''Madame X'' (original title ''La Femme X'') is a 1908

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by French playwright

Alexandre Bisson Alexandre Bisson (9 April 1848 – 27 January 1912) was a French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist. Born in Briouze, Orne in Lower Normandy, he was successful in his native France as well as in the United States. Remembered as a signi ...

(1848–1912). It was novelized in English and adapted for the American stage; it was also adapted for the screen twelve times over sixty-five years, including versions in Tagalog, Greek, and Spanish as well as English. The play has been cited as an example of the literary tradition of portraying the mother figure as being "excessively punished for slight deviation from her maternal role". Kaplan, E. Ann (2013).
Motherhood and Representation: The Mother in Popular Culture and Melodrama
'. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge. . p. 77.

Plot

The protagonist is a woman who has been thrown out into the street without any money by her jealous husband, when he discovers she has been carrying on an affair. She is not even allowed to see their young son. She sinks into depravity. Twenty years later, she has become the mistress of a criminal. When he finds out that her husband is now the attorney general, her lover decides to blackmail him. Desperate to shield her son from her disgrace, she shoots and kills her lover. By chance, the lawyer assigned to her turns out to be her own son, on his first case. He is puzzled and frustrated when she refuses to defend herself in court, or even to provide her name (which forces the tribunal to identify her as "Madame X"). During the trial, her husband shows up in support of his son. When the defendant sees that her husband recognizes her and is about to speak out, she makes an impassioned plea, not for mercy but for understanding of what drove her to murder. As she had intended, the hidden message silences her husband. When she faints from the strain, she is carried into a private chamber. There, she kisses her still-unaware son and dies.

Adaptations

* ''Madame X'', 1910 play, translated to English by John Raphael * '' Madame X: A Story of Mother Love'', 1910 novelization by J.W. McConaughy * ''Madame X'', 1916 film starring

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* ''Madame X'', 1920 film starring

Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...

* ''Madame X'', 1929 film starring

Ruth Chatterton Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American stage, film, and television actress, aviator and novelist. She was at her most popular in the early to mid-1930s, and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator, ...

* ''Madame X'', 1937 film starring

Gladys George Gladys George (born Gladys Clare Evans; September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen. Though nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in ''Valiant Is the Word for Carrie'' (1936), she spent most ...

* ''

The Trial of Madame X ''The Trial of Madame X'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Paul England and starring England and Mara Russell-Tavernan. It is based on the 1908 play ''Madame X'' by the French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848-1912). Plot A woman is th ...

'', 1948 film starring Mara Russell-Tavernan * ''Madame X'', 1952 Filipino film starring

Alicia Vergel Erlinda Gaerlan Asturias-Aguilar (June 7, 1927 – May 20, 1992), popularity known as Alicia Vergel, was a Filipina actress noted for her roles as fighting women and amazons and, like Norma Blancaflor, for her heart-shaped face. Early career V ...

* ''Madame X'', 1954 Greek film * ''Madame X'', 1955 Mexican film * ''

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'', 1959 Egyptian film * ''Sino Ka, Madame X?'', 1966 Filipino film starring

Amalia Fuentes Amalia may refer to: People *Amalia (given name), feminine given name (includes a list of people so named) * Princess Amalia (disambiguation), several princesses with this name Films and television series * ''Amalia'' (1914 film), the first ...

* ''Madame X'', 1966 film starring

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* ''Madame X'', 1966 novelization by

Michael Avallone Michael Angelo Avallone (October 27, 1924 – February 26, 1999) was an American author of mystery, secret agent fiction, and novelizations of television and films. His lifetime output was over 223 works (although he boasted over 1,000), publishe ...

of the 1966 film’s screenplay * ''Madame X'', 1981 film starring

Tuesday Weld Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is an American actress and model. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960. Over t ...

References

External links

* {{Internet Archive, madamexastorymo00bissgoog, Madame X 1910 English language prose adaptation 1908 plays French plays adapted into films