Paul Scarron (c. 1 July 1610 in Paris – 6 October 1660 in Paris) (a.k.a. Monsieur Scarron) was a French poet,
dramatist
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
, and
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
, born in Paris. Though his precise birth date is unknown, he was baptized on 4 July 1610. Scarron was the first husband of
Françoise d'Aubigné, who later became Madame de Maintenon and secretly married King
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Versa ...
.
Life
Scarron was the seventh child of Paul Scarron, a
noble of the robe and member of the
Parlement
A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...
of Paris,
and Gabrielle Goguet. Paul became an
abbé
''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for lowe ...
when he was nineteen. He lived in
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
from 1632 to 1640, and in 1635 traveled to Rome with his patron, Charles de Beaumanoir, the bishop of Le Mans. Finding a patron in
Marie de Hautefort
Marie de Hautefort (1616 – 1691), was a French noble and lady-in-waiting, a trusted confidante and adviser of King Louis XIII of France. They did not have a sexual relationship and she was thereby a favorite rather than a royal mistress. She w ...
,
maîtresse-en-titre
''maîtresse-en-titre'' () was the chief royal mistress of the King of France. The title came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued through the reign of Louis XV. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartme ...
of
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
, he became a well-known figure in literary and fashionable society.
[
In 1638, Scarron became disabled. One source (]Laurent Angliviel de la Beaumelle
Laurent Angliviel de la Beaumelle (28 January 1726 in Valleraugue – 17 November 1773 in Gard) was a French Huguenot, Protestant writer.
Life
La Beaumelle was a brilliant student in Alès and stayed there for eight years (1734–42). He join ...
, ''Memoires... de Mme de Maintenon'') attributed Scarron's deformities to rheumatism contracted from spending time in a swamp. According to this story, Scarron, while residing at Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
, once tarred and feathered himself as a carnival freak and was obliged to hide in a swamp to escape the wrath of the townspeople.[ Another story has Scarron falling into an ice-water bath during the Carnival season. It seems more likely, seeing the connection with water, that he was disabled by polio.
Whatever the cause, Scarron began to suffer from hardships and pain.][ His upper body became permanently twisted and his legs were paralyzed; he was obliged to use a wheelchair, and began taking copious amounts of ]opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
to relieve his pain. Adding to his misfortunes, he became involved in a series of lawsuits with his stepmother over his father's property,[ as well as being obliged to support his sisters financially.][
Scarron returned to Paris in 1640.][ In 1643, he published ''Recueil de quelques vers burlesques''][ ("A Collection of Some Burlesque Verses"), and the next year published ''Typhon ou la gigantomachie''.][ At Le Mans he had conceived the idea of his ''Roman comique'' ("Comic Novel"), the first part of which was printed in 1651.][
In 1645, his comedy ''Jodelet, ou le maître valet'' ("Jodelet, or the Valet as Master") – the actor who played the leading role was also called Jodelet.][ ''Jodelet'' was the first of many French comedies about a servant who takes on the role of master, an idea that Scarron borrowed from the Spanish.][
Scarron became employed by the bookseller Quinet and called his works his "marquisat de Quinet."][ He had also a pension from ]Nicolas Fouquet
Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous wealth ...
, and one from the queen.[ Scarron had initially dedicated ''Typhon'' to Mazarin, who was not impressed with the work; Scarron then changed it to a burlesque on Mazarin.][ In 1651 he expressed his allegiance to the ]Fronde
The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...
by writing a violent anti-Mazarin pamphlet, and lost his pensions due to this.
In his early years, Scarron was something of a libertine.[ In 1649 a penniless lady of good family, Céleste de Palaiseau, kept his house in the Rue d'Enfer, and tried to reform the habits of Scarron and his circle.][
In 1652, he married the impoverished but beautiful Françoise d'Aubigné,][ afterwards famous as Madame de Maintenon, second wife of ]Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
. He died in Paris on 6 October 1660.
Epitaph
Scarron wrote his own epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
, which makes reference to the terrible physical pain he suffered during the last years of his life:
:''Celui qui cy maintenant dort''
:''Fit plus de pitié que d'envie,''
:''Et souffrit mille fois la mort''
:''Avant que de perdre la vie.''
:''Passant, ne fais ici de bruit
:''Garde bien que tu ne l'éveilles :''
:''Car voici la première nuit''
:''Que le pauvre Scarron sommeille.''
:"He who sleeps here now
:Deserved more pity than envy,
:And suffered death a thousand times
:Before losing his life.
:Passer-by, do not make noise here
:Be careful not to wake him
:Because this is the first night
:That poor Scarron slumbers."
Works
Scarron was very prolific as an author. The piece most famous in his own day was his ''Virgile travesti
''Virgile travesti'' is a parody of the ''Aeneid'' written by Paul Scarron in 1648. This early example of French burlesque literature is notable for introducing the word travesty into English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* ...
'' (1648–1653),[ a parody of the '']Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'', but the reputation of this work later declined. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...
'', the ''Virgile travesti'' "is now thought a somewhat ignoble waste of singular powers for burlesque"[ and the ''Roman comique'' (1651–1657) is Scarron's best work: "This history of a troupe of strolling actors... is almost the first French novel...which shows real power of painting manners and character, and is singularly vivid. It is in the style of the Spanish ]picaresque
The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for " rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...
romance, and furnished Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic.
While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...
with the idea and with some of the details of his ''Capitaine Fracasse''."[
Scarron also wrote some shorter novellas, including ''La Precaution inutile'', which inspired Sedaine's ''Gageure imprévue; Les Hypocrites''][ and may also have inspired ]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 ...
's ''Tartuffe
''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...
''. His plays include ''Jodelet'' (1645), ''Don Japhet d'Arménie'' (1653), ''L'Écolier de Salamanque'' (1654), ''Le Marquis ridicule ou la comtesse faite à la hâte'' (1655), ''La Fausse Apparence'' (1657), ''Le Prince corsaire'' (1658).
Most of his works were adapted from Spanish sources, particularly Tirso de Molina
Gabriel Téllez ( 24 March 1583 20 February 1648), better known as Tirso de Molina, was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and Roman Catholic monk. He is primarily known for writing '' The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest'', the play from ...
and Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla
Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla (4 October 1607 – 23 January 1648) was a Spanish dramatist. The main pieces of Rojas Zorrilla are ''Del rey abajo ninguno'' and ''No hay padre siendo rey'' (both published in the 1640s).
Biography
Rojas Zorrilla was ...
.
Scarron is a character in the D'Artagnan
Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fra ...
romance ''Twenty Years After
''Twenty Years After'' (french: Vingt ans après) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. A book of ''The d'Artagnan Romances'', it is a sequel to ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) and precedes the 1847–1850 no ...
'' by Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...
.
''The Roman Comique''
The ''Roman Comique'' tells the adventures of a company of strolling players in a realistic setting, thus providing much information concerning the customs of these companies of actors. The main plot tells the misadventures of Destin's acting company and presents us with an intrusive narrator who disappears when some of the characters tell their life stories such as Destin, La Caverne and La Garouffiere. These stories have a higher tone than the main plot since they tell of past loves among the nobility. In the end the reader is able to unveil many of the mysteries of the novel and the relationship between the heroic material from the past and the comic adventures of the present since L'Estoile is the noble Leonore in disguise. The novel also borrows some of its humor (partially embodied in Ragotin) from Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
's Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
as well as from Menippean satire. It also contains four interpolated tales, taken mainly from Spanish sources. The most famous is the novella of the "Invisible Mistress," a comic adaptation of the more serious tale by Alonso de Castillo Solorzano. This tale, which includes a number of comic narrative intrusions, would be reworked by a number of English authors such as Thomas Otway
Thomas Otway (3 March 165214 April 1685) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for ''Venice Preserv'd'', or ''A Plot Discover'd'' (1682).
Life
Otway was born at Trotton near Midhurst, the parish of which his father, H ...
and Eliza Haywood
Eliza Haywood (c. 1693 – 25 February 1756), born Elizabeth Fowler, was an English writer, actress and publisher. An increase in interest and recognition of Haywood's literary works began in the 1980s. Described as "prolific even by the standar ...
.[Charles H. Hinnant, "Ironic Inversion in Eliza Heywood's Fiction Fantomina and ‘The History of the Invisible Mistress,’" Women's Writing 17.3 (2010)]
References
*
External links
Biography, Bibliography
(in French)
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarron, Paul
1610 births
1660 deaths
Writers from Paris
17th-century French dramatists and playwrights
17th-century French poets
17th-century French male writers
17th-century French novelists
French people with disabilities
French parodists