Publisher Briasson Originally published 1724 Genre Comedy | Publication date 1724 Country France | |
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Classical Studies books Le Paysan parvenu, La Vie de Marianne, Il ne faut jurer de rien, Clitandre, Jacques the Fatalist | ||
Marivaux la fausse suivante 1724 1 3 acte i
La Fausse Suivante, or Le Fourbe Puni is a play by French playwright Pierre de Marivaux written in 1724, and produced for the first time by the Comédie-Italienneon the July 8, 1724 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne.
Contents
The themes of the play are seduction, money, power, cross-dressing. The main male character is a manipulative libertine who promises marriage to a rich countess for her fortune. The female protagonist of the play, disguised as a knight, punishes both, the man by deceit, and the woman for her frivolity.
Characters
Plot
A young woman, described as "the Parisian maiden", is due to marry Lelio without having ever met him. She decides to introduce herself to him as a Knight and become his friend. Lelio confides in the Knight his troubled situation. He is promised to a Countess he seduced, in addition to the young Parisian maiden. He would choose to marry the richest of the two, that is the heroine, if he had not already signed a contract with the Countess, which would make him lose a large sum of money if he broke his engagement to her. Lelio thus challenges the Knight to seduce the Countess, so that he could marry the Parisian maiden without paying the sum. The plan seems to work at first, the Countess falls for the Knight and forgets Lelio. But information of the Knight's real sexual identity leaks among the servants, and even if she refuses to disclose her name, the Parisian maiden has to admit her sex. She disguises herself as a servant and manages to get hold of the contract. At the end of the play, she tears it in the presence of Lelio and the Countess, and both are disappointed by her deception. The young Parisian maiden finally discloses her identity, and justifies her actions by asserting her independence.