitors; and it is well, Madam, not to let one lover be sole master, for fear, that, failing rivals, his love may go to sleep through too much confidence.] The Countess to Julie (Scene Eleven, p. 72)
The Countess is the widowed mother of three sons, one of whom, le Comte, still has a tutor, Monsieur Bobinet. In Scene Eight, Monsieur Harpin, who enters the stage tardily and rather tempestuously, intimates that he has been a donneur. Might the Countess need money and have accepted money?
Monsieur Tibaudier en use comme il lui plaît, je ne sais pas de quelle façon monsieur Tibaudier a été avec vous, mais Monsieur Tibaudier n’est pas un exemple pour moi, et je ne suis point d’humeur à payer les violons pour faire danser les autres. Monsieur Harpin (Scène VIII)
[Mr. Tibaudier behaves as it pleases him: I do not know on what footing he is with you; but Mr. Tibaudier is not an example for me, and I am not disposed to pay the violins to let others dance.] Monsieur Harpin (Scene Twenty-One, p. 81)
Her relationships with Messieurs Tibaudier and Harpin were waning. Hence a recourse to jealousy. Monsieur Tibaudier presses his suit successfully. His verses and true love eliminate le Vicomte.
SCENE VI
Monsieur Bobinet has arrived. He is the tutor to the Countess’ son, the Count. He reports on the Count and also brings news of the Comtesse’s two other sons:
Comment se portent mes deux autres fils, le Marquis et le Commandeur? La Comtesse à Monsieur Bobinet (Scene VI)
How fare my two other sons, the Marquis and the Commander? The Countess to Monsieur Bobinet (Scene Seventeen, p. 77)
She wants to know where the Count is and what he is doing. Monsieur Bobinet replies that the Count is in her “beautiful apartment with the alcove” working.
Il compose un thème, Madame, que je viens de lui dicter, sur une épître de Cicéron. La Comtesse à monsieur Bobinet (Scene VI)
He is composing an exercise, Madam, which I have just dictated to him upon an epistle of Cicero. La Comtesse à monsieur Bobinet (Scene Seventeen, p.77)
SCENE VII
Given that the Vicomte has been more or less eliminated, the Comtesse wishes for her son to greet Monsieur Tibaudier. Monsieur Tibaudier is delighted, thereby pleasing the Comtesse. She is a Comtesse, which is rank, but this comtesse thrives on being admired.
Je suis ravi, Madame, que vous me concédiez la grâce d’embrasser Monsieur le Comte votre fils. On ne peut pas aimer le tronc, qu’on n’aime aussi les branches. Monsieur Tibaudier à la Comtesse (Scène VII)
[I am enchanted, Madam, that you concede me the favour of embracing the Count, your son. One cannot love the trunk without also loving the branches.] Monsieur Tibaudier to the Countess (Scene Fourteen, p. 78)
We also learn that although she has three grown (or almost) sons, she still looks young.
Hélas! quand je le fis, j’étais si jeune que je me jouais encore avec une poupée. La Comtesse à Julie (Scène VII) [Alas! when he was born, I was so young that I was still playing with a doll.] The Countessto Julie (Scene Eighteen, p. 78)
She is floating in mid-air when we hear that the comedians are ready.
Les comédiens envoient dire qu’ils sont tout prêts. Criquet (Scène VII)
The actors send me to say that they are quite ready. Criquet (Scene Twenty, p. 79)
Le Vicomte reflects that:
Il est nécessaire de dire, que cette comédie n’a été faite que pour lier ensemble les différents morceaux de musique, et de danse, dont on a voulu composer ce divertissement, et que… Le Vicomte à tous (Scene VII) [It is necessary to say that this comedy has been written only to connect together the different pieces of music and dancing of which they wished to compose this entertainment, and that…] The Viscount to all (Scene Twenty, p. 79)
Is the dramatist within his play and is this play a théâtre dans le théâtre? I believe he is.
SCENE EIGHT
Monsieur Harpin joins everyone when the comedy has already started. He is a fâcheux.
Parbleu la chose est belle, et je me réjouis de voir ce que je vois. Monsieur Harpin (Scène VIII)
Zounds! that is a pretty set out, and I rejoice to see what I do see. Monsieur Harpin (Scene Twenty-One, p. 79)
Eh têtebleu la véritable comédie qui se fait ici, c’est celle que vous jouez, et si je vous trouble, c’est de quoi je me soucie peu. Monsieur Harpin (Scène VIII)
Eh! the deuce! The real comedy which is performed here, is played by you; and if I do trouble you, I care very little about it. Monsieur Harpin (Scene Twenty-One, p. 80)
Monsieur Harpin thinks the Vicomte is his rival.
Eh ventrebleu, s’il y a ici quelque chose de vilain, ce ne sont point mes jurements, ce sont vos actions, et il vaudrait bien mieux que vous jurassiez, vous, la tête, la mort et la sang, que de faire ce que vous faites avec Monsieur le Vicomte. Monsieur Harpin (Scène VIII)
Eh! Odds bobs! if there be anything nasty, it is not my swearing, but your goings on; and it would be better for you to swear, heads, ‘s deaths, and blood, than to do what you are doing with the Viscount. Monsieur Harpin (Scene Twenty-One, p. 80)
The Vicomte does not understand what is going on.
Je ne sais pas, Monsieur le Receveur, de quoi vous vous plaignez, et si... Le Vicomte à Monsieur Harpin (Scene VIII)
I do not know, Mr. Receiver, of what you have to complain; and if… The Viscount to Monsieur Harpin (Scene Twenty-One, p. 80)
And the Comtesse doesn’t know why Monsieur Harpin speaks to everyone.
Quand on a des chagrins jaloux, on n’en use point de la sorte, et l’on vient doucement se plaindre à la personne que l’on aime. La Comtesse à Monsieur Harpin (Scene VIII)
When one has jealous cares, one ought not to behave in this manner; but to come and complain gently to the person one loves. The Countess to Monsieur Harpin (Scene Twenty-One, p. 80)
Contrary to Monsieur Tibaudier, Monsieur Harpin has not gone to visit the Countess and complain. He has chosen instead to accuse the Viscount and to make a mockery of himself. In fact, Monsieur Harpin becomes quite offensive. Once again, he alludes to giving/receiving money.
Je veux dire, que je ne trouve point étrange que vous vous rendiez au mérite de Monsieur le Vicomte, vous n’êtes pas la première femme qui joue dans le monde de ces sortes de caractères, et qui ait auprès d’elle un Monsieur le Receveur, dont on lui voit trahir, et la passion, et la bourse pour le premier venu qui lui donnera dans la vue ; mais ne trouvez point étrange aussi que je ne sois point la dupe d’une infidélité si ordinaire aux coquettes du temps, et que je vienne vous assurer devant bonne compagnie, que je romps commerce avec vous, et que Monsieur le Receveur ne sera plus pour vous Monsieur le Donneur. Monsieur Harpin (Scene VIII)
[I mean that I find nothing strange in it that you should give way to the merits of the Viscount; you are not the first woman who plays that sort of character in society, and who has a Receiver after her, whose affection and purse one finds her betray for the first comer who suits her views. But do not think it strange that I am not the dupe of an infidelity so common to the coquettes of the present day, and that I come to assure you before decent company, that I break off all connection with you, and that Mr. Receiver shall no longer be Mr.Giver to you.] Monsieur Harpin (Scene Twenty-0ne, p. 81)
We know already that in Scene Nine, la scène dernière, le vicomte and Julie will learn that their families will allow them to marry and that le Vicomte will tell the Comtesse to marry Monsieur Tibaudier. She will resist a little, but ask Monsieur Tibaudier to marry her.
C’est sans vous offenser, Madame, et les comédies veulent de ces sortes de choses. Le Vicomte à la Comtesse (Scène dernière)
It was meant without offence, Madam; comedies require these sorts of things. The Viscount to the Countess (Scene Twenty-Two, p. 81)
Julie has been fully “schooled.”
Je vous avoue, madame, qu’il y a merveilleusement à profiter de tout ce que vous dites, c’est une école que votre conversation, et j’y viens tous les jours attraper quelque chose. Julie à la Comtesse (Scène II)
[I confess to you, Madam, that there is a marvellous deal to learn by what you say; your conversation is a school, and every day I get hold of something in it.] Julie to the Countess (Scene Fourteen, p. 72)
Conclusion
In this comedy, jealousy is used to overcome obstacles to the marriage of the Comtesse. Monsieur Tibaudier presses his suit when a Vicomte is courting the Comtesse. On the other hand, Monsieur Harpin becomes jealous and his own worst enemy. This obstacle is to the Comtesse‘s marriage is mostly vanity on her part, which can translate as rank, but not necessarily. The Comtesse acts in her best interest. In 17th-century France, the bourgeoisie was growing and many bourgeois were rich.
However, we have a doubling or two couples. Le Vicomte and Julie face a more traditional obstacle. His father and her brothers oppose the Vicomte‘s marriage to Julie. A billet is delivered to the Vicomte. He may marry Julie. Comedy demands a fortunate péripétie, or turn of events. La Comtesse d’Escarbagnas is an “all’s that ends well” comedy. But first, all will watch the end of the comedy within the comedy. LeBallet des ballets was a divertissement.
I have read Lucien Dallenbach’s Récit spéculaire and I am reading Georges Forestier’s Le Théâtre dans le Théâtre. Years ago, I read Jean Rousset’s books. According to Georges Forestier, the embedded (enchâssé-e) element is the missing Pastoral, situated between Scenes Eight and Nine (p. 353).[1] I would call other allusions to comedy “self-referential.”
Love to everyone 💕 ____________________ [1] Georges Forestier Le Théâtre dans le théâtre (Genève: Droz, 1966), p. 353.
Antoine Boësset — À la fin cette bergère…
Claire Lefilliâtre (soprano), Bruno Le Levreur, Jean-François Novelli, Arnaud Marzorati Le Poème Harmonique — Vincent Dumestre
La Comtesse d’Escarbagnas, le Mariage forcé – Marc Antoine Charpentier La Simphonie du Marais
Lyrics: Le Mariage forcé and added interludes
Vois-tu ce petit trait de feinte que voilà ? Ce fleuret ? ces coupés courant après la belle? Lisandre (I. iii)
[Do you observe that little touch of a faint? This fleuret?
The coupés running after the fair one.]
Lisandre (I. 5)
Molière’s Les Fâcheux, a three-act and verse comédie-ballet, was first performed at Vaux-le-Vicomte, Nicolas Fouquet‘s château, on 17 August 1661. It heralded King Louis XIV’s divertissements, which usually took place in a château outside Paris, such as the château at Saint-German-en-Laye. After Vaux-le-Vicomte’s performance of Les Fâcheux, Louis XIV congratulated Molière, but suggested that a hunter, le Marquis de Soyecourt, be added to the bores. The role had been added by 25 August 1661, when Les Fâcheux was performed at Fontainebleau. On 4 November 1661, Les Fâcheux was performed in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.
In comédies-ballets, one also names the composer, Lully, and the choreographer, Beauchamp. Here, Molière was the lyricist. As a comédie-ballet, Les Fâcheux contains a Prologue that precedes Act One and features a naiad in a shell. Moreover, interludes, entrées de ballet, separate Acts One and Two (two), Acts Two and Three (four), and two entrées de ballet follow Act Three.
Jealousy
Les Fâcheux continues the theme of jealousy, introduced in Dom Garcie de Navarre ou le Prince jaloux. In Les Fâcheux, it is a debate mostly which takes place in Act Two, Scene Four, a scene I chose to discuss separately. It should be noted, however, that Dom Garcie de Navarre ou le Prince jaloux was a comédie héroïque, but that Les Fâcheux, is a form of divertissement, not a comédie héroïque.Form imposes a different treatment of a similar subject, such as jealousy, but jealousy is jealousy. In Act Two, Scene Four Éraste, our young lover, will be asked to hear both sides of a debate on whether jealousy is a sign of love. This was a question d’amour. These were plentiful and were often discussed, rather lightheartedly, in the salons of seventeenth-century France. Questions d’amour are associated with préciosité. In this scene, the fâcheuses are Climène and Orante.
Horace (Google)
Sources
Horace
Theophrastus
I named Horace’s Satires as the play’s main source, adding that Les Fâcheux was also rooted in French and contemporary sources: Mathurin Régnier, Paul Scarron, and others. But The Bores also borrows from Theophrastus, as does Jean de La Bruyère‘s Caractères.[1] French classicisme has Greek and Roman ancestry. On the cover of the third edition of Jean de La Bruyère’s Caractères, we can read that some of La Bruyère’s caractères are a translation of Theophrastus’ Greek characters, and others “de ce siècle,” living caractères. The seventeenth-century had its moralistes. In fact, Le Misanthropecontains a portrait scene. Someone drops a name and Célimène has a portrait ready.
Moreover, as I reread Les Fâcheux, a word leaped off the page: raison, as in René Descartes. Éraste says to La Montagne:
215J’ai de l’amour encor pour la belle inhumaine,/ Et ma raison voudrait, que j’eusse de la haine! Éraste to La Montagne (I. iv)
[Ah, I feel myself greatly disturbed ! I still love the cruel fair one, and my reason bids me hate her.] Éraste to La Montagne (I. 7)
Does reason militate against love? Descartes championed reason, but he wrote Les Passions de l’âme, and was opposed by several figures in seventeenth-century France. We need only name Blaise Pascal (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650). Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point. (See merriam-webster.com.)
Let us run back to Vaux-le-Vicomte. Les Fâcheux was created, rehearsed and performed in fifteen days.
Molière wrote that
« Jamais entreprise au théâtre ne fut si précipitée que celle-ci, et c’est une chose, je crois, toute nouvelle qu’une comédie ait été conçue, faite, apprise et représentée en quinze jours. » Molière,Avertissement
[Never was any Dramatic performance so hurried as this; and it is a thing, I believe, quite new, to have a comedy planned, finished, got up, and played in a fortnight.][Preface]
ERASTE, in love with ORPHISE, ORPHISE, in love with ERASTE DAMIS, guardian to Orphise, LA MONTAGNE, servant to Eraste, L’EPINE, servant to Damis.
ALCIDOR,
DORANTE,
LISANDRE/LYSANDRE,
CARITIDES,
ALCANDRE,
ORMIN,
ALCIPPE,
FILINTE,
ORANTE,
CLIMÈNE. LA RIVIERE and Two COMRADES.
The Scene is at PARIS.
ACT ONE
In Act One, La Montagne is helping Éraste dress properly. For instance, he cleans Éraste’s hat, drops it, and must clean again. These are comedic routines called lazzi.
Valets and other servants help young couples overcome obstacles to their marriage. They are zanni. For instance, Éraste tells La Montagne that of all the bores, the worst is Damis, Orchise’s uncle and guardian:
Mais de tous mes fâcheux, le plus fâcheux encore,/ C’est Damis, le tuteur de celle que j’adore;/ Qui rompt ce qu’à mes vœux elle donne d’espoir,/ Et fait qu’en sa présence elle n’ose me voir./115Je crains d’avoir déjà passé l’heure promise,/ Et c’est dans cette allée, où devait être Orphise. Éraste à La Montagne (I. i) [But of all my bores the greatest is Damis, guardian of her whom I adore, who dashes every hope she raises, and has brought it to pass that she dares not see me in his presence. I fear I have already passed the hour agreed on; it is in this walk that Orphise promised to be.] Éraste to La Montagne (I. 1)
Moreover, Éraste turns to La Montagne to ask him whether Orphise loves him. La Montagne calls Orphise’s love “un amour confirmé.”
125 Mais, tout de bon, crois-tu que je sois d’elle aimé? Éraste à La Montagne (I. i)
[But, in good earnest, do you believe that I am loved by her?] Éraste to La Montagne (I. 1) Quoi? vous doutez encor d’un amour confirmé… La Montagne à Éraste (I. i)
[What ! do you still doubt a love that has been tried?] La Montagne to Éraste (I. 1)
La Montagne is doing what valets do, but Éraste wishes to leave as quickly as possible, which makes La Montagne a bore. Being a bore is, to a large extent, a matter of timing and, therefore, relative. At the end of Scene One Éraste says:
150Au diantre tout valet qui vous est sur les bras;/ Qui fatigue son maître, et ne fait que déplaire/ À force de vouloir trancher du nécessaire. Éraste à La Montagne (I. i)
[The deuce take every servant who dogs your heels, who wearies his master, and does nothing but annoy him by wanting to set himself up as indispensable!] Éraste a La Montagne (I. 1)
However, as soon as Éraste leaves, so does La Montagne who sees, as Éraste does, that Alcidor is holding Orphise’s hand. Orphise waves to Éraste and tends turns her head in another direction. Éraste is miffed. Orphise has ignored him. Does she or does she not love Éraste?
153Mais vois-je pas Orphise? Oui c’est elle, qui vient./ Où va-t-elle si vite, et quel homme la tient? (Il la salue comme elle passe, et elle en passant détourne la tête) Éraste à La Montagne (I. ii)
[But do I not see Orphise? Yes, it is she who comes. Whither goeth she so fast, and what man is that who holds her hand?] Éraste to La Montagne (I. 2, p. 59)
He bows to her as she passes, and she turns her head another way.
155Quoi me voir en ces lieux devant elle paraître,/ Et passer en feignant de ne me pas connaître/ Que croire? Qu’en dis-tu? Parle donc, si tu veux. Éraste à La Montagne (I. ii)
[What! She sees me here before her, and she passes by, pretending not to know me! What can I think? What do you say? Speak if you will.] Éraste to La Montagne who will not speak for fear of being a bore. (1. 3, p. 59)
Éraste suffers :
Et c’est l’ [fâcheux] être en effet que de ne me rien dire/ 160 Dans les extrémités d’un si cruel martyre./ Fais donc quelque réponse à mon cœur abattu:/ Que dois-je présumer? Parle, qu’en penses-tu? Dis-moi ton sentiment. Éraste à La Montagne (I. ii)
[And so indeed you do, if you say nothing to me whilst I suffer such a cruel martyrdom. Give me some answer; I am quite dejected. What am I to think? Say, what do you think of it? Tell me your opinion.] Éraste à La Montagne (I. 3)
165Peste l’impertinent! Va-t’en suivre leurs pas;/ Vois ce qu’ils deviendront, et ne les quitte pas. Éraste à La Montagne (I. ii)
[Hang the impertinent fellow! Go and follow them; see what becomes of them, and do not quit them.] Éraste to La Montagne (I. 3)
The above quotations suggest inquiétude in Éraste who loves Orphise, and matters get worse, but remember that this is a divertissement.
213Monsieur, Orphise est seule, et vient de ce côté. La Montagne à Éraste (I. iv)
[Sir, Orphise is alone, and is coming this way.] La Montagne to Éraste (I. 7)
Ah d’un trouble bien grand je me sens agité!/215J’ai de l’amour encor pour la belle inhumaine,/ Et ma raison voudrait, que j’eusse de la haine! Éraste à La Montagne (I. iv)
[Ah, I feel myself greatly disturbed ! I still love the cruel fair one, and my reason bids me hate her.] Éraste to La Montagne (I. 7)
Why would “reason” demand that Éraste hate Orphise whom he loves? When, finally, Éraste catches up to Orphise, she tells him that she was pursued by a bore and laughs. Yes, a man held her hand, but she was trying to rid herself of a bore and find Éraste.
Certes il en faut rire, et confesser ici,/Que vous êtes bien fou, de vous troubler ainsi./ L’homme, dont vous parlez, loin qu’il puisse me plaire,/ 240 Est un homme fâcheux dont j’ai su me défaire;/ Un de ces importuns, et sots officieux, /Qui ne sauraient souffrir qu’on soit seule en des lieux;/ Et viennent aussitôt, avec un doux langage,/Vous donner une main, contre qui l’on enrage./ 245 J’ai feint de m’en aller, pour cacher mon dessein;/ Et, jusqu’à mon carrosse, il m’a prêté la main./ Je m’en suis promptement défaite de la sorte,/ Et j’ai pour vous trouver, rentré par l’autre porte. Orphise à Éraste (I. v)
[I really must laugh, and declare that you are very silly to trouble yourself thus. The man of whom you speak, far from being able to please me, is a bore of whom I have succeeded in ridding myself; one of those troublesome and officious fools who will not suffer a lady to be anywhere alone, but come up at once, with soft speech, offering you a hand against which one rebels. I pretended to be going away, in order to hide my intention, and he gave me his hand as far as my coach. I soon got rid of him in that way, and returned by another gate to come to you.] Orphise to Éraste (I. 8)
When he learns the truth, Éraste believes Orchise and asks her not to be angry. Had he offended her, she would not laugh and, if he were jealous, a simple explanation would not have appeased him.
Ah ne vous fâchez pas, trop sévère beauté./ 255 Je veux croire en aveugle, étant sous votre empire,/ Tout ce que vous aurez la bonté de me dire./ Trompez, si vous voulez, un malheureux amant; /J’aurai pour vous respect, jusques au monument.[tomb]/ Maltraitez mon amour, refusez-moi le vôtre;/ 260 Exposez à mes yeux le triomphe d’un autre,/ Oui je souffrirai tout de vos divins appas,/ J’en mourrai, mais enfin je ne m’en plaindrai pas. Éraste à Orphise (I. v)
[Ah! too severe beauty, do not be angry. Being under your sway, I will implicitly believe whatever you are kind enough to tell me. Deceive your hapless lover if you will; I shall respect you to the last gasp. Abuse my love, refuse me yours, show me another lover triumphant; yes, I will endure everything for your divine charms. I shall die, but even then I will not complain.] Éraste à Orphise (I. 8)
In Act One, Scene Three, Lisandre, pictured at the top of this post, is a bore who sings and dances. Alhough Éraste appreciates Lisandre, the meeting is brief. In Scene Six, Alcandre asks Éraste to help him. He has been threatened. Éraste refuses to help because he does not want to oppose the king who frowns upon duels, but violence is suggested and we have learned that Éraste was a soldier before he was courtier:
275Je ne veux point ici faire le capitan;/ Mais on m’a vu soldat, avant que courtisan/ J’ai servi quatorze ans, et je crois être en passe,/ De pouvoir d’un tel pas me tirer avec grâce,/ Et de ne craindre point, qu’à quelque lâcheté/ Le refus de mon bras me puisse être imputé. Éraste à Alcandre (I. vi)
[I have no desire to boast, but I was a soldier before I was a courtier. I served fourteen years, and I think I may fairly refrain from such a step with propriety, not fearing that the refusal of my sword can be imputed to cowardice. A duel puts one in an awkward light, and our King is not the mere shadow of a monarch.] Éraste to Alcandre (I. 10)
Moreover, in Scene One, Éraste mentions Damis, Orchise’s uncle and guardian whom he fears. Of all the bores separating Éraste and Orchise, Damis is the worst.
So, from the very beginning of the play, we know that the blocking-character of The Bores is Damis, Orchise’s uncle and guardian.Violence has been suggested and jealousy, but neither Orchise nor Éraste are prone to jealousy. She laughs when he asks her about the man who held her hand. A short explanation suffice and he apologizes for having suggesting that the man who held Orchise may be a rival. In Act Two, Scene Four, she watches Éraste adjudicating a debate. Is jealousy a sign of love?
THE BORES
In Act One, the bores are Lisandre (Scene Three) and Alcandre (Scene Six). Although Éraste appreciates Lisandre, he hasn’t much time for him. As for Alcandre he is asking for help that would jeopardize Éraste’s relationship with the King.
La Montagne is also a bore, but only inasmuch as Éraste is in a hurry. Damis, Orphise’s uncle and guardian is also a bore (Scene One)
ACT TWO
In Act Two, Scene Six, we meet Dorante, a hunter, who reports that a gun was used during a chase. This scene was added between the Vaux representation and the performance at Fontainebleau, as requested by the King himself.
But the love story continues. After she tells him who the man was, Éraste asks her not to be angry. He loves her, so that he will not complain.
But after Act II, Scene iv, I doubt very much that he would call Orphise, jalouse and, although he is still rushing, Éraste has calmed down after the debate.
La Question d’amour
Given Éraste’s haste, Climène and Orante are also bores, but they ask Éraste to be the judge in the debate opposing them. Climène thinks that jealousy is a sign of love, but Orante does not. Orante says that jealous husbands could beat up their wife, which could cause a wife to leave, if she can support herself. At this point, Éraste passes judgment, and leaves promptly.
THE BORES
In Act Two, our bores are Alcippe who plays piquet (Scene Two), Climène and Orante, (Scene Four) and Dorante who went hunting and reports that a gun was used (Scene Six).
ACT THREE
At the beginning of Act Three, Éraste tells that Damis is hindering a marriage to Orphise. He is stopped by Caritidès, a pedant, who wishes Éraste to present a letter to the King on his behalf (iv). He then meets Ormin who believes France should have as many seaports as possible (v). Finally, he meets Filinte who warns Éraste that someone has made fun of him and that he should be careful.
In Scene Five he is joined by Damis himself, Orphise’s guardian. Eraste sees someone at Orphise’s door. Damis explains that he knows Éraste is to meet Orphise without witnesses. Damis will have La Rivière and L’Espine kill Éraste. But La Rivière and his friends decide to kill Damis first.
Damis is Orphise’s uncle and guardian, so as the career soldier he has been, Éraste defends Damis.
Bien qu’il m’ait voulu perdre, un point d’honneur me presse,/ De secourir ici l’oncle de ma maîtresse./ (À Damis.) Je suis à vous Monsieur. (Éraste, mettant la main à l’épée.) Éraste seul et à Damis (III. v)
Though he would have killed me, honour urges me here to rescue the uncle of my mistress. (To Damis). I am on your side, Sir. (He draws his sword and attacks La Riviere and his companions; whom he puts to flight.) Éraste alone and Éraste to Damis (III. 5)
Ô Ciel, par quel secours, D’un trépas assuré vais-je sauver mes jours!795À qui suis-je obligé d’un si rare service? Damis, après leur fuite. (III. v)
[Heavens! By whose aid do I find myself saved from a certain death? To whom am I indebted for so rare a service?] Damis (III. 5)
Quoi celui, dont j’avais résolu le trépas,/ Est celui, qui pour moi, vient d’employer son bras?/ Ah! c’en est trop, mon cœur est contraint de se rendre;/ Et quoi que votre amour, ce soir, ait pu prétendre/ 805 Ce trait si surprenant de générosité,/ Doit étouffer en moi toute animosité./ Je rougis de ma faute, et blâme mon caprice./ Ma haine, trop longtemps, vous a fait injustice;/ Et pour la condamner par un éclatfameux,/ 810Je vous joins, dès ce soir, à l’objet de vos vœux. Damis à Éraste (III. v)
[What! Eraste, whom I was resolved to have assassinated has just used his sword to defend me! Oh, this is too much; my heart is compelled to yield; whatever your love may have meditated tonight, this remarkable display of generosity ought to stifle all animosity. I blush for my crime, and blame my prejudice. My hatred has too long done you injustice! To show you openly I no longer entertain it, I unite you this very night to your love.] Damis to Éraste (III. 5)
SCENE SIX
In Scene VI, a delighted Orphise says that she will marry Éraste.
Si c’est pour lui payer ce que vous lui devez,/ J’y consens, devant tout, aux jours qu’il a sauvés. Orphise (III. vi)
[I owe everything to you; if, therefore, it is to pay him your debt, I consent, as he has saved your life.] Orphise to Eraste (III. 6)
As for Éraste, he no longer knows whether he wakes or dreams.
Mon cœur est si surpris d’une telle merveille,/ 820Qu’en ce ravissement, je doute, si je veille. Éraste à tous (III. vi)
[My heart is so overwhelmed by this great miracle, that amidst this ecstasy, I doubt if I am awake.] Éraste to Orphise and Damis (III. 6)
Finally, Damis is reassured and calls for a celebration.
Célébrons l’heureux sort, dont vous allez jouir; Et que nos violons viennent nous réjouir. (Comme les violons veulent jouer, on frappe fort à la porte.) Damis à tous (III. vi)
[Let us celebrate the happy lot that awaits you; and let our violins put us in a joyful mood.] Damis to all (III. 6)
THE BORES
In Act Three, the bores are Caritidés, a pedant, Ormin, who wishes Éraste to tell the King to build as many ports as possible in France, and Filinte, who has heard that Éraste is threatened. However, we have criminals: La Rivière and friends.
Despite the repetitive nature of the play, one can say that, overall, Les Fâcheux uses the comedic ‟all’s well that ends well formula,” ‟tout est bien qui finit bien.”
Yes, the question d’amour is answered. It is wiser not to be jealous. Act Two, Scene Four seems a play within a play, un théâtre dans le théâtre, more bores, but Orchise is not a ‟cruel fair one,” “une belle inhumaine,” (I. iv).
Si ce parfait amour, que vous prouvez si bien,/Se fait vers votre objet un grand crime de rien,/Ce que son cœur, pour vous, sent de feux légitimes,/ En revanche, lui fait un rien de tous vos crimes. La Montagne à Éraste (I. i)
[If this perfect love, which you manifest so well, makes out of nothing a great crime against her whom you love; the pure flame which her heart feels for you on the other hand converts all your crimes into nothing.] La Montagne to Éraste (I. 1)
In short, if Sostrate (Les Amants magnifiques), kills a boar, earning unknowingly the hand of a delighted Ériphile, matters are almost the same in Les Fâcheux. Éraste fights away La Rivière and his men, saving the life of Orphise’s guardian and turning enmity into gratitude on the part of Damis who wishes for him to marry Orchise. As in chivalry, Éraste serves and earns his lady’s hand. In fact, by defending Damis, Éraste makes himself a deus ex machina.
I may not be able to post Les Fâcheux today. It would be too long a post. But I could indicate that in Les Fâcheux, first performed on 17 August 1661, at Vaux-le-Vicomte, Nicolas Fouquet‘s magnificent castle, the spectator/reader goes from bore to bore, all of whom want to talk to our hero, Éraste, a marquis who loves Orphise to whom he seems unable to catch up. He does catch up to her in an unexpected dénouement.
The play is therefore repetitive. Éraste is forever interrupted by bores. But one of the episodes, Act Two, Scene Four, features Éraste who is asked by Clymène and Orante, to play umpire, adjudicator, in a debate on whether jealousy is a sign of love.
C’est une question à vider difficile,/ Et vous devez chercher un juge plus habile Éraste à Clymène et Orante (II. iv) [That is a question difficult to settle; you had best look for a more skilful judge.] Éraste to Clymène and Orante (II. 4)
Pour moi de son esprit j’ai trop bon témoignage,/ 400Pour craindre qu’il prononce à mon désavantage./ Enfin ce grand débat qui s’allume entre nous,/ Est de savoir s’il faut qu’un amantsoit jaloux. Orante à Éraste (II. iv) [For my part, I am too much assured of his sense to fear that he will decide against me. Well, this great contest which rages between us is to know whether a lover should be jealous.] Orante to Éraste (II. 4)
Ou, pour mieux expliquer ma pensée et la vôtre,/ Lequel doit plaire plus d’un jaloux ou d’un autre. Orante à Éraste (II. iv)
[Or, the better to explain my opinion and yours, which ought to please most, a jealous man or one that is not so?] Orante to Éraste (II. 4)
405Pour moi, sans contredit, je suis pour le dernier. Clymène à tous (II. iv)
[For my part, I am clearly for the last.] Clymène to all (II. 4)
Et dans mon sentiment je tiens pour le premier. Orante à tous (II. iv)
[As for me, I stand up for the first.] Orante to all (II. 4)
Je crois que notre cœur doit donner son suffrage,/ À qui fait éclater du respect davantage. Orante à tous (II. iv)
445 Et je veux, qu’un amant pour me prouver sa flamme, Sur d’éternels soupçons laisse flotter son âme,/ Et par de prompts transports, donne un signe éclatant/ De l’estime qu’il fait de celle qu’il prétend./ On s’applaudit alors de son inquiétude,/ Et s’il nous fait parfois un traitement trop rude,/ Le plaisir de le voir soumis à nos genoux,/450 S’excuser de l’éclat qu’il a fait contre nous,/ Ses pleurs, son désespoir d’avoir pu nous déplaire, /Est un charme à calmer toute notre colère. Orante à tous (II. iv)
[I would that a lover, in order to prove his flame, should have his mind shaken by eternal suspicions, and, by sudden outbursts, show clearly the value he sets upon her to whose hand he aspires. Then his restlessness is applauded; and, if he sometimes treats us a little roughly, the value he sets upon her to whose hand he aspires. Then his restlessness is applauded; and, if he sometimes treats us a little roughly, the pleasure of seeing him, penitent at our feet, to excuse himself for the outbreak of which he has been guilty, his tears, his despair at having been capable of displeasing us, are a charm to soothe all our anger.] Clymène to all (II. 4)
Si pour vous plaire il faut beaucoup d’emportement,/ Je sais qui vous pourrait donner contentement;/ 455Et je connais des gens dans Paris plus de quatre,/ Qui comme ils le font voir, aiment jusques à battre. Orante à tous (II. iv) [If much violence is necessary to please you, I know who would satisfy you; I am acquainted with several men in Paris who love well enough to beat their fair ones openly.] Orante to all (IV. 4)
Éraste’s answer is:
Puisqu’à moins d’un arrêt je ne m’en puis défaire,
Toutes deux à la fois je vous veux satisfaire; 465 Et pour ne point blâmer ce qui plaît à vos yeux,
Le jaloux aime plus, et l’autre aime bien mieux. Éraste to all (II. iv)
[Since I cannot avoid giving judgment, I mean to satisfy you both at once; and, in order, not to blame that which is pleasing in your eyes, the jealous man loves more, but the other loves more wisely.]. Éraste to all (IV. 4)
Who would appreciate reducing a man to sudden outbursts, applauding a man’s restlessness?Who would wish to be treated a little roughly and enjoy seeing the penitent at one’s feet, witness his tears and his despair?
If Clymène enjoys the pain she inflicts, we could perhaps put her on the same footing as our tormented and jaloux, or on the other side of the same coin. This is not love.
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Dom Garcie de Navarre ou le Prince jaloux (The Happy Jealousy of Prince Rodrigo) was written shortly after Molière’s return to Paris. The company he founded in 1643, l’Illustre Théâtre, went into bankruptcy in the spring of 1645. Molière was imprisoned briefly in August 1645 and after his release, he left Paris for several years, nearly fifteen years. Molière’s father paid the bulk of Molière’s debts.
The collapse of l’Illustre Théâtre was due, in part, to Molière’s inability to play tragic or serious roles. He did not have the right looks, nor did he have the right voice. However, he could not resist writing Dom Garcie de Navarre ou le Prince Jaloux and gave himself Dom Garcie’s role, a serious role. The play was performed on 4 February 1661, at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, and it closed after 7 performances. It was a failure. The play was not published during Molière’s lifetime, but it was included in the 1682 publication of Molière’s works. In 1661, Molière’s company was la troupe de Monsieur Frère Unique du Roi. Monsieur was Philippe d’Orléans and Louis XIV’s only brother (frère unique).
Sources
Molière’s source was the Gelosie fortunata del principe Rodrigo (The Fortunate Jealousy of PrinceRodrigo), by Italian dramatist Cicognini, a play published in Perugia, in 1654. Prince Rodrigo is very jealous, but he succeeds in marrying the lady he loves. Similarly, Done Elvire will marry Dom Garcie, whom she loves. It will be discovered that Dom Sylve is the rightful heir to the throne of Léon and her brother. She had rejected Dom Sylve as a lover and favoured a marriage between Dom Sylve and Done Ignès, who loves him, but is Done Ignès who was captured by Mauregat, a usurper.
Cicognini may have found his material in a Spanish play. Baumal[1] writes that according to Riccoboni, there was a Spanish source. There may well have been a Spanish source, but unless there were two dramatists named Riccoboni, Riccoboni could not have reported Spanish ancestry to Molière’s Dom Garcie de Navarre. Moreover, Riccoboni was born in 1707, which means that he was ten years old in 1717, when he staged a Dom Garcie in Paris. Yet, a Spanish source is altogether possible. One recognizes the Spanish pun d’honor and remembers Pierre Corneille‘s Cid(1637).
Our DRAMATIS PERSONÆ is
DON GARCIA, Prince of Navarre, in love with Elvira. (Molière’s role)
DON ALPHONSO, Prince of Leon, thought to be Prince of
Castile, under the name of Don Silvio (Sylve).
DON ALVAREZ, confidant of Don Garcia, in love with Eliza (Alvar).
DON LOPEZ, another confidant of Don Garcia, in love with Eliza.
DON PEDRO, gentleman-usher to Inez (Ignès).
A PAGE.
DONNA ELVIRA, Princess of Leon.
DONNA INEZ, a Countess, in love with Don Silvio, beloved
by Mauregat, the usurper of the Kingdom of Leon.
ELIZA, confidant to Elvira.
Scene. ASTORGA, a city of Spain, in the kingdom of Leon.
Plot and Themes
Jealousy
A love question
the Salons
As noted in an introductory paragraph, written on 29 November 2019, although Dom Garcie features young lovers who are about to marry, the main theme of the play is jealousy and the comédie is a comédie héroïque (heroic comedy). However, Molière interiorizes the conflict, or agon, between the alazṓn, a senex iratus or miles gloriosus, and the eirôn. Dom Garcie is so jealous that he offends Done Elvire and jeopardizes his own marriage. He is both the young lover and the blocking-character. This he will realize.
THE SALONS
In 17th-century salons and Précieux milieux, love questions were discussed. One of these was whether jealousy was a sign of love or a source of constant and humiliating suspicion and recriminations that could prevent, or destroy, a marriage. In Dom Garcie de Navarre ou le Prince jaloux, Done Elvire rejects Dom Garcie.
ACT ONE
Destiny: “ces chaînes du ciel”
Jealousy as a sign of love
Jealousy as dreadful
SCENE ONE
Done Elvire has been courted by Dom Sylve and Dom Garcie. Dom Garcie extremely jealous, which offends Done Elvire, but he has saved her life. However, what we hear first is that Done Elvire loves Dom Garcie de Navarre, as destiny (ces chaînes du ciel) willed.
Si le mérite seul prenait droit sur un cœur./ Mais ces chaînes du ciel, qui tombent sur nos âmes,/ Décidèrent en moi le destin de leurs flammes;/ Et toute mon estime égale entre les deux,/ Laissa vers Dom Garcie entraîner tous mes vœux. Done Elvire à Élise (I. i)
[If aught but merit could gain my heart, the conqueror were yet to be named; but these chains, with which Heaven keeps our souls enslaved, decide me, and, though I esteem both equally, my love is given to Don Garcia.] Done Elvire to Élise (I. 1)
But Élise sees matters differently. Jealousy is a manifestation of love.
Enfin, si les soupçons de cet illustre amant,/ 90 Puisque vous le voulez n’ont point de fondement;/ Pour le moins font-ils foi d’une âme bien atteinte,/Et d’autres chériraient ce qui fait votre plainte./ De jaloux mouvements doivent être odieux,/ S’ils partent d’un amour qui déplaise à nos yeux./ Mais tout ce qu’un amant nous peut montrer d’alarmes,/Doit lorsque nous l’aimons, avoir pour nous des charmes;/ C’est par là que son feu se peut mieux exprimer,/ Et plus il est jaloux, plus nous devons l’aimer;/ Ainsi puisqu’en votre âme un prince magnanime… Elise à Elvire (I. i)
[Though the suspicions of that illustrious lover have no foundation—for you tell me so—they at least prove that he is greatly smitten: some would rejoice at what you complain of. Jealousy may be odious when it proceeds from a love which displeases us; but when we return that love, such feelings should delight us. It is the best way in which a lover can express his passion; the more jealous he is, the more we ought to love him. Therefore since in your soul a magnanimous Prince… ] Élise to Elvire (I. 1)
Done Elvire’s response is unambiguous:
Ah! ne m’avancez point cette étrange maxime/ Partout la jalousie est un monstre odieux,/ Rien n’en peut adoucir les traits injurieux;/ Et plus l’amour est cher, qui lui donne naissance/ Plus on doit ressentir les coups de cette offense. Done Elvire à Élise (I. i)
[No, no; nothing can excuse the strange madness of his gloomy and unmanly jealousy; I have told him but too clearly, by my actions, that he can indeed flatter himself with the happiness of being beloved. Even if we do not speak, there are other interpreters which clearly lay bare our secret feelings.] Elvira to Élise (I. 1)
Yet, although Done Elvire loves Dom Garcie de Navarre destiny (ces chaînes du ciel) has spoken and destiny is inescapable. The role destiny plays in our lives is often expressed in Molière, but seldom so vigorously as it does in Dom Garcie de Navarre.
Si le mérite seul prenait droit sur un cœur./ Mais ces chaînes du ciel, qui tombent sur nos âmes,/ Décidèrent en moi le destin de leurs flammes;/ Et toute mon estime égale entre les deux,/ Laissa vers Dom Garcie entraîner tous mes vœux. Elvire to Élise (I. i)
[If aught but merit could gain my heart, the conqueror were yet to be named; but these chains, with which Heaven keeps our souls enslaved, decide me, and, though I esteem both equally, my love is given to Don Garcia.] Elvire to Élise (I. 1)
Done Elvire also seems to know that her brother is returning. Her brother is the rightful heir to the Kingdom of Léon. She doesn’t know, however, that Dom Sylve is Dom Alphonse and her brother. Dom Sylve, who first loved Done Ignés, is rejected by Done Elvire, but not harshly. Destiny is also tied to public interest. Rumour has it that Don Alphonse is returning:
Et si les bruits communs ne sont pas des bruits vains;/ Si la bonté du Ciel nous ramène mon frère,/ Les vœux les plus ardents, que mon cœur puisse faire;/ C’est que son bras encor, sur un perfide sang/ Puisse aider à ce frère, à reprendre son rang. Elvire to Élise (I. i)
[If common reports be true, and Heaven should grant my brother’s return, I wish fervently, and with all my heart, that his arm may aid my brother to recover his throne…] Elvire to Élise (I. 1)
SCENE TWO
In Scene Two, Alvar (Alvarez), a confident to Dom Garcie, confirms rumours that the rightful heir, Dom Alphonse, is returning. Jealousy, destiny, and public interest are intertwined in Dom Garcie de Navarre. In Scene Three, Done Elvire says to Dom Garcie that she will tell whether she loves when he knows how to love, which is when he will cease suspecting rivals, but destiny may and will support Dom Garcie, even at the desperate point, as the play closes, when her brother returns. Done Elvire points out that one can hear what one wants to hear. A jealous mind will expect support for his accusations. Done Elvire’s statement is consistent with the current theory of information: expectations may change and, occasionally, distort a message.
239 Souvent on entend mal, ce qu’on croit bien entendre, Et par trop de chaleur, Prince, on se peut méprendre./ Mais puisqu’il faut parler, désirez-vous savoir,/ Quand vous pourrez me plaire, et prendre quelque espoir? Elvire à Dom Garcie (I. iii)
Often we hear badly when we think we hear well. Too much ardour, Prince, may lead us into mistakes. But since I must speak, I will. Do you wish to know how you can please me, and when you may entertain any hope? Elvire to Dom Garcie (I. 3) Ce me sera, Madame, une faveur extrême. Dom Garcie à Elvire (I. iii)
[I should consider this, Madam, a very great favour.] Dom Garcie to Elvire (I. 3) Quand vous saurez m’aimer, comme il faut que l’on aime. Dom Garcie à Elvire (I. iii)
[When you know how to love as you ought.] Elvire to Dom Garcie (I. 3)
Dom Garcie tells Done Elvire that he cannot control his jealousy.
Ah! Madame, il est vrai, quelque effort que je fasse, Qu’un peu de jalousie en mon cœur trouve place, 265 Et qu’un rival absent de vos divins appas/ Au repos de ce cœur vient livrer des combats./ Soit caprice, ou raison, j’ai toujours la croyance/ Que votre âme en ces lieux souffre de son absence;/ Et que malgré mes soins, vos soupirs amoureux/ 270 Vont trouver à tous coups ce rival trop heureux. Dom Garcie à Elvire (I. iii)
Alas, Madam, it is true, that, notwithstanding my utmost effort, some trifling jealousy lingers in my heart; that a rival, though distant from your divine charms, disturbs my equanimity. Whether it be whimsical or reasonable, I always imagine that you are uneasy when he is absent, and that in spite of my attentions, your sighs are continually sent in search of that too happy rival. Dom Garcie to Elvira (I. 3)
Elvire then receives a letter (un billet). The letter is from Done Ignès who bemoans Mauregat’s violence and his wish for Done Elvire to marry his son. Dom Garcie is not appeased until he sees the letter.
Malgré l’effort d’un long mépris,/ Le tyran toujours m’aime, et depuis votre absence,/ 365 Vers moi pour me porter au dessein qu’il a pris,/Il semble avoir tourné toute la violence, Dont il poursuivait l’alliance/ De vous et de son fils./ Ceux qui sur moi peuvent avoir empire/370 Par de lâches motifs qu’un faux honneur inspire,/ Approuvent tous cet indigne lien;/J’ignore encor par où finira mon martyre;/ Mais je mourrai plutôt que de consentir rien./Puissiez-vous jouir, belle Elvire,/375 D’un destin plus doux que le mien.
«Done Ignès.»
Done Ignès to Done Elvire (I. iii)
[ In spite of all that I do to show my contempt for the tyrant, he persists in his love for me; the more effectually to encompass his designs, he has, since your absence, directed against me all that violence with which he pursued the alliance between yourself and his son. Those who perhaps have the right to command me, and who are inspired by base motives of false honour, all approve this unworthy proposal. I do not know yet where my persecution will end; but I will die sooner than give my consent. May you, fair Elvira, be happier in your fate than I am. DONNA INEZ.]
ACT TWO
Dom Élise and Dom Lope (rejected)
The Kind of Navarre has chosen a leader for the Kingdom of Léon.
The second letter
In Scene One, Élise is speaking to Dom Lope. He has, at times, told Garcie about possible rivals. Élise has parted with Dom Lope. She has chosen Dom Alvar who enters the stage in Scene Two announcing that the King of Navarre has declared his support for the Prince of Léon. Public interest surfaces briefly.
Enfin, nous apprenons que le roi de Navarre/ Pour les désirs du Prince, aujourd’hui sedéclare;/470 Et qu’un nouveau renfort de troupes nous attend/ Pour le fameux service, où son amour prétend. / Je suis surpris pour moi, qu’avec tant de vitesse,/ On ait fait avancer… Mais… Dom Alvar à Élise (II.ii)
[At last we have received intelligence that the king of Navarre has this very day declared himself favourable to the Prince’s love, and that a number of fresh troops will reinforce his army, ready to be employed in the service of her to whom his wishes aspire. As for me, I am surprised at their quick movements… but…] Don Alvarez to Élise (II. 2)
THE SECOND LETTER
In Scene Three, Dom Garcie returns wishing to know what Done Elvire is doing. Élise says that Done Elvire has been writing letters.
Quelques lettres, Seigneur, je le présume ainsi;/ 475Mais elle va savoir que vous êtes ici. Élise à Dom Garcie (II. iii)
[I think, my Lord, she is writing some letters; but I shall let her know that you are here.] Élise to Dom Garcie (II. 2)
Dom Garcie is alarmed.
The letter gets separated when Dom Lope picks it up and Léonor grabs half of the letter. One half of the letter belies the other half. Ironically the letter is addressed to a rival, but it tells that Done Elvire has chosen Garcie over Dom Sylvie.
« Quoique votre rival, Prince, alarme votre âme,/ 615Vous devez toutefois vous craindre plus que lui,/ Et vous avez en vous à détruire aujourd’hui/ L’obstacle le plus grand que trouve votre flamme./ « Je chéris tendrement ce qu’a fait Dom Garcie,/ Pour me tirer desmains de nos fiers ravisseurs,/620 Son amour, ses devoirs ont pour moi des douceurs; / Mais il m’est odieux avec sa jalousie./ « Otez donc à vos feux, ce qu’ils en font paraître,/ Méritez les regards que l’on jette sur eux;/ Et lorsqu’on vous oblige à vous tenir heureux,/625Ne vous obstinez point à ne pas vouloir l’être. » Done Elvire à Dom Sylve (II. vi)
[Though your rival, Prince, disturbs your mind, you ought still to fear yourself more than him. It is in your power to destroy now the greatest obstacle your passion has to encounter. I feel very grateful to Don Garcia for rescuing me from the hands of my bold ravishers; his love, his homage delights me much; but his jealousy is odious to me. Remove, therefore, from your love that foul blemish; deserve the regards that are bestowed upon it; and when one endeavours to make you happy, do not persist in remaining miserable.] Done Elvire’ letter to Dom Sylve (II. 6)
ACT THREE
In the First Scene of Act Three, Élise and Elvire discuss the episode of the second letter. Done Elvire has forgiven Dom Garcie and regrets a gesture she sees as unefaiblesse, a weakness. Done Élise’s attitude remains unchanged. Jealousy is a proof of love.
In Scene Two, Dom Sylve visits Done Elvire, seeking her love. She has chosen Dom Garcie. She reminds Dom Sylve that his first choice was “l’aimable comtesse,” Done Ignès, who is now fighting Mauregat’s “violence.” She believes it is a crime to leave one’s first love:
Oui, Seigneur, c’est un crime, et les premières flammes,/ Ont des droits si sacrés sur les illustres âmes,/ Qu’il faut perdre grandeurs, et renoncer au jour,/ 915 Plutôt que de pencher vers un second amour. Done Elvire à Dom Sylve (III. ii)
[Yes, my Lord, it is a crime, for first love has so sacred a hold on a lofty mind, that it would rather lose greatness and abandon life itself, than incline to a second love.] Elvira to Dom Sylve (III. 2)
If leaving Done Ignès, Dom Sylve’s first love, was a crime, Elvire should not marry Dom Garcie, her first love. It would be a crime. However, Dom Sylve’s sentiments give Dom Garcie a rival.
Ah! Madame, à mes yeux n’offrez point son mérite,/ Il n’est que trop présent à l’ingrat qui la quitte;/ 930 Et si mon cœur vous dit, ce que pour elle il sent,/ J’ai peur qu’il ne soit pas envers vous innocent. Dom Sylve à Done Elvire (III. 2)
[Ah, Madam, do not present her merit to my eyes! Though I am an ungrateful man and abandon her, she is never out of my mind; if my heart could tell you what it feels for her, I fear it would be guilty towards you.] Dom Sylve to Elvira (III. 2)
Dom Garcie arrives and sees a rival in Dom Sylve. He despises Dom Sylve and threatens him. He will prevent Done Elvire from ever marrying Dom Sylve.
Si l’ingrate à mes yeux pour flatter votre flamme,/ À jamais n’être à moi, vient d’engager son âme;/ Je saurai bien trouver dans mon juste courroux/ Les moyens d’empêcher qu’elle ne soit à vous. Dom Garcie à Dom Sylve (III. iv)
[If the ungrateful woman, out of compliment to your love, has just now pledged her word never to be mine, my righteous indignation will discover the means of preventing her ever being yours.] Don Garcia to Don Sylvio (III. 4)
Jealousy reaches a peak in Act Four. Wishing to escape her tyrant, Mauregat, Ignès comes to Done Elvire’s home dressed as a man. She has made believe that she is dead and she is seeking a refuge. The door is ajar. In Scene Seven, Dom Garcie sees Done Elvire embracing Ignès dressed as a man. He believes Done Elvire is embracing a man, which tears him apart. Dom Garcie:
J’ai vu ce que mon âme a peine à concevoir, Et le renversement de toute la nature/ Ne m’étonnerait pas comme cette aventure;/ C’en est fait… le destin… je ne saurais parler. Dom Garcie à Dom Alvar (IV. vii)
[I have seen what I can hardly conceive; the overthrow of all creation would less astonish me than this accident. It is all over with me … Fate … I cannot speak.] Dom Garcie to Don Alvarez (IV. 7) Ah! tout est ruiné,/ Je suis, je suis trahi, je suis assassiné;/1240Un homme, sans mourir te le puis-je bien dire,/ Un homme dans les bras de l’infidèle Elvire? Dom Garcie à Dom Alvar (IV. vii)
[Alas! Everything is undone. I am betrayed, I am murdered! A man, (can I say it and still live) a man in the arms of the faithless Elvira!] Dom Garcie to Don Alvarez (IV. 7)
Done Elvire returns and faces unacceptable reproaches. She tries to “reason” with Dom Garcie, but unsuccessfully. Dom Garcie did see a man, but this man was Ignès dressed as a man. Done Elvire rejects Dom Garcie despite Dom Alvar’s opinion that Dom Garcie is to be pitied.
Mais il vous faut de moi détacher à l’instant,/ À mes vœux pour jamais renoncer de vous-même,/ 1385 Et j’atteste du Ciel la puissance suprême,/ Que quoi que le destin puisse ordonner de nous,/ Je choisirai plutôt d’être à la mort qu’à vous;/ Voilà dans ces deux choix de quoi vous satisfaire,/ Avisez maintenant celui qui peut vous plaire. Elvire à Dom Garcie (IV. viii)
[B]ut you must then renounce me at once, and for ever give up all pretensions to my hand. I swear by Him who rules the Heavens, that, whatever fate may have in store for us, I will rather die than be yours! I trust these two proposals may satisfy you; now choose which of the two pleases you. Elvira to Dim Garcie (IV. 8)
(Élise entre.) Faites un peu sortir la personne chérie… Allez, vous m’entendez, dites que je l’en prie. Elvire à Élise (IV. vii )
[Let out, briefly, the beloved person…
Go, you hear me, and say that I beg to see her.] Elvira to Élise Prenez garde qu’au moins cette noble colère,/ Dans la même fierté, jusqu’au bout persévère;/ Et surtout désormais songez bien à quel prix/ Vous avez voulu voir vos soupçons éclaircis./ 1440 Voici, grâces au Ciel, ce qui les a fait naître,/ Ces soupçons obligeants que l’on me fait paraître,/ Voyez bien ce visage, et si de Done Ignès,/ Vos yeux au même instant n’y connaissent les traits. Elvire à Dom Garcie (IV. viii)
[Take care at least that this righteous indignation perseveres in its ardour to the end; above all, do not henceforth forget what price you have paid to see your suspicions removed (To Don Garcia). Thanks to Heaven, behold the cause of the generous suspicions you showed. Look well on that face, and see if you do not at once recognize the features of Donna Inez.] Elvire to Dom Garcie (IV. 9 & 10)
Ô Ciel! Dom Garcie (IV. x)
O Heavens! Dom Garcie (IV. 10)
Dom Garcie knows that jealousy left him no time to reflect. He will continue to see what his jealous mind compels him to see: a rival.
In Act Four, Dom Garcie says to Dom Alvar that he, Dom Garcie, is his worst enemy:
Ah! Dom Alvar, je vois que vous avez raison, Mais l’enfer dans mon cœur a soufflé son poison; Et par un trait fatal d’une rigueur extrême, 1485Mon plus grand ennemi se rencontre en moi-même. Dom Garcie à Dom Alvar (IV. ix)
[Ah! Don Alvarez, I perceive you were in the right; but hell breathed its poison into my soul; through a merciless fatality I am my worst enemy.] Dom Garcie to Dom Alvar (IV. 9)
His despair is such that Dom Garcie feels only his death can wash away the injurious humiliating rage to which he subjected Done Elvire, but he intends to die killing the usurper Mauregat. Dom Sylve kills Mauregat.
Il faut que de ma main un illustre attentat/ Porte une mort trop due au sein de Mauregat,/ Que j’aille prévenir par une belle audace,/ Le coup, dont la Castille avec bruit le menace,/ 1510 Et j’aurai des douceurs dans mon instant fatal,/ De ravir cette gloire, à l’espoir d’un rival. Dom Garcie à Dom Alvar (IV. ix)
[I must attempt a deed of daring, and with my own hand give to Mauregat that death he so justly deserves. My boldness will forestall the blow with which Castile openly threatens him. With my last breath, I shall have the pleasure of depriving my rival of performing such a glorious deed.] Dom Garcie to Don Alvarez (IV. 11)
ACT FIVE
In Act Five, Scene One, Alvar tells Élise, the woman he loves, that Dom Sylve killed Mauregat and that Mauregat’s death will force the rightful heir, Dom Alphonse, to tell who he is. The rightful heir is about to visit his sister, Done Elvire. He is the one who will give his sister’s hand in marriage. Done Elvire still wishes to marry Dom Garcie.
Her destiny and Dom Garcie’s destiny are tied to the well-being of the state.
Mais, enfin, vous savez comme nos destinées,/ Aux intérêts publics sont toujours enchaînées,/ Et que l’ordre des Cieux pour disposer de moi,/ 1595 Dans mon frère qui vient, me va montrer mon roi./ Cédez comme moi, Prince, à cette violence,/ Où la grandeur soumet celles de ma naissance[.] Done Elvire à Dom Garcie (V. iii)
[But you know that it is the doom of such as we are, to be always the slaves of public interests; that Heaven has ordained that my brother, who disposes of my hand, is likewise my King. Yield, as I do, Prince, to that necessity which rank imposes upon those of lofty birth.] Elvira to Dom Garcie (V. 3)
But the king she expects to meet is Dom Sylvie/Dom Alphonse, her brother. A mariage is not possible.
Vous attendez un frère, et Léon son vrai maître,/ 1745 À vos yeux maintenant le Ciel le fait paraître./ Oui, je suis Dom Alphonse, et mon sort conservé,/ Et sous le nom du sang de Castille élevé,/ Est un fameux effet de l’amitié sincère,/ Qui fut entre son Prince, et le Roi notre père. Dom Sylve/Alphonse à Done Elvire (V. v)
[You expect a brother, and Leon its true master; Heaven now presents him before you. Yes, I am Don Alphonso; I was brought up and educated under the name of Prince of Castile; this clearly proves the sincere friendship that existed between Don Louis and the King, my father.] Dom Sylve/Alphonse to Done Elvire (V. 5)
In Scene Six, Done Elvire tells Dom Garcie that she will marry him. She loves him and state interests weigh heavily in favour of her marriage to Dom Garcie, whom she had vowed not to marry. Moreover, she has realized that Dom Garcie cannot help feeling jealous.
Non, non, de ce transport le soumis mouvement,/ Prince, jette en mon âme un plus doux sentiment,/ Par lui de mes serments je me sens détachée,/ 1865 Vos plaintes, vos respects, vos douleurs m’ont touchée,/ J’y vois partout briller un excès d’amitié,/ Et votre maladie est digne de pitié./ Je vois, Prince, je vois, qu’on doit quelque indulgence,/ Aux défauts, où du Ciel fait pencher l’influence,/ 1870 Et pour tout dire, enfin, jaloux, ou non jaloux/ Mon roi sans me gêner peut me donner à vous. Done Elvire à Dom Garcie (V. vi)
[No, no, Prince, your submissive attitude brings more tender feelings into my heart; I feel that the oath I took is no longer binding on me; your complaints, your respect, your grief has moved me to compassion; I see an excess of love in all your actions, and your malady deserves to be pitied. Since Heaven is the cause of your faults, some indulgence ought to be allowed to them; in one word, jealous or not jealous, my King will have no compulsion to employ when he gives me to you.] Done Elvire to Dom Garcie (V. 6) Ciel! dans l’excès des biens que cet aveu m’octroie, Rends capable mon cœur de supporter sa joie. Dom Garcie à Done Elvire (V. vi) Heaven! enable me to bear the excess of joy which this confession produces. Dom Garcia to Elvire (V. 6)
And all leave to enjoy the return of Léon’s true prince and the marriage(s) that take place at the end of a comedy.
So Dom Garcie de Navarre ou le Prince jalouxcontains three episodes causing Dom Garcie to be literally sick with jealousy. The first two are letters and the third is finding Done Elvire kissing a person looking like a man. In Dom Garcie de Navarre, fits of jealousy so harm Dom Garcie that we cannot conclude the jealousy is a sign of love. This discussion will be continued.
Sources and Resources
Dom Garcie de Navarre is a toutmoliere.net publication Dom Garcie de Navarre is Gutenberg’s [EBook #6740]
Images belong to the BnF.
Bold letters are mine.
_______________ [1] Francis Baumal, Molière auteur précieux (Paris: La Renaissance du livre, 1925), pp. 86-87.
Love to everyone and apologies for the length of this post. Bilingual posts are lengthy and preparing them may confuse the writer. 💕
Marin Marais —L’Arabesque from Tous les matins du monde (film)
I’m about to work again, but life changed drastically today (29 November). I took my cat Belaud to his vet. Cancer was diagnosed. Dr de Vette (that is his real name) thought the only humane thing to do was euthanasia. Belaud was the French chartreux who was my constant and beloved companion since 2008.
He had stopped eating several days ago, drank smaller and smaller amounts of fresh water, and he wouldn’t eat his treats. The last two nights, he didn’t sleep on the bed. This was unusual because he was always as close to me as possible.
I took him to the vet’s knowing what I would be told, yet hoping I was wrong.
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Dom Garcie de Navarre and Les Fâcheux have both been considered Précieux plays and both are a discussion on jealousy. Is jealousy a sign of love or is it destructive? The question was discussed in Salons, one of France’s major cultural and social institutions. Salons have now closed. In French seventeenth-century salons, questions d’amour were dissected by men and women. Topics discussed in salons changed from century to century and, to some extent, from salon to salon. In earlier posts, we have seen la carte du Tendre, the map of love. It appeared in Clélie, Histoire romaine, a novel by Madeleine de Scudéry. The Map of Tendre was engraved by François Chauveau. In Dom Garcie de Navarre, jealousy is as we have seen it in Molière’s Amphitryon. The seventeenth-century masterpiece on the subject of jealousy is Madame de La Fayette‘sPrincesse de Clèves, published in 1678.
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I’m so sorry my little Belaud has left us. He was affectionate, quiet, friendly, and always happy. He had been with me since he was old enough to be adopted and ran my life in a manner that suited us both. Belaud was named after Joachim du Bellay‘s Belaud, also a chartreux.
La Princesse d’Élide (ThePrincess of Elis) was first performed on 8 May 1664 during Louis XIV’s 1664 divertissement royal, known as Les Plaisirs de l’Île enchantée (The Pleasures of the Enchanted Island). The comedy was one of Louis XIV’s divertissements, gatherings of courtiers and comedians, entertainers, which usually took place at Saint-Germain-en Laye, or another royal castle located outside Paris. Louis XIV was entertaining Mlle de La Vallière, a reluctant mistress, and the Queens, Louis’ mother, Anne of Austria, and his wife, Maria Theresa of Spain. The festivities took place between 7 and 13 May 1664. However, in 1664, the King was also celebrating a relatively early stage in the building of Versailles. The play was later performed at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, in Paris.
Molière’s play is rooted in a Spanish comedy, El Desdén, conel desdén, (Scorn for Scorn) by Agustín Moreto. Desdén means disdain. La Princesse d’Élide is one of four plays Molière contributed to Louis’ lavish Versailles divertissement, two of which had been produced earlier: Les Fâcheux (The Bores; 1661) and Le Mariage forcé (The Forced Marriage; 29 January 1664). Tartuffe (12 May 1664) and La Princesse d’Élide (8 May 1664) premièred at Versailles’ fête. Tartuffe angered la cabale des dévôts.
Interludes consisting of ballets and music, sometimes performed by courtiers, are inserted between the five acts of the comedy. Moreover the comedy is a component of Les Plaisirs de l’Île enchantée. It is therefore embedded, in a somewhat loose form of “théâtre dans le théâtre,” a device explored recently by Georges Forestier and, earlier, by Swiss critic Jean Rousset, among others. The “play within the play,” un enchassement, is a frequently-used device which has prompted many fruitful reflections. However, our translator, Mr. Henri van Laun, looks upon the Princess of Elis as a lesser play compared to other plays by Molière. ‟…the genius of the adapter was cramped, and The Princess ofElis is certainly not one of his happiest efforts.” (Henri van Laun, p. 3.)
Molière’s genius was “cramped.” The beginning of La Princesse d’Elide’s Act One was written in verse, but Molière switched to prose before Act Two. He also shortened acts because of pressing engagements. The King needed him. Moreover, at times, the comedy, the interludes, and Les Plaisirs de l’Île enchantée, the entire festivity, tend to overlap, which makes for coherence as well as confusion. I will simplify matters by suggesting that spectators and readers of La Princesse d’Élide cannot always see the forest for the trees, but that the comedy is nevertheless a bijou, a jewel.
LA PRINCESSE D’ÉLIDE Mlle de Molière
AGLANTE, cousine de la Princesse Mlle Du Parc
CYNTHIE, cousine de la Princesse Mlle de Brie
PHILIS, suivante de la Princesse Mlle Béjart
IPHITAS, père de la Princesse Le sieur Hubert
EURYALE , ou le prince d’Ithaque Le sieur de La Grange
ARISTOMÈNE, ou le prince de Messène Le sieur du Croisy
THÉOCLE, ou le prince de Pyle Le sieur Béjart
ARBATE, gouverneur du prince d’Ithaque Le sieur de la Thorillière
MORON, plaisant de la Princesse Le sieur de Molière
UN SUIVANT Le sieur Prévost.
The Comedy
FirstInterlude (intermède)
Morning, personified as Aurora, dogs, and gentlemen are waking people up because of a hunt. Lyciscas, one Molière’s two roles, does not wish to rise. Molière also plays Moron, a “plaisant,” or court jester, or fool.
We have already discussed the plot of La Princesse d’Élide. As you know, it is outlined before each act in a text called the argument. Was this the way in which Molière wrote his comedies? At any rate, the argument for Act One is that a father, Iphitas, princed’Élide, has invited three princes to his court, la cour d’Élide, in the hope that his daughter, la princessed’Élide, will fall in love with one of the princes: Euryale, Théocle, and Aristomène.
Interestingly, the princes and princesses, la princessed’Élide and her cousins, Aglante and Cynthie, meet before Scene One. The princesse d’Élide and Euryale, prince d’Ithaque, fall in love at first sight. However, Euryale is a “loner” and the Princesse views marriage as debasing and no less than a form of death. To a large extent, the play is a debate between nature and nurture, or nature and culture. Will la princesse d’Élide overcome a view of marriage that precludes marrying, which would, most unusually, defeat nature?
La princesse d’Élide does not have jealous sisters, but she has two fine cousins: Aglante and Cynthie. A mere glimpse at the dramatis personæ reveals that three distinguished princes may each marry one of three lovely young princesses. Not only is it unlikely that the princesse will not fall in love, but la princesse d’Élide and Euryale fall in love before Act One. Moron will be our go-between. He is a bouffon, a king’s fool, but very clever, and he wishes for laprincesse to marry Euryale, prince d’Ithaque. It remains to be seen whether she will overcome her view of marriage as crude and the death of a woman. Moron, a role played by Molière, is described as clever.
Ce choix t’étonne un peu;/ Par son titre de fou tu crois le bien connaître:/ Mais sache qu’il [Moron] l’est moins qu’il ne le veut paraître,/ Et que malgré l’emploi qu’il exerce aujourd’hui/ Il a plus de bon sens que tel qui rit de lui:/ La Princesse se plaît à ses bouffonneries,/ Il s’en est fait aimer par cent plaisanteries,/155 Et peut dans cet accès dire et persuader/Ce que d’autres que lui n’oseraient hasarder(.) Euryale à Arbate (I. i, p. 10)
[My choice rather astonishes you; you misjudge him because he is a court fool; but you must know that he is less of a fool than he wishes to appear, and that, not-withstanding his present employment, he has more sense than those who laugh at him. The Princess amuses herself with his buffooneries: he has obtained her favour by a hundred jests, and can thus say, and persuade her to, what others dare not hazard.] Euryale, prince d’Ithaque, to Arbate, his governor (I. 1)
SCENE ONE
(Euryale prince d’Ithaque & Arbate, his governor)
In Scene One, Euryale, prince d’Ithaque, tells Arbate, his governor, that he has fallen in love with la Princesse d’Élide. Love is a feeling he has always avoided.
Si de l’amour un temps j’ai bravé la puissance,
Hélas! mon cher Arbate, il en prend bien vengeance! Euryale à Arbate (I. i, p. 7)
[If, for a time, I defied the power of love, alas! my dear Arbates, it takes ample vengeance for it now.] Euryale to Arbate (I. 1)
Destiny, he says, has brought them together:
Où le Ciel en naissant a destiné nos âmes. Euryale à Arbate (I. i, p. 7)
[Heaven at our birth destined our souls.] Euryale to Arbate (I. 1)
Knowing that she scorns marriage, le prince d’Ithaque has not told the princesse that he has fallen in love with her, which surprises Arbate, but le prince d’Ithaque knew she would turn him down. However, Moron has told the princesse that Euryale, le prince d’Ithaque, has fallen in love with her.
Cette chasse où, pour fuir la foule qui l’adore,/ Tu sais qu’elle est allée au lever de l’aurore, Est le temps dont Moron pour déclarer mon feu, a pris … Euryale (Prince d’Ithaque) à Arbate (I. i, p. 10)
[This chase, to which she went, you know, this morning early, in order to avoid the crowd of her adorers, is the opportunity which Moron has chosen to declare my passion.] Euryale to Arbate (I. 1)
We will learn, later, that the princesse d’Élide also fell in love the moment she saw Euryale. But, given her opinion of marriage, can anyone expect that love would make her change her mind. The suspense Molière creates in La Princesse d’Élide stems largely from our wondering whether love will cause the princesse to change her views on marriage.
SCENE TWO
(Moron, Arbate, Euriyale)
In Scene Two, Moron, a court jester, un bouffon, a court jester and a close friend of the princesse rushes in fearing he is followed by a boar, unsanglier. Later, the animal pursuing Moron will be a bear. At any rate, Moron tells Euryale that the princess prides herself in refusing to marry.
Le discours de vos feux est un peu délicat,240/ Et c’est chez la Princesse une affaire d’Etat;/ Vous savez de quel titre elle se glorifie, / qu’elle a dans la tête une philosophie/ Qui déclare la guerre au conjugal lien,/ Et vous traite l’Amour de déité de rien. Moron au prince (I. ii, p. 15)
[To talk of your flame is a delicate matter; it is a state affair with the Princess. You know in what title she glories, and that her brain is full of a philosophy which wars against marriage, and treats Cupid as a minor god.] Moron to the prince (I. 2)
SCENE THREE
In Scene Three, the princesse, Euryale, Arbate and Moron are joined by Aristomène and Théocle, two of the three princes who were invited to visit le princed’Élide. She was attacked by a boar and the two princes believe they saved her. She is thankful, but she says that she could have saved herself. They cannot understand, so she thanks them and says she will tell her father about their kindness and their love.
Je rends de tout mon cœur grâce à ce grand secours,/305 Et je vais de ce pas au Prince pour lui dire/ Les bontés que pour moi votre amour vous inspire. La Princesse à tous (I. iii, p.17)
[Yes, without you I had lost my life. I heartily thank you for your grand assistance, and will go at once to the Prince to inform him of the kindness with which your love has inspired you for me.] The Princess to all (I. 3)
Moron would like to help prince Euryale, but an idea has come the prince‘s mind, which reveals that galanterie will play a great role in this comedy.
Second interlude
A short intermède–argument follows. It contains two scenes: a praise of Philis and the tale about the bear. Moron is attacked by a bear and rescued by various courtiers.
ACTE TWO
Argument SCENE ONE
(La princesse, Aglante, Cynthie)
La Princesse, Aglante, and Cynthie discuss love. Cynthie believes that one cannot live if one does not love.
Est-il rien de plus beau que l’innocente flamme/ Qu’un mérite éclatant allume dans une âme?/ Et serait-ce un bonheur de respirer le jour/ Si d’entre les mortels on bannissait l’amour?/ 365Non, non tous les plaisirs se goûtent à le suivre,/ Et vivre sans aimer n’est pas proprement vivre. Cynthie à Aglante et à la Princesse (II. i, p. 22)
[Is anything more beautiful than the innocent flame which brilliant merit kindles in the soul? What happiness would there be in life, if love were banished from among mortals? No, no, the delights which it affords are infinite, and to live without loving is, properly speaking, not to live at all.] Cynthie to Aglante and the princess(II. 1)
Notice
Molière switches to prose. He is obeying the King.
Aglante shares Cynthie’s view:
Pour moi je tiens que cette passion est la plus agréable affaire de la vie, qu’il est nécessaire d’aimer pour vivre heureusement, et que tous les plaisirs sont fades s’il ne s’y mêle un peu d’amour. Aglante à la Princesse et à Cynthie (II. i, p. 23)
[For my part, I think that this passion is the most agreeable business of life ; that, in order to live happily, it is necessary to love, and that all pleasures are insipid unless mangled with a little love.] Aglante to the Princess and Cynthie (II. 1)
SCENE TWO
Moron is asked by the princesses to defend love. Moron loves Philis.
SCENE THREE
The Prince is coming with the princes. The Princesse is afraid.
Ô Ciel! que prétend-il faire en me les amenant? Aurait-il résolu ma perte, et voudrait-il bien me forcer au choix de quelqu’un d’eux? La Princesse (II. iii, pp. 24-25)
[Heavens! what does he mean by bringing them to me? Has he resolved on my ruin, and would he force me to choose one of them?] The Princess (II. 3)
SCENE FOUR
(Iphitas, Euryale, Aristomène, Théocle, Cynthia, Philis, Moron)
The princesse is extremely afraid as she hears her father approaching.
Seigneur, je vous demande la licence de prévenirpar deux paroles la déclaration des pensées que vous pouvez avoir. Il y a deux vérités, Seigneur, aussi constantes l’une que l’autre, et dont je puis vous assurer également: l’une que vous avez un absolu pouvoir sur moi, et que vous ne sauriez m’ordonner rien où je ne réponde aussitôt par une obéissance aveugle. L’autre que je regardel’hyménée ainsi que le trépas, et qu’il m’est impossible de forcer cette aversion naturelle: me donner un mari, et me donner la mort c’est une même chose; mais votre volonté va la première, et mon obéissance m’est bien plus chère que ma vie: après cela parlez, Seigneur, prononcez librement ce que vous voulez. La Princesse à son père (II. iv, p. 25)
[My lord, I beg you to give me leave to prevent,[1]by two words, the declaration of the thoughts which you may perhaps foster. There are two truths, my lord, the one as certain as the other, of which I can assure you ; the one is, that you have an absolute power over me, and that you can lay no command upon me which I would not blindly obey; the other is, that I look upon marriage as death, and that it is impossible for me to conquer this natural aversion. To give me a husband and to kill me are the same thing; but your will takes precedence, and my obedience is dearer to me than life. After this, my lord, speak; say freely what you desire.] The Princess to her father (II. 5)
Third Interlude
An interlude separates ACT TWO from ACT THREE
It features Moron, Philis and a Satyr. It is a praise of love.
ACT THREE
In the “argument,” we are told avout races, songs and dances. The Princesse excelled, but the prince of Ithaque did not praise her, which she resents. The Prince of Ithaque tells Moron the following :
… elle en fit de grandes plaintes à la princesse sa parente; elle en parla à Moron, qui fit passer cet insensible pour un brutal: et enfin le voyant arriver lui-même, elle ne put s’empêcher de lui en toucher fort sérieusement quelque chose: il lui répondit ingénument qu’il n’aimait rien, et qu’hors l’amour de sa liberté, et les plaisirs qu’elle trouvait si agréables de la solitude et de la chasse rien ne le touchait. [… she complains of it to the Princess, her relative; she also speaks of it to Moron, who calls that unfeeling Prince a brute. At last, seeing him herself, she cannot refrain from making some serious allusions to it; he candidly answers that he loves nothing except his liberty, and the pleasures of solitude and the chase, in which he delights.]
SCENE ONE
(The Princess, Aglante, Cynthie, Philis)
Cynthie notes that the Euryale, who is speaking with the Prince, is very skilled.
SCENE TWO
(Euryale, Moron, Arbate)
Euryale is smitten:
Ah! Moron, je te l’avoue, j’ai été enchanté, et jamais tant de charmes n’ont frappé tout ensemble mes yeux et mes oreilles. Elle est adorable en tout temps, il est vrai: mais ce moment l’a emporté sur tous les autres, et des grâces nouvelles ont redoublé l’éclat de ses beautés.
Euryale à Moron (III. ii, p. 30)
[Ah, Moron! I confess I was enchanted; never have so many charms together met my eyes and ears. She is, in truth, adorable at all times, but she was at that moment more so than ever. Ah, Moron! I confess I was enchanted; never have so many charms together met my eyes and ears. She is, in truth, adorable at all times, but she was at that moment more so than ever.]
Euryale to Moron (III. 2)
SCENE THREE (La Princesse, Moron)
Moron tells the princess that she will not get anywhere with Euryale. Nothing will touch him. No, he has not praised her. The Princess has seen Moron speaking with the prince d’Ithaque. Believing that they know one another, she asks Moron to tell the prince that she wants to see him.
SCENE FOUR (La Princesse, Euryale, Moron, Arbate)
He’s a loner, she says to Euryale, prince of Ithaque, prompting him to say that others are loners and that these “others” may be found nearby. She goes on to explain that men and women are different. Women do not want to marry, but they want to be loved. This statement is puzzling because she ignores men. She is at odds with herself.
Il y a grande différence, et ce qui sied bien à un sexe, ne sied pas bien à l’autre. Il est beau qu’une femme soit insensible, et conserve son cœur exempt des flammes de l’amour; mais ce qui est vertu en elle, devient un crime dans un homme. Et comme la beauté est le partage de notre sexe, vous ne sauriez ne nous point aimer, sans nous dérober les hommages qui nous sont dus, et commettre une offense dont nous devons toutes nous ressentir. La Princesse à Euryale (III. iv, p. 33)
[There is a great difference. That which becomes well our sex does not well become yours. It is noble for a woman to be insensible, and to keep her heart free from the flames of love: but what is a virtue in her is a crime in a man; and as beauty is the portion of our sex, you cannot refrain from loving us without depriving us of the homage which is our due, and committing an offence which we ought all to resent.] The Princess to Euryale (III. 4)
Je ne vois pas, Madame, que celles qui ne veulent point aimer, doivent prendre aucun intérêt à ces sortes d’offenses. Euryale à la Princesse (III. iv, p. 33)
[I do not see, madam, that those who will not love should take any interest in offences of this kind.] Euryale to the Princess (III. 4)
Ce n’est pas une raison, Seigneur, et sans vouloir aimer, on est toujours bien aise d’être aimée. La Princesse à Euryale (III. iv, p. 33)
[That is no reason, my lord; for although we will not love, yet we are always glad to be loved.] The Princess to Euryale (III. 4)
Non! Madame, rien n’est capable de toucher mon cœur, ma liberté est la seule maîtresse à qui je consacre mes vœux, et quand le Ciel emploierait ses soins à composer une beauté parfaite, quand il assemblerait en elle tous les dons les plus merveilleux, et du corps et de l’âme. Enfin quand il exposerait à mes yeux un miracle d’esprit, d’adresse et de beauté, et que cette personne m’aimerait avec toutes les tendresses imaginables, je vous l’avoue franchement, je ne l’aimerais pas. Euryale à la Princesse (III. iv, p. 33)
[No, madam; nothing is capable of touching my heart. Liberty is the sole mistress whom I adore; and though Heaven should employ its utmost care to form a perfect beauty, in whom should be combined the most marvellous gifts both of body and mind ; in short, though it should expose to my view a miracle of wit, cleverness, and beauty, and that person should love me with all the tenderness imaginable, I confess frankly to you I should.] Euryale to the Princess (III. 4)
The Princesse then seeks Moron’s help. She wants Euryale to love her, and she thinks Moron can help. Moron tells the princesse that Euryale will never yield.
Si faut-il pourtant tenter toute chose, et éprouver si son âme est entièrement insensible. Allons, je veux lui parler, et suivre une pensée qui vient de me venir. La princesse à Moron (III. v. 35)
[We must, however, try everything, and prove if his soul be entirely insensible. Come, I will speak to him, and follow an idea which has just come into my head.] La princesse to Moron (III. 5)
Fourth Interlude
A fourth interlude featuring Moron, Tircis and Philis follows Act Three.
ACT IV
SCENE ONE
In Act Four, Scene One, the princesse wants Euryale to tell her which of the three princes he thinks she would choose. He cannot tell, so she says that the Prince of Messène would be her choice. So, jealousy will now move the action forward. Moron encourages both the Princesse and the Prince to continue using their strategy, i.e. feigned indifference, that will lead to jealousy on her part. The Prince strikes back and says he has chosen Aglante, her cousin as a future bride. The play has reached its apex.
In Scene Two, Moron hears the princesse unveiling her despair. In Scene Three, she goes to Aglante and tells her not to accept the prince d’Ithaque. In Scene Four, Aristomène is delighted to the tell all that the princesse will marry him. Everyone is disoriented.
This is marivaudage, or games lovers play. It can be considered a form of galanterie. Servants would normally play an important role in bringing lovers together. In other words, in La Princesse d’Élide, Molière lets the lovers fare for themselves. Moron watches amused. He wants the Princesse to marry le Prince d’Ithaque, but thinks this confusion will make the lovers yield. We are now on the battlefield of love. The lovers are hunting and there are boars and bears.
The princesse says the prince is an étourdi. But in Scene Five, la princesse reminds Aglante that she must refuse the prince d’Ithaque. But Moron, the clever buffoon, tells the princesse that if the prince d’Ithaque loved her, she would refuse him, like the dog in a manger, yet she does not want him to love another person, Aglante.
Mais, Madame, s’il vous aimait vous n’en voudriez point, et cependant vous ne voulez pas qu’il soit à une autre. C’est faire justement comme le chien du jardinier. Moron à la princesse (IV. iv, p. 42)
[But, madam, if he loved you, you would not have him, and yet you will not let him be another’s. It is just like the dog in a manger.] Moron to the princess (IV. 5)
In Scene Six, the princesse reflects on her behaviour.
J’ai méprisé tous ceux qui m’ont aimée, et j’aimerais le seul qui me méprise? Non, non, je sais bien que je ne l’aime pas. Il n’y a pas de raison à cela: mais si ce n’est pas de l’amour que ce que je sens maintenant, qu’est-ce donc que ce peut être? et d’où vient ce poison qui me court par toutes les veines, et ne me laisse point en repos avec moi-même? Sors de mon cœur, qui que tu sois, ennemi qui te caches, attaque-moi visiblement, et deviens à mes yeux la plus affreuse bête de tous nos bois, afin que mon dard et mes flèches me puissent défaire de toi. La Princesse, seule (IV. vi, p. 43)
[I have despised all those who have loved me, and shall I love the only one who despises me 1 No, no, I know well I do not love him; there is no reason for it. But if this is not love which I now feel, what can it be? And whence comes this poison which runs through all my veins, and will not let me rest? Out of my heart, whatever you may be, you enemy who lurk there! Attack me openly, and appear before me as the most frightful monster of all our forests, so that with my darts and javelins I may rid myself of you.] The princesse alone, soliloquy (IV. 7)
Fifth Interlude
In the Fifth interlude Philis says:
Si de tant de tourments il accable les cœurs,/ D’où vient qu’on aime à lui rendre les armes?
[If it fills every heart with so much pain/ Whence comes it that we like to yield to it ?] Philis to Clymène Si sa flamme, Philis, est si pleine de charmes,/ Pourquoi nous défend-on d’en goûter les douceurs?
[If, Phillis, its flame is so full of charms/ Why forbid us its pleasures to enjoy?]
Molière has blended a reflection of love and acceptance of its pleasures that overrides the comédie, the interludes and Les Plaisirs de l’Île enchantée. Despite the division into acts and interludes, the Princesse d’Élide offers continuity and coherence.
ACT FIVE
Prince Iphitas, the Prince of Élide is with the Prince d’Ithaque. The Princesse is hurt (jealous) because she feels he has sought someone else’s love. She says she has been scorned.
Il m’a méprisée. La Princesse à Iphitas, son père (V. ii, p. 47) [He has despised me.] La Princesse to Iphitas, her father (V. 2)
Yet, the princesse wants her father to prevent the prince d’Ithaque from marrying Aglante. Under such circumstances, the princesse’s father cannot deny Aglante a husband. The princesse, his daughter, cannot refuse the prince.
Mais afin d’empêcher qu’il ne puisse être jamais à elle, il faut que tu le prennes pour toi. Iphitas to his daughter, the princesse (V. ii, p. 48)
But to prevent his ever being hers, you must take him for yourself. Iphitas to his daughter (V. 2)
The prince d’Ithaque seems to have heard enough. He will speak for himself. Euryale, prince d’Ithaque has asked the prince d’Élide, Iphitas, to marry his daughter. The princesse has not quite recovered from the confusion that was created to elicit the truth. She loves Euryale, the prince d’Ithaque. However, she is not ready to marry.
As for Euryale, the prince d’Ithaque, he is ready to wait. Truth be told, if they married immediately, they would not have befriended one another and could not trust each other. For instance, the princesse is a friend of Moron and trusts him. The Prince d’Ithaque is not expressing an unrealistic endeavour. They may have fallen in love, but they barely know one another. In this play, galanterie is an imperative. Galanterie may involve feigned scorn, a stratagem than triggers jealousy. When Euryale says he has chosen Aglante, the Princess experiences the pain of unrequited love and calls on Moron to fetch Euryale. He will wait because he must wait.
Je l’attendrai tant qu’il vous plaira, Madame, cet arrêt de ma destinée, et s’il me condamne à la mort, je le suivrai sans murmure. Euryale à Iphitas et à la princesse (V. ii. p. 48)
[I shall wait as long as you please, madam, for this decree of my destiny; and, if it condemns me to death, I shall obey without murmuring.] Euryale to the princess(V. 2)
In Scene Three, Iphitas, le prince d’Élide, tells the two other suitors that he will not marry one of them to his daughter, but they may be happy to marry the princesse’s cousins who look forward to marriage.
In Scene Four
Philis tells everyone that Venus has announced a change of heart in the princesse d’Élide.
Sixth Interlude a Pastoral
Conclusion
This post is much too long but it is a school for love. The story has been told. Next, we comment.
[2]In seventeenth-century French, prévenir meant to come before. I believe Mr. van Laun may be using an archaic English meaning of “to prevent” which would be “to come before,” rather than “empêcher de” (to prevent) or “avertir” (to tell about or to warn).
The above image shows Sosie finding his way to Amphitryon’s house. Amphitryon is his master. He has been dispatched to provide news of a battle to Amphitryon’s bride, Alcmène. He bumps into Mercure who looks like him. Mercure threatens to beat him and does so. Inside the house is Jupiter, an Amphitryon look-alike (un sosie), courting Alcmène. Amphitryon will be a cocu, but Jupiter being a “dead ringer” to Amphitryon, Alcmène doesn’t know she has been unfaithful to Amphitryon. Alcmène will give birth to Hercules. In Act Three, Jupiter says that Amphitryon has been honoured. Amphitryon is so angry that a complete reconciliation may not occur. It seems he will be a “husband,” not a “lover.”
Molière’s Amphitryon was performed one hundred and thirty-eight times in 1668 and has remained a favourite.
Amphitryon is a mythological figure. Plautus’ Amphitryon was performed successfully until the Renaissance, at which point it inspired several Renaissance dramatists, “including three Spanish language plays, two Italian plays, and a comedy in Portuguese by Luís de Camões.” (See, Amphitryon, en-Wikipedia.org). In 1636, dramatist Jean Rotrou translated Plautus’ Amphitryonand wrote Les Deux Sosies. Rotrou’s play may have been a source Molière used, but Molière knew Plautus’ Amphitryon. It was the second ancient comedy to be translated into the English language.
Molière’s play consists of:
a Dédicace, by Molière to le Grand Condé(VOTRE ALTESSE SÉRÉNISSIME,Le très humble, très obéissant et très obligé serviteur, Molière
a Prologue (Mercure and the Night)
three acts
The Prologue is a conversation between Mercury, who says he is “las,” tired, and the Night. Machines are used and the Prologue tells much of the play. The God Mercure is a messenger and so is Sosie, his look-alike, or doppelgänger (un sosie). It is night and, therefore, dark, which suits Jupiter who can hide his visit with Alcmène.
MERCURE.
LA NUIT (night).
JUPITER, sous la forme (looking alike) d’Amphitryon.
AMPHITRYON, général des Thébains.
ALCMÈNE, femme (wife of) d’Amphitryon.
CLÉANTHIS, suivante d’Alcmène et femme (wife of) de Sosie.
SOSIE, valet d’Amphitryon (Molière’s role)
ARGATIPHONTIDAS
NAUCRATÈS POLIDAS POSICLÈS capitaines thébains (Theban captains).
La scène est à Thèbes (ancient Egypt), devant la maison d’Amphitryon (in front of Amphitryon’s house).
ACT ONE
Sosie meets Mercure
husband and lover
Sosie & Cléanthis, a couple
In Act One, Scene One, Sosie rehearses the message he is bringing Alcmène. In Scene Two, he is confronted by Mercure, his look-alike, who will not allow him to enter the house.
400 Ciel! me faut-il ainsi renoncer à moi-même;/ Et par un imposteur me voir voler mon nom?/ Que son bonheur est extrême,/ De ce que je suis poltron!/ Sans cela, par la mort… Sosie à lui-même (I. ii, p. 19)
[Heavens! Must I thus renounce myself, and see my name stolen by an impostor. How lucky I am a poltroon! Or, by the death…!] Sosie to himself (I. 2)
N’importe, je ne puis m’anéantir pour toi;/ 425Et souffrir un discours, si loin de l’apparence./ Être ce que je suis, est-il en ta puissance?/ Et puis-je cesser d’être moi/ S’avisa-t-on jamais d’une chose pareille!/ Et peut-on démentir cent indices pressants? 430Rêvé-je? est-ce que je sommeille?/ Ai-je l’esprit troublé par des transports puissants?/ Ne sens-je pas que je veille?/ Ne suis-je pas dans mon bon sens? Mon Maître Amphitryon, n’a m’a-t-il pas commis,/ 435 À venir, en ce lieux, vers Alcmène sa femme/ Ne lui dois-je pas faire, en lui vantant sa flamme,/ Un récit de ses faits contre nos ennemis? Sosie à Mercure (I. ii, p. 20)
[I can’t help it. I cannot annihilate myself for you, and endure so improbable a tale. Is it in your power to be what I am? Can I cease to be myself? Did any one ever hear of such a thing? And can you give the lie to a hundred clear indications? Do I dream? Do I sleep? Is my mind troubled by powerful transports? Do I not feel I am awake? Am I not in my right senses? Has not my master, Amphitryon, commanded me to come here to Alcmene his wife? Am I not, in commending his passion to her, to give her an account of his deeds against our enemies? Have I not just come from the harbour? Do I not hold a lantern in my hand? Have I not found you in front of our house?] Sosie to Mercure (I. 2)
A “Husband” & a “Lover” In Scene Three, Jupiter tells Alcmène that he does not wish to be known as a husband, but as a lover:
Ah! ce que j’ai pour vous d’ardeur, et de tendresse,/ Passe aussi celle d’un époux;/ Et vous ne savez pas, dans des moments si doux,/ Quelle en est la délicatesse./ 585Vous ne concevez point qu’un cœur bien amoureux,/ Sur cent petits égards s’attache avec étude;/ Et se fait une inquiétude, De la manière d’être heureux./ En moi, belle, et charmante Alcmène,/590Vous voyez un mari; vous voyez un amant;/ Mais l’amant seul me touche, à parler franchement; Et je sens près de vous, que le mari le gêne. Jupiter à Alcmène (I. iii, p. 26) [The love and tenderness which I have for you far exceeds a husband’s; in these sweet moments, you do not realise its delicacy; You do not understand that a heart deeply in love studiously attaches itself to a hundred little trifles, and is restless over the manner of being happy. In me, fair and charming Alcmene, you see a lover and a husband; but, to speak frankly, it is the lover that appeals to me; when near you, I feel the husband restrains him.] Jupiter to Alcmène (I. 3)
Sosie and Cléanthis In Scene Four, Cléanthis, Sosie’s wife, tells her husband that he was away for too long. She feels her husband has been unfaithful. Molière created Cléanthis. She does not form part of Plautus’ Amphitryon. In Molière’s play, we have an earthly couple and one we could call “divine.”
ACT TWO
Sosie’s moisoliloquy
the Diamonds
the Sealed Box
the Bitter Truth
In Scene One, Amphitryon reprimands Sosie. What happened?
810Faut-il le répéter vingt fois de même sorte?
Moi, vous dis-je; ce moi plus robuste que moi; Ce moi, qui s’est de force emparé de la porte.
Ce moi, qui m’a fait filer doux:
Ce moi, qui le seul moi veut être: 815 Ce moi, de moi-même jaloux
Ce moi vaillant, dont le courroux,
Au moi poltron s’est fait connaître: Enfin ce moi qui suis chez nous, Ce moi qui s’est montré mon maître; 820 Ce moi qui m’a roué de coups. Sosie à Amphitryon (II. i, pp. 36-37)
[Must I repeat the same thing twenty times? I, I tell you, this I who is more robust than I, this I who took possession of the door by force, this I who made me slope off, this I who wishes to be the only I, this I who is jealous of myself, this valiant I, whose anger made itself known to this poltroon of an I, in fact, this I who is at our house, this I who has shown himself to be my master, this I who has racked me with pain.] Sosie to Amphitryon (II. 1)
Tous les discours sont des sottises,/840Partant d’un homme sans éclat./ Ce seraient paroles exquises,/ Si c’était un grand qui parlât. Sosie, à part (II. i, pp. 37-38) [All talk is nonsense that comes from a man who is unknown. If a great man were to say it, it would be exquisite language.] Sosie, aside (II. 1)
It appears credibility depends on rank.
In Scene Two, Alcmène says that Amphitryon has returned rather soon. She tells Amphitryon that she greeted him lovingly the night before.
885Hier au soir, ce me semble, à votre heureux retour,/ On me vit témoigner une joie assez tendre;/ Et rendre aux soins de votre amour,/ Tout ce que de mon cœur, vous aviez lieu d’attendre. Alcmène à Amphitryon (II. ii, p. 39)
[I think I showed a sufficiently tender joy last night, at your happy return; my heart responded by every means you could wish to the claims of your affection.] Alcmène to Amphitryon (II. 2)
The Diamonds Alcmène shows Amphitryon the diamonds he gave her.
950S’il était vrai qu’on pût ne s’en souvenir pas;/ De qui puis-je tenir, que de vous, la nouvelle/ Du dernier de tous vos combats?/ Et les cinq diamants que portait Ptérélas, Qu’a fit, dans la nuit éternelle,/ 955 Tomber l’effort de votre bras?/ En pourrait-on vouloir un plus sûr témoignagne? Alcmène à Amphitryon (II. ii, p. 43)
[…but, if the thing were in need of proof, if it were true that such a thing could be forgotten, from whom, but from you, could I have heard the news of the latest of all your battles, and of the five diamonds worn by Pterelas, who was plunged into eternal night by the strength of your arm? Could one wish for surer testimony?] Alcmène to Amphitryon (II. 2)
Quoi! je vous ai déjà donné/ Le nœud de diamants que j’eus pour mon partage,/ Et que je vous ai destiné? Le nœud de diamants que j’eus pour mon partage,/ Et que je vous ai destiné? Amphitryon à Alcmène (II. ii, p. 43)
[What? I have already given you the cluster of diamonds which I had for my share, and intended for you?] Amphitryon à Alcmène (II. 2)
The Sealed Box The box is still sealed, but the diamonds have been removed.
Ma foi, la place est vide./ 970Il faut que par magie on ait su le tirer:/ Ou bien que de lui-même, il soit venu sans guide,/ Vers celle qu’il a su qu’on en voulait parer. Sosie, ayant ouvert le coffret (II. ii, p. 44)
[Upon my word, the casket is empty. It must have been taken out by witchcraft, or else it came by itself a guide, to her whom it knew it was intended to adorn.] Sosie (Having opened the casket.) (II. 2)
The Bitter Truth
Alcmène then reminds Amphitryon that they had a conversation, had supper and then went to bed:
…Nous nous entrecoupâmes/ De mille questions, qui pouvaient nous toucher./ On servit. Tête à tête, ensemble nous soupâmes;/ Et le souper fini, nous nous fûmes coucher. Alcmène à Amphitryon (II. ii, p. 46)
[…We interrupted each other with a thousand questions concerning each other. The table was laid. We supped together by ourselves; and, supper over, we went to bed.] Alcmène to Amphitryon (II. 2)
As Scene Two ends, Alcmène is vexed. She has been faithful to her husband. As for Amphitryon, he is jealous, but he is also puzzled.
In Scene Three, Sosie’s wife Cléanthis also suspects her husband has been unfaithful.
In Scene Four, Jupiter/Amphitryon returns. In Scene Five, Sosie wonders how, having been so angry, Amphitryon should be “joyeux.” Jupiter, the lover, has returned, not Amphitryon, the husband.
In Scene Six, Jupiter is with Alcmène who thinks he is Amphitryon. Once again, Jupiter blames the husband, the real Amphitryon, not the lover, Jupiter. He tells her he will commit suicide if she does not forgive him. She says that she cannot hate and will forgive him, but she doesn’t like herself.
Dire qu’on ne saurait haïr,/ N’est-ce pas dire qu’on pardonne? Alcmène à Jupiter/Amphytrion (II. vi, p. 64)
[…is it not to say we pardon, when we say we cannot hate?] Alcmène to Jupiter/Amphitryon (II. 6)
Jupiter tells Sosie (not Mercure) to gather officers for a dinner.
ACT THREE
nature: the sosies (look-alikes)
Amphitryon insulted by Mercure
Amphitryon: a “frightful blow”
confused officers
In Scene One, a very jealous Amphitryon complains. He does not deserve to be cuckolded. However, he is starting to realize that something has gone wrong. To open a coffret, or cassette, one has to break the seal. Alcmène has the diamonds but the box has not been opened. As well, nature may…
1470 La nature parfois produit des ressemblances,/ Dont quelques imposteurs ont pris droit d’abuser:/ Mais il est hors de sens, que sous ces apparences/ Un homme, pour époux, se puisse supposer; / Et dans tous ces rapports, sont mille différences, 1475 Dont se peut une femme aisément aviser. Amphitryon, seul (III. i, p. 67)
[Nature oftentimes produces resemblances, which some impostors have adopted in order to deceive; but it is inconceivable that, under these appearances, a man should pass himself off as a husband; there are a thousand differences in a relationship such as this which a wife could easily detect.] Amphitryon, alone (III. 1)
Amphitryon and Mercure
Amphitryon arrives at his house, but Mercure, not Sosie tells him he has been drinking. He also says that Amphitryon, i.e. Amphitryon/Jupiter is upstairs with Alcmène, and that he must not disturb them.
A “frighful blow”
In Scene Three, Amphitryon says his soul has been dealt a strange blow. What about his honour, what about his passion?
Ah! quel étrange coup m’a-t-il porté dans l’âme?/ 1560 En quel trouble cruel jette-t-il mon esprit? Amphitryon, seul (III. iii, p. 72)
[Ah! What a frightful blow he has given me! How cruelly has he put me to confusion!] Amphitryon, alone (III. 3)
In Scene Four, the guests, army officers, arrive. Sosie has invited them to a dinner on behalf of Amphitryon/Jupiter). Amphitryon wants to punish Sosie and perhaps kill him. Naucratès tells the officers to “restrain” Amphitryon’s “anger.” (III. 4) (Ah! de grâce, arrêtez. [III. iv. p. 73])
Matters are about to be more or less solved. Jupiter has heard the commotion and comes out of the house only to face his look-alike, the real Amphitryon. Naucratès cannot believe his eyes, nor can Amphitryon:
Mon âme demeure transie,/ 1620Hélas! Je n’en puis plus; l’aventure est à bout:/ Ma destinée est éclaircie;/ Et ce que je vois, me dit tout. Amphitryon à tous (III. v, p. 76)
[My soul is struck dumb. Alas! I cannot do anything more: the adventure is at an end; my fate is clear; what I see tells me all.] Amphitryon to all (III. 5)
Confused Officers
Naucratès says that the more he looks, the more he finds that Amphitryon and Amphitryon/Jupiter look alike:
Plus mes regards sur eux s’attachent fortement,/ Plus je trouve qu’en tout, l’un à l’autre est semblable. Naucratès (III. v, p. 76)
[The more narrowly I watch them, the more I find they resemble each other.] Naucratès (III. 5)
Amphitryon remains angry and wishes to kill his “entchanted” trickster (fourbe). Jupiter is an “imposteur” he wants to punish, sword in hand.
Punir, d’un imposteur, les lâches trahisons. Amphitryon to Naucratés (III. v, p. 77) [Punish the miserable treachery of an impostor.] Amphitryon to Naucratès (III. 5)
Jupiter tells the truth. He and Amphitryon are mirror images. However, Amphitryon’s officers dare not be too devoted to Amphitryon, as he may be Amphitryon/Jupiter.
À vous faire éclater notre zèle aujourd’hui,/ 1655Nous craignons de faillir, et de vous méconnaître. Naucratès à Amphitryon (III. v. p. 78)
[…If we were now to show towards you, we fear we might make a mistake, and not recognise you.] Naucratès to Amphitryon (III. 5)
Amphitryon/Jupiter has tried to appease Alcmène, more or less successfully, and it is now his duty to end the confusion among officers.
C’est à moi de finir cette confusion;/ Et je prétends me faire à tous si bien connaître,/ Qu’aux pressantes clartés de ce que je puis être,/ Lui-même soit d’accord du sang qui m’a fait naître,/ 1685 Il n’ait plus de rien dire aucune occasion. Jupiter (III. v, p. 79) [It is for me to end this confusion. I intend to make myself so well known to all, that, at the overwhelming proofs I shall bring forward to show who I am, he himself shall agree concerning the blood from which I sprang, and he shall no longer have occasion to say anything.] Jupiter (III. 5)
Le véritable Amphitryon/ Est l’Amphitryon où l’on dîne. [ …the real Amphitryon is the Amphitryon who gives dinners.]
This sentence has remained famous.
As for Mercure, he will not live as Sosie. A sad Sosie will live with the saddened Amphitryon.
Suivons-en aujourd’hui l’aveugle fantaisie;/ Et par une juste union,/ Joignons le malheureux/ Joignons le malheureux Sosie,/ Au malheureux Amphitryon. Sosie, seul (III. vi, p. 84) [Let us today follow blind caprice, and join the unfortunate Sosie to the unfortunate Amphitryon: it is a suitable union. I see he is coming in good company.] Sosie, alone (III. 6)
Scene Seven is ambiguous. Amphitryon cannot blame Alcmène from going to bed with a person who is identical to him, but he maintains that honour and love make matters unforgivable.
Si cette ressemblance est telle que l’on dit,/ Alcmène, sans être coupable… Posiclès à tous (III. vii, p. 85) [If this resemblance is such as is said, Alcmène, without being guilty…] Posiclès to officers (III. 7)
Ah! sur le fait dont il s’agit,/ L’erreur simple devient un crime véritable, Et sans consentement, l’innocence y périt./ De semblables erreurs, quelque jour qu’on leur donne,/ Touchent des endroitsdélicats:1825Et la raison bien souvent les pardonne; Que l’honneur, et l’amour, ne lespardonnent pas. Amphitryon aux officiers (III. vii, p. 85) [Ah! In this affair, a simple error becomes a veritable crime, and, though no way consenting, innocence perishes in it. Such errors, in whatever way we look at them, affect us in the most sensitive parts; reason often, often pardons them, when honour and love cannot.] Amphitryonto officers (III. 7)
Argatiphontidas, an officer, wants Sosie to be punished, but in Scene Eight Amphitryon takes Sosie to Cléanthis, his wife. Cléanthis doesn’t know what to believe, Amphitryon/Jupiter is upstairs with Alcmène, but she is looking at Amphitryon. There are two Amphitryons.
In Scene Nine, Mercure flies into the clouds while Sosie tells him not to come back as he, Mercure, is the very devil.
In Scene Ten, Jupiter states, unconvincingly, that:
Un partage avec Jupiter,/ N’a rien du tout, qui déshonore:/1900 Et sans doute, il ne peut être que glorieux,/ De se voir le rival du souverain des Dieux. Jupiter (III. iii, pp. 88-89 [A share with Jupiter has nothing that in the least dishonours, for doubtless, it can be but glorious to find one’s self the rival of the sovereign of the Gods.] Jupiter (III. 3)
He also tries to rehabilitate Alcmène, unconvincingly:
Que Jupiter, orné de sa gloire immortelle, 1910Par lui-même, n’a pu triompher de sa foi; Et que ce qu’il a reçu d’elle, N’a, par son cœur ardent, été donné qu’à toi. Jupiter à Amphitryon (III.x. p. 89)
[Even Jupiter, clothed in his immortal glory, could not by himself undermine her fidelity; what he has received from her was granted by her ardent heart only to you.] Jupiter to Amphitryon (III. 10)
As he is about to fly away, Jupiter tells Amphitryon that a son, Hercules, will be born in his home. In a sense, Alcmène has been “visited” by a god and will give birth to a god. Are we reading the Bible?
Sosie thinks that, basically, all is well but that everyone should simply go home peacefully and not say a word about such “affaires” (matters). Indeed, matters should be forgotten. Amphitryon was the victim of a fourberie and some of his loyal officers no longer knew which Amphitryon was their commander.
Conclusion
Although Mercure and Jupiter both fly away, will the real Amphitryon overcome this blow to both his honour and his passion? Amphitryon is a jealous man and a cocu.
Molière created Cléanthis, Sosie’s wife, doubling Amphitryon/Jupiter and Alcmène. It is in heaven as it is on earth. Cléanthis believes her husband has been unfaithful to her.
Mercure and Jupiter both fly away. Yet, the events of the play are a fourberie. Amphitryon is cuckolded. Although Jupiter is a look-alike and a god, Amphitryon cannot change the truth. He has been cuckolded. Amphitryon/Jupiter also sent Sosie to invite the real Amphitryon’s officers to dine with Amphitryon/Jupiter, humiliating both the husband and the commander. Why let officers know their commander has been cuckolded?
Fortunately, Molière’s Amphitryon is associated with the festive plays Molière wrote for the third entrée of Isaac de Benserade’s 1666 Ballet des Muses. Molière contributed three plays to Benserade’s Ballet des Muses:
1941 Et que chacun chez soi, doucement se retire. Sur telles affaires, toujours, Le meilleur est de ne rien dire. Sosie à tous (III. x, p. 90)
[But, nevertheless, let us cut short our speeches, and each one retire quietly to his own house. In such affairs as these, it is always best not to say anything.]
Sosie to all (III.
Jupiter is often seen as Louis XIV courting Madame de Montespan who would be maîtresse-en-titre, until l’Affaire des poisons(1677-1683). Could there be two moral standards? In lower circles, such liaisons were adulterous and, therefore, sinful. As for the Church, it stood mostly powerless. Until recently, kings did not choose their wives. Amphitryon has been looked upon as a criticism of the King (see, Amphitryon, en-Wikipedia), but Molière’s Amphitryon is rooted in Plautus’ Amphitryon and it is a divertissement as well as a pièce à machines. Moreover, jealousy and cuckolding are frequent farcical themes.
Our dramatis personæ is
Jupiter.
Venus.
Love (Cupid).
Zephyr.
Aegiale and Phaëne, two Graces.
The King.
Psyche.
Aglaura (sister to Psyche).
Cidippe (sister to Psyche).
Cleomenes and Agenor, two princes, Psyche’s lovers.
Lycas, captain of the guards.
A River God
Two Cupids.
ACT TWO
Act Two, Scene One
LE ROI, PSYCHÉ, AGLAURE, CIDIPPE, LYCAS, SUITE.
Psyche is to be taken to the top of a hill where a monster-serpent will kill her. But in Act Two, Scene One, she is with her father, the king, who very much regrets losing a daughter. He and Psyche know that one cannot escape one’s fate or destiny. Once the Oracle has spoken, Psyche’s fate is sealed. However, she says that she does not deserve to await a monster-serpent. She wishes her father could oppose the oracle’s requests. We sense resistance.
Je ne mérite pas cette grande douleur: / Opposez, opposez un peu de résistance /Aux droits qu’elle prend sur un cœur 605 /Dont mille événements ont marqué la puissance./ Quoi? faut-il que pour moi vous renonciez, Seigneur,/ À cette royale constance,/ Dont vous avez fait voir dans les coups du malheur/ Une fameuse expérience? Psyché à son père (II. ii, p. 26)
[I deserve not this violent grief. Seek, I pray, to resist the claims it asserts over your heart, whose might a thousand events have marked. What! for me, my Lord, you must abandon that kingly firmness of which, under the blows of misfortune, you have shown such perfect proofs?] Psyche to her father (II. 1)
In Scene One, the king bemoans losing what was a gift to him. Psyche’s beauty was a gift from kind gods. Psyche’s beauty is divine, which is an affront to Venus.
Pour m’ôter leur présent, leur fallait-il attendre/ Que j’en eusse fait tout mon bien? 700/Ou plutôt, s’ils avaient dessein de le reprendre, /N’eût-il pas été mieux de ne me donner rien? Le roi à Psyché (II. i, p. 28)
[To withdraw their gift, have they not waited till I had made it my all? Rather, if it was their purpose to remove it, had it not been better to give me nothing?] The king to Psyche (II. 1)
The gods are fickle. Not that Jansenism (predestination) exerted much influence on Molière, but that Molière always described his century, “les mœurs de son siècle.” Moral issues divided 17th-century France. Tartuffe (1664) is a casuiste, a 17th-century heresy. Yet, given the role played by destiny, one could suggest a link between Jansenism and Psyche’s demise.
As we know, Psyche will not be the victim of a venomous monster-serpent, which would have pleased a jealous Venus, Psyche’s jealous sisters, and, perhaps, a jealous Cupid, Venus’ son is a god. I noted an element of magic(al) realism in Molière’s Psyché. Gods and mortals share the stage. They also share such attributes as a jealous heart. At one level, her beauty, Psyche is divine, which is not altogether the case. She is also a mortal. In fact, not only is Venus jealous, but so is Cupid. In Psyché, the gods of mythology share faults with mere mortals.
Psyche climbs to the top of the hill, asking her jealous sisters, whose jealousy she fails to notice, to look after the king, their grieving father. As for her lovers, Cléomène and Agénor, they also follow her and believe they can kill the serpent.
Act Two, Scene Five PSYCHE, CLÉOMÈNE, AGÉNOR
They can’t. An unconscious Psyche is carried away by two Zephirs before their very eyes. Cupid was to kill Psyche, but saved her. However, all is not well. Psyche awakens in a castle quickly built by Vulcan (Vulcain), the god of fire. The Oracle could be a jealous Cupid:
Allez mourir, rivaux d’un dieu jaloux, / Dont vous méritez le courroux,/ Pour avoir eu le cœur sensible aux mêmes charmes./ Et toi, forge, Vulcain, mille brillants attraits/ Pour orner un palais,/ Où l’amour de Psyché veut essuyer les larmes,/905Et lui rendre les armes. Cupid (II. v, pp. 35-36)
[Die, then, rivals of a jealous god, whose wrath you have deserved, since your heart was sensible to the same charms. And thou, Vulcan, fashion a thousand brilliant ornaments to adorn the palace where Love will dry Psyche’s tears, and yield himself her slave.] Cupid (II. 5)
ACT THREE
Act Three, Scene One CUPID AND ZEPHIR
In Act Three, Scene One, Cupid, the venomous-serpent, confides to Zephir (Molière’s role) that he fears Venus, his mother. Venus wanted Psyche killed by her son Cupid, the god of Love, but Cupid did not eliminate his mother’s rival. There is a hierarchy among gods and goddesses, and they may be jealous.
Cupid, a god, tells Zephir that he wonders what his mother will do. Moreover, Cupid has also changed his appearance. He now seems an adult.
970Ce changement sans doute irritera ma mère.
[This change will, no doubt, vex my mother.] Cupid to Zephir (II. i, p. 38 ; II, 1)
Act Three, Scene Two PSYCHE
As Act Three, Scene One is closing, Zephir asks Cupid to end Psyche’s “martyrdom.” What is Psyche to think? She may be divinely beautiful, but she is a human being who still awaits her death:
Si le Ciel veut ma mort, si ma vie est un crime,/ De ce peu qui m’en reste ose enfin t’emparer,/ Je suis lasse de murmurer/ Contre un châtiment légitime, 1030/ Je suis lasse de soupirer:/ Viens, que j’achève d’expirer. Psyché(II. ii, p. 40)
[If heaven wills my death, if my life be a crime, dare at length to seize whatever little remains of it; I am tired of murmuring against a lawful penalty; I am weary of sighs; come, that I may end the death I am dying.] Psyche (II. 2)
Act Three, Scene Three CUPID AND PSYCHE
In Scene Three, Love (Cupid) appears and says that he is the monster-serpent. A serpent tempted Eve.
C’est l’amour qui pour voir mes feux récompensés/ Lui-même a dicté cet oracle,/ Par qui vos beaux jours menacés/ D’une foule d’amants se sont débarrassés,/ Et qui m’a délivré de l’éternelobstacle/1140 De tant de soupirs empressés,/ Qui ne méritaient pas de vous être adressés. Amour à Psyché (III. iii. p. 43)
[It was Love who, to reward my passion, dictated this oracle, by which your fair days that were threatened have been released from a throng of lovers; and which has freed me from the lasting obstacle of so many ardent sighs that were unworthy of being addressed to you.] Love to Psyche (III. 2)
But Cupid would prefer not to tell his identity.
Ne me demandez point quelle est cette province,/ Ni le nom de son prince,/ Vous le saurez quand il en sera temps: / 1145 Je veux vous acquérir, mais c’est par mes services,/ Par des soins assidus, et par des vœux constants,/ Et bien que souverain dans cet heureux séjour,/ Je ne vous veux, Psyché, devoir qu’à mon amour./ Par les amoureux sacrifices/ De tout ce que je suis,/ De tout ce que je puis,/ 1150 Sans que l’éclat du rang pour moi vous sollicite,/ Sans que de mon pouvoir je me fasse un mérite,/Et bien que souverain dans cet heureux séjour,/ Je ne vous veux, Psyché, devoir qu’à mon amour. Amour à Psyché (III. iii, p. 43) [Ask not of me what this region be, nor the name of its ruler; you shall know it in time. My object is to win you; but I wish to do so by my services, my assiduous care, my constant vows, by a lover’s sacrifice of all that I am, of all my power can effect. The splendour of my rank must not solicit you for me, neither must I make a merit of my power; and though sovereign lord of this blissful realm, I wish to owe you, Psyche, to nothing but my love.] Cupid to Psyche (III. 3)
Cupid wants to be loved for what he is. Rank is secondary and might prevent him from knowing that he is Psyche’s beloved. I hear Alceste telling Philinte that he wants to be certain that praise addressed to him is genuine, that he is “singled out.”[1]
ACT FOUR
Act Four, Scene One AGLAURE, CIDIPPE
Although she is very happy, Psyche would like to relieve her father and her sisters. They do not know that she was not killed. Zephyr is asked to fetch Psyche’s sisters.
N’en parlons plus, ma sœur, nous en mourrions d’ennui,/ Songeons plutôt à la vengeance,/ Ettrouvons le moyen de rompre entre elle et lui/ Cette adorable intelligence./ 1350La voici. J’ai des coups tous prêts à lui porter,/ Qu’elle aura peine d’éviter. Aglaure à Cidippe (IV. i, p. 50)
[No more of this, my sister; the thought of it would kill us; let us rather think of revenge; let us find means of breaking the spell that fosters this affection between her and him. She comes; I have darts ready, such as she shall find difficult to parry.] Aglaure to Cidippe (IV, 1)
1316 La jalousie est assez fine,/ Et ces délicats sentiments/ Méritent bien qu’on s’imagine/ Que celui qui pour vous a ces empressements,/ Passe le commun des amants./1365Je vous en parle ainsi faute de le connaître./ Vous ignorez son nom, et ceux dont il tient l’être,/ Nos esprits en sont alarmés:/ Je le tiens un grand prince, et d’un pouvoir suprême/ Bien au-delà du diadème/,1370Ses trésors sous vos pas confusément semés/ Ont de quoi fairehonte à l’abondance même,/ Vous l’aimez autant qu’il vous aime,/ Il vous charme, et vous le charmez;/ Votre félicité, ma sœur, serait extrême,/1375Si vous saviez qui vous aimez. Aglaure à Psyché (IV. ii, pp. 50-51)
[Jealousy is very keen, and these nice sentiments well deserve that he who shows such tenderness for you should be considered above the generality of lovers. I speak thus because I do not know him; nor do you know his name, or that of those to whom he owes the light. This alarms us. I hold him to be a mighty prince, whose power is extreme, far above kingly sway. His treasure which he has strewn beneath your feet would put Abundance herself to the blush. Your love for him is as keen as his for you; you are his delight, he is yours; your happiness, my sister, would be perfect if you but knew whom you love.] Aglaure to Psyche (IV. 2)
Psyche loves her sisters, but her sisters are jealous of her, which Psyche does not know. They will use Cupid’s wish not to reveal his identity as reason for Psyche to believe she may be the victim of an enchantment. So, they instill in Psyche fear that she is not loved.
Je n’ai plus qu’un mot à vous dire./1405Ce prince qui vous aime, et qui commande aux vents,/ Qui nous donne pour char les ailes du Zéphire,/ Et de nouveaux plaisirs vous comble à tous moments,/ Quand il rompt à vos yeux l’ordre de la nature,/ Peut-être à tant d’amour mêle un peu d’imposture,/ 1410Peut-être ce palais n’est qu’un enchantement,/ Et ces lambris dorés, ces amas de richesses/ Dont il achète vos tendresses,/ Dès qu’il sera lassé de souffrir vos caresses,/ Disparaîtront en un moment./ 1415Vous savez comme nous ce que peuvent les charmes. Aglaure à Psyché (IV. ii, p. 52)
[I have but one word more to say. This prince who loves you, sways the winds, gives us Zephyr’s wings for a chariot, and every moment lavishes on you new pleasures, when he thus openly breaks the order of nature, may perhaps mingle some little imposture with so much love. Perhaps this palace is nothing more than anenchantment; these gilt ceilings, these mountains of wealth, with which he buys your affection, so soon as he shall be weary of your caresses, will vanish in a moment. You know as well as ourselves what power lies in spells.] Aglaure to Psyche (IV. 2)
Ma sœur, vous me faites trembler. Juste Ciel! pourrais-je être assez infortunée… Psyche (IV. ii, p. 51)
[In my turn, what cruel alarms I feel.] Psyche (IV. 2)
Act Four, Scene Three CUPID, PSYCHE
Cupid senses a change in Psyche. She is worried.
1445 Mais d’où vient qu’un triste nuage/ Semble offusquer l’éclat de ces beaux yeux?/ Vous manque-t-il quelque chose en ces lieux?/ Des vœux qu’on vous y rend dédaignez-vous l’hommage? Amour à Psyché (IV. iii, p. 53)
But wherefore does a cloud of sadness seem to dim the brightness of those beautiful eyes? Is there aught which you can want in these abodes? Scorn you the homage of the vows here paid to you? Cupid to Psyche (IV.3)
She wishes to know his identity, which he reveals reluctantly and to Psyche’s detriment. He is the god of Love and he has come of age.
1540 Vous me forcez vous-même à vous quitter,/ Vous me forcez vous-même à vous ôter/ Tout l’effet de votre victoire:/ Peut-être vos beaux yeux ne me reverront plus,/ Ce palais, ces jardins, avec moi disparus/1545 Vont faire évanouir votre naissante gloire;/ Vous n’avez pas voulu m’en croire,/ Et pour tout fruit de ce doute éclairci,/ Le Destin sous qui le Ciel tremble,/ Plus fort que mon amour, que tous les Dieux ensemble,/1550Vous va montrer sa haine, et me chasse d’ici. Amour à Psyché (IV. iii, p. 57)
Psyche is transported to a river.
Comment
Is it fate, or is it jealousy? At this point, we could say jealousy. We will learn that Psyche’s lovers committed suicide. She speaks to their ghostly selves. As for Psyche’s jealous sisters, Psyche’s lovers tell her that they were brutally killed for suggesting that their sister may be the victim of an illusion. It is as though only gods remained. Remember that we are looking at two frames, mortals and gods, that Molière is retelling a myth, and that the myth of Psyché is an “all’s well that ends well” narrative.
___________________ [1] The following quotation reveals Alceste’s vanity and fear.
Je veux qu’on me distingue, et pour le trancher net,
L’ami du genre humain n’est point du tout mon fait. Alceste à Philinte (I. i, p. 3)
[I must be singled out; to put it flatly,
The friend of all mankind’s no friend for me.] Alceste to Philinte (I. 1) (Le Misanthrope [1666])
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