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26-403: It portrays the education and discipline of a young girl experiencing passionate love, who was stopped just in time by a fairy before her passion could get out of hand. However, Pierre de Marivaux did not submit this as a theatrical piece. It was thought that the dialogue in the piece would be less likely to earn aesthetic appreciation and approval than if it were left to literary expression. In

52-456: A periodical publication called L'Indigent philosophe appeared in 1727, and another called Le Cabinet du philosophe in 1734. But the same causes which had proved fatal to the Spectateur prevented these later efforts from succeeding. In 1731 Marivaux published the first two parts of his great novel, Marianne . The eleven parts appeared at intervals over the next eleven years, but the novel

78-515: A comedy (now mostly lost) called L'Amour et la vérité , another comedy, Arlequin poli par l'amour , and an unsuccessful tragedy, Annibal (printed 1737). In about 1721, he married a Mlle Martin, but she died shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, he lost all of his inheritance money when he invested it in the Mississippi scheme . His pen now became almost his sole resource. Marivaux had a connection with two fashionable theatres: Annibal had played at

104-609: A deep involvement in the behind-the-scenes intrigues at Louis XV 's court at Versailles . Eventually, she formed a literary salon, which had among its habitués Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle , Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu , Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre , Pierre de Marivaux , Alexis Piron and others. Hers was the first of the Parisian literary salons which admitted distinguished foreigners. Among her English guests were Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke and Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield . She

130-489: A salon, frequented by wits and roués. Among her numerous lovers and benefactors was the Chevalier Louis-Camus Destouches , by whom she had an illegitimate son, Jean le Rond d'Alembert . Guillaume Dubois , the future First Minister was reportedly another of her lovers, even after he became Archbishop of Cambrai ; but the affair, if it existed, was conducted with discretion. One of her liaisons did have

156-555: A tragic ending. In 1726 a former lover Charles-Joseph de la Fresnaye committed suicide in her house, and Mme. de Tencin spent some time in the Châtelet and then in the Bastille in consequence, but was soon liberated as the result of a declaration of her innocence by the Grand Conseil . From this time she devoted herself to political intrigue, especially for the preferment of her brother

182-502: A wonderland, a young girl, Félicie, is raised by a fairy. Her godmother can make her a gift, of her choice. Félicie chooses the gift of pleasing. The fairy grants her wish. This article on a play from the 18th century is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pierre de Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux ( French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ kaʁlɛ də ʃɑ̃blɛ̃ də maʁivo] ; 4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux ,

208-415: Is reputed to have been a witty conversationalist, with a somewhat contradictory personality. He was extremely good-natured but fond of saying very severe things, unhesitating in his acceptance of favours (he drew a regular annuity from Claude Adrien Helvétius ) but exceedingly touchy if he thought himself in any way slighted. At the same time, he was a great cultivator of sensibility and unsparingly criticized

234-536: Is the main point of importance about Marivaux's literary work, though the best of the comedies have great merits, and Marianne is an extremely important step in the development of the French novel. That, and Le Paysan parvenu , have some connection to the work of Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding . In general, Marivaux's subject matter is the so-called "metaphysic of love-making." As Claude Prosper Jolyot Crébillon said, Marivaux's characters not only tell each other and

260-524: The Mercure , the chief newspaper of France, and he started writing articles for it in 1717. His work was noted for its keen observation and literary skill. His work showed the first signs of what is now called "marivaudage," the flirtatious bantering tone characteristic of Marivaux's dialogues. In 1742 he became acquainted with the then-unknown Jean-Jacques Rousseau , helping him revise a play, Narcissus, though it wasn't produced till long afterwards. Marivaux

286-558: The abbé Tencin , who became archbishop of Lyon and received a cardinal's hat. The nature of her relationship with her brother was a subject of much speculation, but although she never troubled to deny the rumours, there seems to be no evidence that their affection was more than fraternal. She also was involved with King Louis XV 's best friend, the Maréchal de Richelieu , over whom she allegedly exercised considerable control. The correspondence between Claudine, her brother and Richelieu shows

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312-590: The Comédie Française and Arlequin poli at the Comédie Italienne. He also endeavoured to start a weekly newspaper, the Spectateur Français , to which he was the sole contributor. But his irregular work ethic killed the paper after less than two years. Thus, for nearly twenty years, the theatre, especially the Comédie Italienne, was Marivaux's chief support. His plays were well received by the actors of

338-518: The Comédie Française, but were rarely successful there. Marivaux wrote between 30 and 40 plays, the best of which are La Surprise de l'amour (1722), the Triomphe de Plutus (1728), Jeu de l'amour et du hasard (1730) ( The Game of Love and Chance ), Les Fausses confidences (1737), all produced at the Italian theatre, and Le Legs (1736), produced at the French. At intervals, he returned to journalism:

364-499: The heroic novels of the preceding century, with a certain mixture of the marvelous. Then Marivaux's literary ardour entered a new phase. He parodied Homer to serve the cause of Antoine Houdar de La Motte , (1672–1731) an ingenious paradoxer; Marivaux had already done something similar for François Fénelon , whose Telemachus he parodied and updated as Le Telemaque travesti (written in 1714 but not published until 1736). His friendship with Antoine Houdar de La Motte introduced him to

390-664: The only one of Marivaux's plays ever to be filmed in English. The film received modestly favourable reviews, but was not a box office success. In the French film L'Esquive (2003), directed by Abdellatif Kechiche , Arab-French adolescents in a Paris suburb prepare and perform Marivaux's play Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard . Claudine Gu%C3%A9rin de Tencin Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin, Baroness of Saint-Martin-de-Ré / ɡ ə ˈ r æ n d ə ˌ t ɒ n ˈ s æ n / (27 April 1682 – 4 December 1749)

416-537: The reader everything they have thought, but everything that they would like to persuade themselves that they have thought. This style derives mainly from Fontenelle and the Précieuses , though there are traces of it even in Jean de La Bruyère . It abuses metaphor somewhat, and delights to turn a metaphor in an unexpected and bizarre fashion. Sometimes a familiar phrase is used where dignified language would be expected; sometimes

442-417: The reverse. Crébillon also described Marivaux's style as an introduction of words to each other which have never made acquaintance and which think that they will not get on together (this phrase is itself rather Marivaux-esque). This kind of writing, of course, recurs at several periods of literature, especially at the end of the 19th century. This fantastic embroidery of language has a certain charm, and suits

468-465: The rising philosophes . Perhaps for this reason, Voltaire became his enemy and often disparaged him. Marivaux's friends included Helvétius, Claudine Guérin de Tencin , Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle and even Madame de Pompadour (who allegedly provided him with a pension). Marivaux had one daughter, who became a nun; the duke of Orleans, the regent's successor, furnished her with her dowry. The early 1720s were very important for Marivaux; he wrote

494-487: The somewhat unreal gallantry and sensibility which it describes and exhibits. Marivaux possessed, moreover, both thought and observation, besides considerable command of pathos. Triumph of Love , a 1997 musical stage adaptation of Marivaux's play The Triumph of Love had a brief Broadway run. Marivaux's play The Triumph of Love (1732) was filmed in English in 2001 as The Triumph of Love , starring Mira Sorvino , Ben Kingsley , and Fiona Shaw . It is, so far,

520-408: The young Marivaux concentrated more on writing novels than plays. In the three years from 1713 to 1715 he produced three novels – Effets surprenants de la sympathie ; La Voiture embourbée , and a book which had three titles – Pharsamon , Les Folies romanesques , and Le Don Quichotte moderne . These books are very different from his later, more famous pieces: they are inspired by Spanish romances and

546-515: Was a Norman financier whose name from birth was Carlet, but who assumed the surname of Chamblain, and then that of Marivaux. He brought up his family in Limoges and Riom , in the province of Auvergne , where he directed the mint. Marivaux is said to have written his first play, the Père prudent et équitable , when he was only eighteen, but it was not published until 1712, when he was twenty-four. However,

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572-607: Was a French playwright and novelist . He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing numerous comedies for the Comédie-Française and the Comédie-Italienne of Paris. His most important works are Le Triomphe de l'amour , Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard and Les Fausses Confidences . He also published a number of essays and two important but unfinished novels, La Vie de Marianne and Le Paysan parvenu . His father

598-647: Was a French salonist and author. She was the mother of Jean le Rond d'Alembert , who later became a prominent mathematician , philosophe and contributor to the Encyclopédie , though she left him on the steps of the Saint-Jean-le-Rond de Paris  [ Wikidata ] church a few days after his birth in November 1717. Claudine was born in Grenoble , France where her father, Antoine Guérin, sieur de Tencin ,

624-628: Was a novelist of considerable merit. Her novels have been highly praised for their simplicity and charm, the last qualities the circumstances of the writer's life would lead one to expect in her work. The best of them is Mémoires du comte de Comminge (1735), which was believed to have been written, as were the other two, by her nephews, MM. d'Argental and Pont de Veyle, the real authorship being carefully concealed. Her works, with those of Marie-Madeleine de La Fayette , were edited by Etienne and Jay (Paris, 1825); her novels were reprinted, with introductory matter by Lescure, in 1885; and her correspondence in

650-456: Was never finished. In 1735 another novel, Le Paysan parvenu , was begun, but this also was left unfinished. Marivaux was elected a member of the Académie française in 1742. For the next twenty years, he contributed occasionally to the Mercure , wrote plays and reflections (which were seldom of much worth), and so forth. He died on 12 February 1763, aged seventy-five. The so-called marivaudage

676-538: Was president of the parlement . Claudine was brought up at a convent near Grenoble and, at the wish of her parents, took the veil but broke her vows and succeeded, in 1712, in gaining formal permission from Pope Clement XI for her secularisation. She is reputed to have had a liaison, while still formally a nun, with the Irish exile soldier Arthur Dillon . She joined her sister Mme. de Ferriol in Paris, where she soon established

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