In the 15th century, musical compositions, both liturgical and secular, often blended several independent voices. Such compositions are labelled polyphonic. Polyphony is a musical texture blending independent voices as do Barbershop quartets.
Secular madrigals, songs in the mother (madre, Spanish) tongue, had been monophonic (one voice), but they were a form used in the development of polyphonic music. So was the Motet, liturgical music. Polyphony could at times blend more than the soprano, alto, tenor and bass (SATB), the four voices we are most familiar with. But more importantly, a Mass by Guillaume Du Fay combined the sacred and the secular. The Ordinary of the Mass was set to L’Homme armé (the armed man) a secular theme. A Mass’ permanent components constitute the Ordinary of the Mass.
Guillaume Du Fay (5 August 1397 – 27 November 1474), the most prominent composer of the 15th century, was associated with the Burgundian School. The Burgundian School was a close predecessor to the Franco-Flemish School. In the 15th century and during most of the 16th century, the Netherlands were the cultural hub of Europe. For instance, Adrian Williaert (c. 1490 – 7 December 1562), of the Franco-Flemish school, would be a teacher in Venice. He founded the Venetian School.
L’Homme armé (Wikipedia) was a very popular tune. “Over 40 settings of the Ordinary of the Mass using the tune L’Homme armé survive from the period between 1450 and the end of the 17th century.” (See L’Homme armé, Wikipedia.)
Composers still write sacred music. Examples are Benjamin Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) and John Rutter (b. 1945). Earlier, Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) wrote his Grande Messe des morts or Requiem.
L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps is a comédie d’intrigue. The plot dominates, rather than a portrayal of manners. L’Étourdi‘s plot could be described as an “all’s well that ends well,” which suggests a struggle. In most comedies, young lovers, such as the innamoratiof the commedia dell’arte, overcome an obstacle to their marriage.
However, L’Étourdi differs from most comedies because Molière juxtaposed two forms of virtue one of which is standard virtue, and the other, a zanni or rogue virtue. For instance, in Act One, Lélie returns to Anselme a purse that fell to the ground. By doing so, he is morally in the right, by standard virtue. But he unknowingly lost the money Lélie and Mascarille needed to purchase Célie, which was virtue by Mascarille’s standards.
Mascarille calls “virtue” the devilish tricks, or stratagems, he uses in order to ensure the marriage of the young lovers of comedy. His stratagems are an upside-down morality, but they are the means that justify the end. To a certain extent, a zanni’s tricks border on Machiavellianism (see Machiavelli). But, ironically, in L’Étourdi, the young lover himself, Lélie, crosses so many of Mascarille’s plans that the dénouement, the happy ending of comedies, barely stems from the activity of clever characters undoing a pater familias or other blocking character. It stems instead from a largely theatrical anagnorisis, a recognition scene.
You may remember that, in Act One, Lélie, Pandolfe’s son, returned a lost purse, une bourse, to its owner, Anselme, thereby crossing Mascarille’s plan to use the money to purchase Célie, a slave to Trufaldin. Lelio has a rival, Léandre, a “fils de famille,” so matters are pressing.
Sous quel astre ton maître a-t-il reçu le jour? (Célie, v. 152) Dessins par Lorentz, Jules David, etc. Gravures par les meilleurs artistes, Paris, Schneider, 1850. (fr.wikipedia)
LÉLIE, (Lelio, son of) fils de Pandolphe/Pandolfe.
CÉLIE, (slave of) esclave de Trufaldin.
MASCARILLE, (servant to) valet de Lélie.
HIPPOLYTE, (daughter of) fille d’Anselme.
ANSELME, (an old man) vieillard.
TRUFALDIN, (an old man) vieillard.
PANDOLPHE/PANDOLFE, (an old man) vieillard.
LÉANDRE, (son) fils de famille.
ANDRÈS, (believed to be) cru égyptien.
ERGASTE, valet.
UN COURRIER.
DEUX TROUPES DE MASQUES.
The scene is in Messina
Pandolfe’s feigned death
In Act Two of L’Étourdi, Mascarille’s plan is to make believe that Pandolfe has died. Pandolfe has been sent to his farm, where something has gone wrong. So Mascarille tells Anselme that Pandolfe has died and that Lélie needs money to bury his father appropriatly. The money is therefore lent to Lélie and Mascarille under false pretense. Pandolfe and Anselme are friends and Anselme doubts that Pandolfe is dead. Fearing trouble, he asks for a receipt from Lelio. Mascarille reports that Lélie’s grief is so overwhelming that he cannot provide a receipt. However, from the very moment he is told about Pandolfe’s unexpected death, Anselme suspects a ruse.
Qui tôt ensevelit, bien souvent assassine,/ Et tel est cru défunt qui n’en a que la mine. Anselme (II. ii) [He who puts a shroud on a man too hastily very often commits murder; for a man is frequently thought dead when he only seems to be so.] Anselme (II. 3, p. 24)
However, Pandolfe returns, scaring Anselme. Is Pandolfe a ghost?
Ah ! bon Dieu, je frémi ! Anselme (II. iv)
[Oh Heavens! how I tremble!] Anselme (II. 5, p. 26)
Therefore, Anselme knows that he has been played and he is quite ashamed of himself:
Et moi, la bonne dupe, à trop croire un vaurien,/630Il faut donc qu’aujourd’hui je perde, et sens, et bien? Il me sied bien, ma foi, de porter tête grise,/ Et d’être encor si prompt à faire une sottise!/ D’examiner si peu sur un premier rapport…/ Mais je vois… Anselme, seul (II. iv)
[And I, like a ninny, believe a scoundrel, and must in one day lose both my senses and my money. Upon my word, it well becomes me to have these gray hairs and to commit an act of folly so readily, without examining into the truth of the first story I hear…! But I see…] Anselme, alone (II. 5, p. 28)
Lélie returns his money to Anselme’s promptly, but foolishly, by a tricskter’s “virtue”. In order to be reimbursed, Anselme also uses a trick, a harmless trick. He claims that some of the money could be counterfeit. However, Lélie is delighted to return the money he and Mascarille had borrowed, and he doubts that any is counterfeit.
Vous me faites plaisir de les vouloir reprendre; Mais je n’en ai point vu de faux, comme je croi. Lélie à Anselme (II. v)
[I am very much obliged to you for being willing to take them back, but I saw none among them that were bad, as I thought.] Lélie to Anselme (II. 6, p. 28)
LÉLIE HAS JUST BLUNDERED
In Act One, Lélie had returned the purse that had fallen to the ground to its owner, Anselme. Matters now differ albeit slightly. Mascarille has a plan. He and Lélie borrow money to bury Pandolfe respectfully which is a nasty ruse. But once the money is returned, Célie cannot be bought. Moreover, Anselme will not allow his daughter Hippolyte to marry Lélie, as previously arranged by their respective fathers. He is disillusioned at an early point in the comedy, except that, in Act One, Scene Seven, Pandolfe, Lélie’s father, told Mascarille, that he is disappointed with his son.
… À parler franchement, Je suis mal satisfait de mon fils. Pandolfe à Mascarille (I. vii)
[To tell you the truth, I am very dissatisfied with my son.] Pandolfe to Mascarille (I. 9, p. 19)
But let us return to Act Two, Scene Five
Ma foi, je m’engendrais* d’une belle manière!/ Et j’allais prendre en vous un beau-filsfort discret./ Allez, allez mourir de honte, et de regret. Anselme (II. v)
* from gendre (son-in-law)
[Upon my word, I was going to get a nice addition to my family, a most discreet son-in-law. Go, go, and hang yourself for shame and vexation.] Anselme (II. 6. p. 29)
A Rogue’s Honour
As noted above, in L’Étourdi, Molière juxtaposes Lélie’s morally acceptable behaviour (by societal standards) and the frequently despicable rules of conduct that constitute a rogue’s honour.
Although they remain resourceful, Mascarille, a zanni, and Lélie, the young lover, are now penniless. However, as Mascarille is reprimanding his master, Léandre can be seen purchasing Lélie’s “divinity,” Célie. A clever Mascarille screams and claims to have been beaten by Lélie. He tells Léandre, he will no longer serve Lélie, which is a lie among a multitude of lies. However, all is not lost. Léandre has purchased Célie, but he cannot “collect” her, so to speak, until his father has consented to the marriage. Mascarille is delighted. He has a hiding place: a house where Célie will be “safe.”
Célie will therefore be taken “hors de la ville,” (II. viii), outside town, to a house where Lélie will get her back. Although Mascarille tells everyone he is working for them, he works for his master.
Vivat Mascarille, fourbum imperator!
In Act II,Scene Nine, Léandre is showing the ring Trufaldin must see before freeing Célie. Fearing Célie will be removed, Lélie has a courier deliver a letter to Trufaldin. According to the letter, Célie is the daughter of Dom Pedro de Gusman, from Spain, who will come to get his daughter back. Lélie ruined a perfect plan, so Mascarille is mortified. This episode, however, suggest that Célie may have a father.
Vous avez fait ce coup sans vous donner au diable? Mascarille à Lélie (II. xi)
[And you did all this without the help of the devil?] Mascarille to Lelio (II. 14, p. 35)
In Act Three, Scene One, Mascarille wonders whether he should continue to serve a master who jeopardizes, or ruins, ploys that should be successful. He thinks matters over and decides that he will carry on, but that, henceforth, he will work for his glory, not his master’s.
915Mais aussi, raisonnons un peu sans violence ;/ Si je suis maintenant ma juste impatience,/ On dira que je cède à la difficulté,/ Que je me trouve à bout de ma subtilité ;/ Et que deviendra lors cette publique estime,/ Qui te vante partout pour un fourbe sublime, /Et que tu t’es acquise en tant d’occasions, À ne t’être jamais vu court d’inventions ? L’honneur, ô Mascarille, est une belle chose;/ À tes nobles travaux ne fais aucune pause./Et quoi qu’un maîtrepour te faire enrager,/ Achève pour ta gloire, et non pour l’obliger. Mascarille (III. i)
[But let us argue the matter a little without passion; if I should now give way to my just impatience the world will say I sank under difficulties, that my cunning was completely exhausted. What then becomes of that public esteem, which extols you everywhere as a first-rate rogue, and which you have acquired upon so many occasions, because you never yet were found wanting in inventions? Honour, Mascarille, is a fine thing; do not pause in your noble labours; and whatever a master may have done to incense you, complete your work, for your own glory, and not to oblige him.] Mascarille (III. 1, pp. 36-37)
By now, Léandre has purchased Célie, but it turns out that he cannot “collect” her, so to speak. Trufaldin cannot release Célie without first seeing a ring and Léandre must first seek his father’s consent. He is a “fils de famille.” Not a problem! Mascarille can take Célie to a safe house. Léandre is duped. Once Clélie leaves Trufaldin’s house, she will be handed over to Lélie, Mascarille being Lélie’s servant, not Léandre’s.
LÉLIE HAS BLUNDERED
In Act Three, Scene Two, Mascarille questions Célie’s integrity. Léandre, if he marries her, he will marry le bien public, public property.
Non, vous ne me croyez pas, suivez votre dessein,/ Prenez cette matoise, et lui donnez la main;/ Toute la ville en corps reconnaîtra ce zèle,/ Et vous épouserez le bien public en elle. Mascarille à Léandre (III. ii)
[No, pray do not believe me, follow your own inclination, take the sly girl and marry her; the whole city, in a body, will acknowledge this favour; you marry the public good in her.] Mascarille to Léandre (III. 2, p. 38)
Given that this information comes from Mascarille, whom he trusts, Léandre is inclined to believe that Célie is a loose woman. Lélie is furious. Mascarille confirms that he told Léandre that Célie was not as she appeared. However, Mascarille works for Lélie, not for Léandre. A rogue can do little unless he gains the confidence of the persons he plays. By Lélie’s standard, Léandre’s words are slanderous, whether or not they are Mascarille’s words. He is ready to beat Léandre, which does not surprise Léandre. Mascarille ran away from Lélie because his master, Lélie, was beating him, which was a lie.
Lélie/Lelio is so angry that Mascarille walks in and confirms that Léandre repeated his words, Mascarille’s words. False statements are his “industrie.”
Doucement, ce discours est de mon industrie. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv) [(In a whisper to Lelio). Gently; I told him so on purpose.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 4, p. 40)
Lélie is sinning by a rogue’s standards and appeasing him is difficult. He even draws his sword. Léandre walks away and Mascarille cannot believe that Lélie could not see that that he had lied to Lélie’s benefit. Zanni lie. He defamed Célie, but his words were the means that could lead to a happy ending. “All’s well that ends well.” Mascarille is indignant.
LÉLIE HAS BLUNDERED
Et vous ne pouviez souffrir mon artifice?/ Lui laisser son erreur, qui vous rendait service,/ Et par qui son amour s’en était presque allé?/1090Non, il a l’esprit franc, et point dissimulé:/ Enfin chez son rival je m’ancre avec adresse,/ Cette fourbe en mes mains va mettre sa maîtresse;/ Il me la fait manquer avec de faux rapports;/ Je veux de son rival alentir les transports:/1095 Mon brave incontinent vient qui le désabuse,/ J’ai beau lui faire signe, et montrer que c’est ruse;/ Point d’affaire, il poursuit sa pointe jusqu’au bout,/ Et n’est point satisfait qu’il n’ait découvert tout:/ Grand et sublime effort d’une imaginative/1100Qui ne le cède point à personne qui vive! C’est une rare pièce! et digne sur ma foi,/ Qu’on en fasse présent au cabinet d’un roi! Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv)
[And you could not let the artifice pass, nor let him remain in his error, which did you good service, and which pretty nearly extinguished his passion. No, honest soul, he cannot bear dissimulation. I cunningly get a footing at his rival’s, who, like a dolt, was going to place his mistress in my hands, but he, Lelio, prevents me getting hold of her by a fictitious letter; I try to abate the passion of his rival, my hero presently comes and undeceives him. In vain I make signs to him, and show him it was all a contrivance of mine; it signifies nothing; he continues to the end, and never rests satisfied till he has discovered all. Grand and sublime effect of a mind which is not inferior to any man living! It is an exquisite piece, and worthy, in troth, to be made a present of to the king’s private museum.] Mascarille to Lélie (III. 5, p. 42)
Mascarille’s tirade provides insight in the difficult role zanni play, a role that may cause Mascarille to be jailed. He changes the subject because he wants to know if Lelio has made peace with his father.
… C’est que de votre père il faut absolument./ Apaiser la colère. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv)
[You must, without delay, endeavour to appease your father’s anger.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 5, p. 44)
Mascarille has learned that Pandolfe is angry.
Il craint le pronostic [approaching death], et contre moi fâché, On m’a dit qu’en justice il m’avait recherché : Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv) [The good sire, notwithstanding his age, is very fond of life, and cannot bear jesting upon that subject; he is alarmed at the prognostication, is so very angry that I hear he has lodged a complaint against me.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 5, p. 44)
Consequently, Mascarille could find himself in the confined “logis du Roi,” jail, and fears he may feel so comfortable that he could be there for a very long time:
J’ai peur, si le logis du Roi fait ma demeure,/ De m’y trouver si bien dès le premier quart d’heure,/ Que j’aye peine aussi d’en sortir par après : / Contre moi dès longtemps on a force décrets ;/ Car enfin, la vertu n’est jamais sans envie,/ Et dans ce maudit siècle, est toujours poursuivie./ Allez donc le fléchir. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv) [I am afraid that if I am once housed at the expense of the king, I may like it so well after the first quarter of an hour, that I shall find it very difficult afterwards to get away. There have been several warrants out against me this good while; for virtue is always envied and persecuted in this abominable age. Therefore go and make my peace with your father.] Mascarille to Lélio (III. 5, p. 44)
Mascarille’s virtue is a rogue’s virtue. It is upside down. It is not virtue as Lelio sees it. And it is dangerous. He has “killed,” as a joke, a man who is nearing death and who therefore fears his human condition: we die.
Je l’ai fait ce matin mort pour l’amour de vous;/ La vision le choque, et de pareilles feintes/ Aux vieillards comme lui sont de dures atteintes,/ Qui sur l’état prochain de leur condition/ Leur font faire à regret triste réflexion./ Le bonhomme, tout vieux, chérit fort la lumière/ Et ne veut point de jeu dessus cette matière;/ Il craint le pronostic, et, contre moi fâché,/ On m’a dit qu’en justice il m’avait recherché. Mascarille à Lélie (III. iv)
[Yes, but I am not; I killed him this morning for your sake; the very idea of it shocks him. Those sorts of jokes are severely felt by such old fellows as he, which, much against their will, make them reflect sadly on the near approach of death. The good sire, notwithstanding his age, is very fond of life, and cannot bear jesting upon that subject; he is alarmed at the prognostication, and so very angry that I hear he has lodged a complaint against me.] Mascarille to Lelio (III. 5, p. 44)
Lélie will blunder again: the maskerades, the dinner at Trufaldin’s. He will also be beaten, disguised as an Armenian. Two Egyptian women will fight so vigorously that both will loose their wig. But one knows that Andrès, who is about to be seen, will be another rival, though briefly. It will be found that he and Célie are in fact Trufaldin’s long lost children. An anagnorisis, a theatrical device, will close the play. (to be continued)
Car enfin la vertu n’est jamais sans envie,/ Et dans ce maudit siècle, est toujours poursuivie. Mascarille (III. iv) [… for virtue is always envied and persecuted in this abominable age.] Mascarille (III. 5. p. 44)
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac is a three-act comédie-ballet Molière wrote for the royal family’s hunting season. He was asked to write it on 17 September 1669 and spent five weeks at Chambord where living conditions were difficult for Molière. He was sick and he was cold. Jean-Baptiste Lully, composed the music for this comédie-ballet and played a role, that of an Italian musician disguised as a doctor. The comedy was choreographed by Pierre Beauchamp and Carlo Vigarani built the sets.
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac was first performed for Louis XIV and the court, at the Château de Chambord, on 6 October 1669.
According to Georges Forestier,[1] Scene Eight of Act Three is enchassée or embedded. However, Sbrigani, “un homme d’intrigue,” a schemer, seems a director within the play. He orchestrates the various “machines”designed to make Monsieur de Pourceaugnac unfit to marry Julie, Oronte’s daughter.
Polichinelle, ca. 1680 by French artist Nicolas Bonnart. The first of a set of five etchings entitled Five Characters from the Commedia dell’Arte. Etching with hand coloring on laid paper (Photo credit: wiki2.org)
The source of this comedy may be the anonymous, Pulcinella pazzo per forza of the commedia dell’arte. Its ancestry would also include Polichinella Burlato. Polichinelle is blamed and could be the commedia dell’arte‘s pharmakós. The play also has French antecedents. Mocking doctors was a favourite theme of the French farce and other comic plays. Molière himself had already ridiculed doctors.
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac’s scenario is an all’s that ends well, a “tout est bien qui finit bien,” but Monsieur de Pourceaugnac’s very name, ‘pourc’ from ‘porc’ (pig), suggests a sorry fate for our Limosin (from Limoges).
Quand il n’y aurait que ce nom-là, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, j’y brûlerai mes livres, ou je romprai ce mariage, et vous ne serez point Madame de Pourceaugnac. Pourceaugnac! Cela se peut-il souffrir? Non, Pourceaugnac est une chose que je ne saurais supporter, et nous lui jouerons tant de pièces, nous lui ferons tant de niches sur niches, que nous renverrons à Limoges Monsieur de Pourceaugnac. Nérine à tous (I. i) [If it were nothing but his name, this Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, I would do everything to succeed in breaking off this marriage, rather than that you should be Madam de Pourceaugnac. Pourceaugnac! is it bearable? No, Pourceaugnac is something which I cannot tolerate; and we shall play him so many tricks, we shall practice so many jokes upon jokes upon him, that we shall soon send Monsieur de Pourceaugnac back to Limoges again. Nérine to all (I. 3, p. 94)
It should be noted that Monsieur de Pourceaugnac’s doctors and apothecaries are very aggressive. They try to force several interventions on Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, who travelled by coach, a carriage, from Limoges, to marry Oronte’s daughter Julie. Éraste takes him to a place where he will dine and sleep. It’s a fourberie. He finds himself the captive of doctors.
The play contains so many rather cruel tricks: fourberies, that at times, one is tempted to pity Monsieur de Pourceaugnac. He has come to Paris to marry Julie, but the blocking-character (le barbon) is Oronte, Julie’s father. Oronte has chosen to marry his daughter to a man she doesn’t even know. But the person who is fooled is a neither innocent nor guilty, mostly innocent Pourceaugnac.
Therefore, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac seems a scapegoat, a pharmakós, and, to a large extent, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac is a trickster play. Such comedies can be associated with cartoons. Body parts grow back after being removed painlessly. Victims do not hurt. However, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac is genuinely threatened and hurts. He has to flee.
First, he will have an illness and creditors. At the end of Act One, femmes d’intrigues (schemers), false wives will emerge. That is bigamy and punishable. Lucette and Nérine will both claim Pourceaugnac married them, which makes him one of Molière’s cas pendables, a case where one could be hanged.
But Molière uses two women who claim Monsieur de Pourceaugnac married them, feign provincial roots, and speak dialectal French, which is a comedic element. Molière toured the provincial, but Pézenas was his base. He was exposed to dialects.
The doctors, however, speak la langue macaronique, latinised Italian.
MONSIEUR DE POURCEAUGNAC. ORONTE. JULIE, (daughter of) fille d‘Oronte. NÉRINE, (a schemer) femme d’intrigue, (false) feinte Picarde. LUCETTE, (false) feinte Gasconne. ÉRASTE, (in love with) amant de Julie. SBRIGANI, Napolitain, (a schemer) homme d’intrigue. PREMIER MÉDECIN (doctor). SECOND MÉDECIN. L’APOTHICAIRE. UN PAYSAN (peasant). UNE PAYSANNE. PREMIER MUSICIEN (musician). SECOND MUSICIEN. PREMIER AVOCAT (lawyer). SECOND AVOCAT. PREMIER SUISSE (Swiss). SECOND SUISSE. UN EXEMPT. DEUX ARCHERS. PLUSIEURS MUSICIENS, JOUEURS D’INSTRUMENTS, ET DANSEURS.
ACT ONE
In Act One, Scene One, Julie and Éraste, our young lovers, are together. Nérine, a schemer, is to keep an eye out to make sure Oronte, Julie’s father, does not see them. Moreover, our young loves are well prepared.
Oui, belle Julie, nous avons dressé pour cela quantité de machines, et nous ne feignons point de mettre tout en usage, sur la permission que vous m’avez donnée. Ne nous demandez point tous les ressorts que nous ferons jouer, vous en aurez le divertissement; et comme aux comédies, il est bon de vous laisser le plaisir de la surprise, et de ne vous avertir point de tout ce qu’on vous fera voir; c’est assez de vous dire que nous avons en main divers stratagèmes tous prêts à produire dans l’occasion, et que l’ingénieuse Nérine et l’adroit Sbrigani entreprennent l’affaire. Éraste à Julie (I. i) [Yes, charming Julia, we have in readiness a quantity of engines for this purpose; and now that you have given me permission, we shall not scruple to use them all. Do not ask us all the contrivances which we shall bring into play; you will be amused by them; and it is better to leave you the pleasure of surprise, as they do in comedies, and to warn you of nothing which we mean to show you. Let it be sufficient to tell you that we have various stratagems in hand to be produced at the fit moment, and that the ingenious Nerine and the skilful Sbrigani have undertaken the affair.] Eraste to Julia (I. 3, p. 93)
Nérine is so ingénieuse that Molière invites a comparison with the commedia dell’arte’s zanni. Sbrigani is the main schemer. He is from Naples.
In Scene Two, Julia is asked to make believe she agrees with her father’s decisions. She does to the point of leaving with Monsieur de Pourceaugnac. But Oronte forces her to marry Éraste, whom she loves. Oronte uses the word sotte (silly) when speaking of his daughter.
Au moins, Madame, souvenez-vous de votre rôle; et pour mieux couvrir notre jeu, feignez, comme on vous a dit, d’être la plus contente du monde des résolutions de votre père. Éraste à Julie (I. ii) [At least, Madam, remember your part ; and, the better to hide our game, pretend, as you have been told, to be thoroughly satisfied with your father’s plans.] Eraste to Julia (I. 4, p. 95)
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac is spotted in Act One, Scene Two. In Scene Three, he is greeted very politely by Sbrigani. The “Ah, ah !” are contrived, but comical. Sbrigani claims he is speaking from the bottom of [his] heart:
C’est du fond du cœur que je parle. Sbrigani à Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (I. iii) (I. 5)
Sbrigani then asks Monsieur de Pourceaugnac if he has lodgings for the night at which point Scene Four Éraste then enters the stage claiming he knows all the Pourceaugnacs in Limoges. However, he is getting his information from Monsieur de Pourceaugnac himself. This scene is also very comical.
In Scene Five, Éraste takes Monsieur de Pourceaugnac to the home where he will dine and spend the night. However, the home is a doctor’s home. They are greeted by an apothecary who is told by Éraste that Pourceaugnac is a relative who “has been attacked by a fit of madness:”
… c’est pour lui mettre entre les mains certain parent que nous avons, dont on lui a parlé, et qui se trouve attaqué de quelque folie, (…) Éraste à l’apothicaire (I. v) [It is to place under his care a certain relation of ours, of whom we spoke, and who has been attacked by a fit of madness, which we should be very glad to have cured before he is married.] Eraste to the Apothecary (I. 7)
The apothecary praises the doctor in the following and astounding terms:
Voilà déjà trois de mes enfants dont il m’a fait l’honneur de conduire la maladie, qui sont morts en moins de quatre jours, et qui entre les mains d’un autre, auraient langui plus de trois mois. L’Apothicaire à Éraste (I. v) [Already there are three of my children whose complaints he has done me the honor to treat, who have died in less than four days, and who in some one else’s hands would have languished for three months or more.]
Enters the first doctor who says that a sick peasant whose headaches are very painful should suffer “from the spleen:”
Le malade est un sot, d’autant plus que dans la maladie dont il est attaqué, ce n’est pas la tête, selon Galien, mais la rate, qui lui doit faire mal. Premier médecin au paysan (I. vi) The patient is a fool: seeing that, in the complaint with which he is attacked he ought not, according to Galen, to suffer from the head at all, but from the spleen. First doctor to peasant (I. 8)
Éraste says that the patient, Pourceaugnac, should not be out of the doctors hands.
Je vous recommande surtout de ne le point laisser sortir de vos mains, car parfois il veut s’échapper. Éraste au premier médecin (I. vii) I recommend you above all not to let him slip out of your hands ; for he sometimes attempts to escape. Eraste to the 1st doctor (I. 10, p. 106)
In Scene Eight, a second doctor joins the first doctor. The two doctors take his pulse and ask questions about the food he eats, whether he sleeps well, whether he dreams, and also ask about his dejections. The doctors decide to “raisonner,” or discuss matters, together, and do so at length, interjecting Latin phrases and citing authorities. Treatment is determined. It is extensive, but they will start with un petit lavement, an enema.
Having listened to them for an hour, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac wonders if a comedy is being played:
Messieurs, il y a une heure que je vous écoute. Est-ce que nous jouons ici une comédie? Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (I. viii) [Gentlemen, I have been listening to you for this hour. Are we playing a comedy here?] (I. 11)
Just before an interlude begins, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac insists that he feels well: Je me porte bien.
Nous savons mieux que vous comment vous vous portez, et nous sommes médecins, qui voyons clair dans votre constitution. Premier médecin (I. viii) We know better than you how you are; and we are physicians who see clearly into your constitution. First doctor (I. 11)
Si vous êtes médecins, je n’ai que faire de vous; et je me moque de la médecine. Pourceaugnac (I. viii) [If you are physicians, I have no business with you; and I do not care a straw for physic.] Pourceaugnac (I. 11)
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac declares that his parents never took medicine and that both died “sans l’assistance des médecins.”
[My father and mother would never take medicine, and they both died without doctor’s assistance.] Pourceaugnac (I. 11, p. 110)
Je ne m’étonne pas s’ils ont engendré un fils qui est insensé. Premier médecin au second (I. viii) [They therefore produced a son who is bereft of his senses.]
The doctors are about to go ahead with an enema:
Que diable est-ce là? Les gens de ce pays-ci sont-ils insensés? Je n’ai jamais rien vu de tel, et je n’y comprends rien du tout. Pourceaugnac (I. ix) [What the devil is this? Have the people of these parts taken leave of their wits? I have never seen anything like it, and I understand nothing about it.] Pourceaugnac (I. 12)
In Baroque music, galanteries were also suites of dances (see Galanteries). For instance, most ‘suites’ included a minuet, which is a dance. J. S. Bach composed French Suites, English Suites, and Partitas. Baroque music, however, was considered rather complex: intricate counterpoint, etc. The galant style would advocate simpler and more sentimental music. Bach’s sons composed music in the “galant” style. (See Fêtes galantes: Watteau & Verlaine in RELATED ARTICLES.)
La Galanterie
galanterie
l’honnête homme
préciosité
But galanterie, as we know it, is not music. It is polite behaviour and, in particular, polite behaviour on the part of men courting women. In 17th-century France, l’honnête homme was quietly galant and préciosité demanded galanterie on the part of men. However, galanterie was not a synonym of honnêteté.
La Vraye Histoire comique de Francion, illustration by Martin van Maële (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Nicolas Faret’s L’Honnête Homme, ou l’Art de plaire à la cour
Antoine Gombaud, chevalier de Méré’s letters and L’Honnête Homme et De la Vraie Honnêteté
In 1644, Charles Sorel (c. 1602 – 7 March 1674) published LesLoix de la galanterie, a short book. Sorel’s Loix de la galanterie is a book about the requirements of galanterie: money, fashionable clothes, acceptable manners, cleanliness, and étiquette in general. “Propreté, Civilité, Politesse, Éloquence, Adresse, Accortise, et Prudence mondaine [.]” (See Les Loix de la galanterie.)
As for honnêteté, it was described by Nicolas Faret in L’Honnête Homme, ou l’Art deplaire à la cour, (… the Art of Pleasing at Court) published in 1633, and Antoine Gombaud, known as the “chevalier de Méré ” (1607 – 29 december 1684). Gombaud was a godchild to Antoine de la Rochefoucauld and the author of L’honnête homme et De la vraie honnêteté. (See Antoine Gombaud, Wikipedia.) Honnêteté has social, moral and intellectual goals and honnêteté is not a synonym of galanterie, but l’honnête homme is always impeccable.
However, Antoine Gombaud is best-known for his contribution, with Blaise Pascal, to the development of the théorie des probabilités, the theory of probability, calculating the odds. L’honnête hommeetDe la vraie honnêteté were published posthumously. The chevalier‘s writings are listed under his Wikipedia entry: Antoine Gombaud, Chevalier de Méré. Britannica is in the process of refreshing certain entries.
The Chevalier de Méré, an aristocrat, contributed to the development of the salon,the birthplace of honnêteté and préciosité. Literature was the main activity of salonniers and salonnières but Mademoiselle de Scudéry‘s Clélie, histoire romaine, which contains the map of Tendre, a map of the country of love, has affinities with galanterie. I rather like Petits Soins (tender loving care) (seeCarte du Tendre).
L‘honnête homme avoided extreme views and he had a good jugement; he was not vain nor boastful, he was insightful, and he was polite, which at times precluded frankness. According to François de la Rochefoucauld, the moralist, “l’honnête homme ne se pique de rien[.]” L’honnête homme never boasts.
Among the dramatis personæ of Molière’s comedies are honnête gens (plural for honnête homme): such as Cléante in Le Tartuffe (1664 – 1669) and Philinte in Le Misanthrope.
In Molière’s Misanthrope, Philinte, who is an honnête homme, would not tell an aging Émilie, la vieille Émilie, that she uses makeup (le blanc) and behaves (faire la jolie) in a manner that does not suit an aging woman (I. i):
Quoi ! vous iriez dire à la vieille Émilie Qu’à son âge il sied mal de faire la jolie, Et que le blanc qu’elle a scandalise chacun ? (I. i)
What! would you tell old Emilie
that ’tis unbecoming at her age to play the pretty girl;
or that the paint she wears shocks every one? Le Misanthrope (I. 1)
The truth would hurt Émilie, which neither galanterie nor honnêteté would allow. If at all possible, one does not offend others in the name of frankness or “truth.”
In scene two, Oronte walks in with a copy of a poem he wishes to read to Alceste, the misanthrope. The poem is mediocre and, although he hesitates for the longest time, Alceste ends up saying that “Franchement, il [le poème] est bon à mettre au cabinet.” Frankly, it’s good for the garbage.) Cabinet is an ambiguous word. It can mean a drawer (cabinet making), but can also mean a toilet. Alceste is franc, but he is not civil. He is acting offensively in the name of sincerity or “honnêteté” in its literal sense.
The above are examples of the polemical nature of many of Molière’s plays. They could lead to debates. When it was first staged, in 1664, Le Tartuffe, whose protagonist feigns devotion and nearly ruins Orgon’s family, was not seen as falsely devout by Orgon and, given its subject matter, the play was banned. It took Molière five years to make Le Tartuffe acceptable.
L’École des femmes, 1719 edition (Wikipedia)
L’École des femmes (Google images)
Les Précieuses ridicules by Moreau le Jeune (Wikipedia)
Les Précieuses ridicules (Google images)
Préciosité
false précieuses
a farce
Similarly, Les Précieuses ridicules (18 November 1661; Petit-Bourbon) was not a depiction of préciosité, except for allusions, such as the use of a purer language. Magdelon and Cathos, who have just arrived in Paris, are besotted by préciosité and salons, but they have yet to set foot in a salon. Real précieuses and salonnières would know that Mascarille and Jodelet are not salonniers. They would not let themselves be courted and amused by the valets of Du Croisy and La Grange, the two suitable young men Magdelon and Cathos rejected. The Précieuses ridicules has the plot of a farce: le trompeur trompé (the deceiver deceived). The tables are turned on Magdelon and Cathos.
Yet, Molière was criticized for portraying Les Précieuses ridicules. In the Preface to Les Précieuses ridicules, he wrote that Magdelon and Cathos were false précieuses and that “Les plusexcellentes choses sont sujettes à être copiées par de mauvaissinges.” (The most excellent things are apt to be copied by bad monkeys.) Besides, comedies of manners are “miroirs publics.”
Louis XIV and Molière by Jean-Léon Gérôme(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Aristocrats and Comédies héroïques
Molière wrote comédies-ballets, but he also wrote comedies featuring gentilshommes, aristocrats and gods: Dom Garcie de Navarre (comédie héroïque; 1661), La Princesse d’Élide (1664), Dom Juan (1665), Amphitryon(1668)… Moreover, as an actor, Molière was fond of playing roles in comédies-héroïques. Critic Paul Bénichou[2] dispelled the commonly held view that Molière advocated bourgeois common sense.
Molière was a human being and humans dream of worlds that are or seem better than the world they inhabit. Aristocrats were privileged individuals. So Molière featured aristocrats in a few of his comedies. For Molière, theatre was at times the goal of theatre. He created a comforting spectacle, an illusion.
Molière neither served nor disserved the “querelle des femmes,” feminists. Moreover, if there is a galant in the comedies of Molière, it is the young man who courts a woman who loves him, but whose marriage to her is threatened by a blocking character. Molière’s honnête homme is Philinte (Le Misanthrope), Cléante (Le Tartuffe) and other figures often called the raisonneur. L’honnête homme does not vilify women.
In L’École des femmes (1662) (The School for Wives), Agnès, who has been raised by Arnolphe to be his faithful wife, falls in love with Horace, whom she sees through her window. She rejects Arnolphe saying that the way Arnolphe’s speaks of marriage makes it sound terrible. Horace, on the other hand, presents marriage as pleasurable, which makes her feel like marrying:
Chez vous le mariage est fâcheux et pénible, Et vos discours en font une image terrible; Mais, las ! il le fait, lui, si rempli de plaisirs, Que de se marier il donne des désirs. (V. iv)
With you, marriage is a trouble and a pain,
and your descriptions give a terrible picture of it;
but there — he makes it seem so full of joy
that I long to marry. (V. 4) The School for Wives (V. 4)
Horace is galant and earns Agnès’ love. In comedy, galanterie is conventional, the goal of comedy being the marriage of young lovers, which would not be possible if the young man were not galant (love). But, as noted above, it is not honnêteté, at least not altogether.
I apologize for the long delay. I couldn’t concentrate due to a bout of mental fatigue and difficulties in gathering recent articles and books. I require these to write my book on Molière. All is not lost. I have contacted a number of sources and have used Jstor for several years, as a private scholar. Would that I still lived across the street from a library. However, when I quote 17th-century authors whose work I do not own, I use Internet Archives, the Project Gutenberg, and Google e-books. These e-books are seldom edited or annotated, but they are immensely useful tools.
[1] Charles Sorel wrote La Vraie Histoire comique de Francion, in the hope of dealing a blow to Honoré d’Urfé‘s pastoral romances. La Vraie Histoire comique de Francion (1623) was a success, but Honoré d’Urfé’s L’Astrée remained popular. However, Le Berger extravagant (1627-1628) did tarnish pastoral romances, or very long novels featuring shepherds and shepherdesses. (See Charles Sorel, Wikipedia.)
[2] Paul Bénichou, Morales du Grand Siècle (Paris : Gallimard, 1948), p. 263.
I have been trying to work, but I am not feeling well enough to do so. Therefore, please accept this lovely bouquet of flowers painted by one of France’s finest artists: Eugène Delacroix (26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863), rumored to be the illegitimate son of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754 – 1838), a French prince and one of the most enigmatic diplomats in the history of Europe.
My kindest regards to all of you,
Micheline
Chopin, by Eugène Delacroix (Photo credit: Wikipaintings)
Eugène Delacroix (Romanticism)
0:20 – Liberty Leading the People 0:40 – Ovid Among the Skythen 0:50 – Frédéric Chopin (Unfinished) 1:00 – George Sand (Amandine Aurore Lucille Dupin – Unfinished) 1:15 – The Massacre of Chios 1:25 – The Barque of Dante 1:35 – Andromeda 1:55 – The Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage 2:05 – Tiger (Drawing) 2:15 – Aspasia (Drawing) 2:25 – Mounay ben Sultan 2:35 – Christ on the Lake of Gennesaret 2:45 – Tasso in the Madhouse 2:50 – Cleopatra and the Peasant 3:00 – An Arab Horseman at the Gallop 3:30 – The Death of Sardanapalus 3:35 – Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi 3:45 – Girl Seated in a Cemetery 3:55 – Self-Portrait
Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9 No.2 Frédéric Chopin
1810 – 1849
Philip Scott Johnson
My mother grew up during the Great Depression. Her family was not affected by the disaster. In fact, they could help the less fortunate and did help.
I have fond memories of my mother. She was raising four children and was therefore kept very busy. Four children had survived and fourteen had died. We were a Quebec family.
Every day she sat at her Art Deco dressing table and put cream on her face. She also dressed very well. Always.
I remember that she and Mariette, her Belgian friend, often got together to make lovely dresses for the three surviving girls. We loved Mariette. She and her husband were our best friends.
In fact, we were always together. Mariette had been the wardrobe mistress for the Brussels Opera company. Henri was a jeweller and a clockmaker.
Mother and I spoke together a great deal. She told me about the 30’s, the 40’s, as well as the 50’s. She was a singer, a mezzo-soprano, the perfect Carmen, and had had her own radio program. She would play records and make little comments.
She liked classical music, my father’s passion, but she was especially fond of a lighter kind of music. Lighter, but beautiful.
So let me close the day by playing one of the songs she loved, a love song. She so loved my father.
Mother, you have been dead for 9 years and I still miss you. I even need you. Obviously, I’ll never make it to adulthood.
Dans les prisons de Nantes (In the Prisons of Nantes), a French folksong1. Dans les prisons de Nantes. (2)
Il y-a t’un prisonnier, (il y a: there is)
Faluron, dondaine,
Il y-a t’un prisonnier,
Faluron, dondé.
2. Que personne ne va voir, (2) (personne – ne: no one)
Que la fille du geolier, (que: but, except)
Faluron, dondaine,
Que la fille du geolier,
Faluron, dondé.
3. Un jour il lui demande, (2) (il lui demande: he asks her)
Qu’est-ce que l’on dit de moué* [moi]? (l’on: they)
Faluron, dondaine,
Qu’est-ce que l’on dit de moué?
Faluron, dondé.
*‘moué’ is an older form of ‘moi’ (me)
4. Le bruit court dans la ville, (2) (le bruit: noise) (courir: to run)
Que demain vous mourrez,
Faluron, dondaine,
Que demain vous mourrez,
Faluron, dondé.
5. Le garçon fort alerte, (2)
À la mer s’est jeté,
Faluron, dondaine,
À la mer s’est jeté,
Faluron, dondé.
6. Si je retourne à Nantes, (2)
Oui, je l’épouserai, (épouser: to marry)
Faluron, dondaine,
Oui, je l’épouserai,
Faluron, dondé.
Translation:
1. In the prisons of Nantes, (2)
There is a prisoner, …
2. Whom nobody visits, (2)
Except the jailor’s daughter, …
3. One day he asks her, (2)
What are they saying about me?…
4. The word is in town, (2)
That you’ll die tomorrow,…
5. The very [fort] sprightly [alerte] young man, (2)
Jumps in the sea (se jeter: to throw oneself),…
6. If I go back to Nantes, (2)
Yes, I will marry her,…
I received a copy of Lynn’s last post. It arrived as my last post was leaving, which is a happy coincidence.
Lynn quotes Dr Howard Cutler, the author of The Art of Happiness. According to Dr Cutler, it is wise to “separate what is important in life from what isn’t.” I know that it is important for me to smile at the people I meet on campus and at my classmates. In other words, it is important for me to try and make this world a little better, even though this can only be done one person at a time.
My mother used to make all of her activities a pleasure. This left an imprint on me. However, she did not teach me that I had to say no to impossible requests. She taught obedience, as did most mothers at that time.
This has had serious repercussions. For instance, during a sabbatical I was devoting to finishing a book, I was asked to prepare a course on a subject I was not familiar with and, fearing reprimands, I accepted an impossible request.
I have suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for several decades, but have learned to manage this condition. However, I cannot carry a mammoth workload and too much stress can trigger an episode of CFS.
Although I cannot give details concerning my story, I believe I can say with considerable certainty that I was overworked out of my position and that, afterwards, it became difficult to find happiness in small events.
Yet I agree with you that happiness is in the details.
For instance, writing for WordPress is pleasurable as is studying music, or producing watercolour paintings. So, given that I derive happiness from these activities, I look upon them as important.
Besides, I enjoy beautiful interiors, so I have made my apartment a truly lovely space. I also listen to beautiful music while I write or paint. Moreover, I have never stopped trying to be a comforting presence for others. Finally, I give myself projects.
However, before I go back to my current project, allow me to send you a picture that has always given me great pleasure. It is by Camille Corot (1796–1875). In my life, Corot has always been extremely important.
I thank you for your post. That was also important.
Ville d’Avray par Camille Corot, 1870 (wikiart.org)
In 2005, StFX having turned its back on me, I managed to re-enter the classroom by registering for a course at Bishop’s University. I was taking piano lessons and my teacher introduced me to Professor Eby, a musicologist.
What musicology! Yes, Medieval Music.
So I pounced and asked if I could take that course. Dr Eby accepted me as a student despite my having a PhD. One cannot imagine to what extent some people in our society marginalize women who are also scholars, particularly if said women scholars are also rather feminine.
But let’s continue.
As I was saying, in 2005, I found my way back to the classroom, but as a music student, an undergraduate music student. I soon realized that even at the undergraduate level, studying music is a challenge. However, I truly enjoy my courses. I take one course per semester, but I also study on my own. Studying on one’s own is something most undergraduate students cannot do easily. However, they learn faster than I do and their memory is generally superior to that of more mature students.
Surprisingly, I have bonded with the students. They are full of life and they have been very helpful to me and extremely kind. I enjoy sitting with them and chatting away.
Bishop’s is a jewel among small universities. It is one of Quebec’s three mainly English language universities, but that does not deter French-speaking Sherbrooke students from enrolling in music classes. In fact, those who do are very lucky. They are learning English while also learning a fascinating subject. As a result, I have both French-speaking and English-speaking classmates. Besides, among my classmates, there is at least one student who is adding a little zest to retirement by taking music courses, so I am not alone.
As well the University is an old university, by North-American standards. Some of the buildings are or should be historical monuments. As for the Department of Music, it has a lovely little concert hall, Bandeen Hall. Not only is Bandeen lovely, but it also has perfect acoustics.
At the moment, the Music Department is in some trouble. A few weeks ago, the people hired to repair something on the roof (I do not know the details) left the site without covering an exposed area. How irresponsible! It rained and several offices, as well as other rooms, were flooded. These were beautiful rooms and at least one office had a large fireplace.
So the professors have been moved to practice rooms until restoration of the building is complete. Moreover, Irene extended one or two nasty fingers in the direction of the campus. Bishop’s University is located next to one of the rivers that cross Sherbrooke. In fact, the campus is on one side of Sherbrooke’s main river: la rivière Saint-François or the St Francis River.
I hope the practice rooms were not affected by Irene. One of the practice rooms contains a harpsichord made by Yves Beaupré (see the Internet). That harpsichord is a treasure and it is located in the same room as a German organ. So I have been learning to play the harpsichord, an instrument revived by the legendary Wanda Lawdowska (1879 [Warsaw]-1959 [Lakeville, Connecticut]).
In short, here I am sharpening my pencils.
P. S. Lennoxville is a largely English language part of Sherbrooke. In fact, it is mostly bilingual
Micheline's Blog 
