''Le Bon Ménage'' ( en, The Good Household) is a one 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
Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian
Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (March 6, 1755 in the château of Florian, near Sauve, Gard – September 13, 1794 in Sceaux) was a French poet, novelist and fabulist.
Life
Florian's mother, a Spanish lady named Gilette de Salgues, died whe ...
. It was first performed by the
Comédie Italienne in
1782
Events
January–March
* January 7 – The first American commercial bank (Bank of North America) opens.
* January 15 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the United States Congress to recommend establish ...
. ''Le Bon ménage'' is the second of a trilogy of plays called "The Arlequinades" that tell the story of
Arlequin, his wife Argentine, and later, their children. The other two plays in the series are ''
Les Deux Billets'' and ''
Le Bon Père
''Le Bon Père'' ( en, The Good Father) is a one act comedy by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. It was first performed by the Comédie Italienne in 1784. ''Le Bon Père'' is the last of a trilogy of plays called "The Arlequinades" that tell th ...
''.
Plot summary
Following their adventure in ''
Les Deux Billets'', Arlequin and Argentine have married, moved to
Bergamo, and had two sons. The play opens with Argentine reading the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
to her children. Rosalba, her mistress, enters. For the past three months, Argentine has been serving as a go-between for Rosalba and her husband, Lélio, since Rosalba's father forbade the marriage. Lélio has finally arrived in Bergamo, and Rosalba asks Argentine to visit him outside the city to tell him to wait there.
After Rosalba leaves, Arlequin arrives. Argentine tells Arlequin that she needs to run an errand for Rosalba but does not explain herself because she promised Rosalba that she would tell no one, even Arlequin. While Argentine is gone,
Mezzetin arrives with a letter from Lélio to Rosalba, but as part of the secret, he has written Argentine's name on the outside. Mezzetin mistakes Arlequin for Argentine's servant and tells him that he thinks Lélio is having an affair with her. Arlequin reads the letter and assumes that Argentine is cheating on him. He confronts her when she returns to the house, but she refuses to tell Arlequin what she was doing and asks him instead to trust her. He leaves to tell Rosalba's father that Argentine was having an affair.
Rosalba comes to Argentine's house, and after hearing what has happened, she runs to her father's house to explain. Arlequin returns, and after again pleading with him to trust her, Argentine successfully convinces Arlequin to wait and see what happens. Rosalba enters to say that she confessed everything to her father, and that her father forgave her.
Characters
*
Arlequin, a resident of Bergamo
*Argentine, Arlequin's wife
*Rosalba, Argentine's mistress
*
Mezzetin, Lélio's page
*Two children
External links
''Les Arlequinades'' including ''Le Bon Ménage'', at Gallica
1782 plays
French plays
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