''Home'', also translated as ''Charity'' (french: Le Foyer), is a French three-act
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
by the novelist and playwright
Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...
, written in collaboration with Thadée Natanson. It was performed in December
1908
Events
January
* January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica.
* January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...
on the stage of the
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
, in Paris.
The comedy raised a big scandal because in it Mirbeau denounces the Catholic charity-business and broaches a new taboo subject : the economic and sexual exploitation of young girls in "charitable" homes. In order to see his play performed as intended, he brought a suit
against
Jules Claretie
Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of:
People with the name
*Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer
*Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...
and the Comédie-Française. He won his trial and the comedy could at last be performed.
An English translation, by Richard Hand, has been published by Intellect Books : ''Two Plays: "Business is Business" and "Charity"'', January 2012, 147 pages ().
Plot
Like ''
Business is business
''Business is business'' (french: :fr:Les affaires sont les affaires, Les affaires sont les affaires) is a French comedy in three acts, by the novelist and playwright Octave Mirbeau, performed in April 1903 on the stage of Comédie-Française, in ...
'', ''Le Foyer'' is a comedy of manners and characters in the tradition of
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
. It respects the unity of time and the unity of action.
The main character, Baron Courtin, is a conservative senator and a respectable Academician, who founded works of charity. But he has embezzled money from the "charitable" Foyer (Home) over which he presides : he risks all at once ruin, dishonor, and prison. But he escapes punishment. First, thanks to the former lover of his wife Thérèse, the old financier Biron, who is cynical yet still in love, and to whom he forces the baroness to go and beg for his help, while she has given him up for young d'Auberval: Biron accepts paying for Courtin, but he means to recover the money by exploiting even more fiercely the work of the little girls of the Foyer. Then, thanks to an agreement made with the republican government : the government lets bygones be bygones in exchange for his silence in an important debate in the Parliament.
On board Biron's cruise boat, Courtin will be able to polish at leisure his speech on the price of virtue, in the company of the two lovers of his wife, the former and the new one...
External links
* Octave Mirbeau
''Le Foyer''
* Paul Léautaud
« ''Le Foyer'' » 1909.
* Pierre Michel
Foreword
{{Octave Mirbeau
1908 plays
Plays by Octave Mirbeau