''La Surprise de l'amour'' is a three-act romantic

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic 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. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

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playwright

Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (; ; 4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. Marivaux is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, w ...

. Its title is usually translated into English as ''The Surprise of Love''. ''La Surprise de l'amour'' was first performed 3 May 1722 by the Comédie Italienne at the Hotel de Bourgogne in Paris. In this play, a man and a woman who've sworn off love are tricked by their servants into falling in love with each other. Like many of Marivaux's other comedies, ''La Surprise de l'amour'' makes use of

stock characters A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...

from the

Commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

. In this play,

Arlequin Arlequin may refer to: * Harlequin, also spelled Arlequin, a comic servant character * Arlequin (band), a Japanese rock band * Arlequin (software), population genetics software * L'Arlequin, a cinema in Paris * Los Arlequíns, Mexican pro-wrestle ...

and

Columbine Columbine may refer to: Places * Columbine, Colorado, a census-designate place in Jefferson and Arapahoe counties in Colorado, United States ** Columbine High School, a high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States *** Columbine Memorial, a ...

are featured.

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 rema ...

considered this to be Marivaux's finest work.

Plot summary

After having been betrayed by a woman, Lélio renounces love and retires to the countryside with his valet, Arlequin, whose adventures in love are similar. Arlequin, who loves everything about women, including their faults, struggles with the task of forgetting them. One of Lélio's servants, Jacqueline, hopes to marry Pierre, a servant at the nearby home of the countess. Lélio refuses to allow the two to marry, as he imposes his own viewpoint on his entire household. The countess, who herself refuses to love men, comes to intervene. Despite the fact that Lélio and the countess swear not to fall in love, a friend of Lélio predicts that this will come to pass. The countess decides to avoid Lélio, but in doing so, she earns his respect and sets in motion the ideas of her servant Columbine. Through the machinations of Columbine and Arlequin (who in turn fall in love themselves), the countess and Lélio ultimately end up together. The play ends with three happy couples: Lélio and the countess, Arlequin and Columbine, and Pierre and Jacqueline.

Characters

* The countess - a wealthy widow who has sworn off men * Lélio - a man who has sworn off women * The baron - a friend of Lélio *

- Lélio's valet *

- The countess' confidente * Jacqueline - a female servant in Lélio's household * Pierre - the countess' gardener

External links

''La Surprise de l'amour''
in French from the

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''La Surprise de l’amour''
from the French sit
CÉSAR
1722 plays Plays by Pierre de Marivaux {{18thC-play-stub