Pierre de Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (February 4, 1688 c February 12, 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French novelist and dramatist. He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing numerous comedies for the Comedie-Francaise and the Comedie-Italienne of Paris. His most important works are Le Triomphe de l'amour, Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard and Les Fausses Confidences. He also published a number of essays and two important but unfinished novels, La Vie de Marianne and Le Paysan parvenu. Life His father was a Norman financier whose real name was Carlet, but who assumed the surname of Chamblain, and then that of Marivaux. He brought up his family in Limoges and Riom, in the province of Auvergne, where he directed the mint. Marivaux is said to have written his first play, the Pere prudent et equitable, when he was only eighteen, but it was not published till 1712, when he was twenty-four. However, the young Marivaux concentrated more on writing novels than plays. In the three years from 1713 to 1715 he produced three novels--Effets surprenants de la sympathie; La Voiture embourbee, and a book which had three titles--Pharsamon, Les Folies romanesques, and Le Don Quichotte moderne. These books are very different from his later, more famous pieces: they are inspired by Spanish romances and the heroic novels of the preceding century, with a certain intermixture of the marvellous. Then Marivaux's literary ardour took a new phase. He parodied Homer to serve the cause of Antoine Houdar de La Motte, (1672 - 1731) an ingenious paradoxer; Marivaux had already done something similar for Francois Fenelon, whose Telemachus he parodied and updated as Le Telemaque travesti (written in 1714 but not published until 1736). His friendship with Antoine Houdar de La Motte introduced him to the Mercure, the chief newspaper of France, and he started writing articles for it in 1717. His work was noted for its keen observation and literary skill. His work showed the first signs of "marivaudage," which now signifies the flirtatious bantering tone characteristic of Marivaux's dialogues. Marivaux is reputed to have been a witty conversationalist, with a somewhat contradictory personality. He was extremely good-natured, but fond of saying very severe things, unhesitating in his acceptance of favours (he drew a regular annuity from Claude Adrien Helvetius), but exceedingly touchy if he thought himself in any way slighted. He was, though a great cultivator of sensibility and unsparingly criticized the rising philosophes. Perhaps for this reason, Voltaire became his enemy and often disparaged him. Marivaux' friends included Helvetius, Claudine Guerin de Tencin, Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle and even Madame de Pompadour (who allegedly provided him with a pension). Marivaux had one daughter, who became a nun; the duke of Orleans, the regent's successor, furnished her with her dowry. Literary career The early 1720s were very important for Marivaux; he wrote a comedy (now mostly lost) called L'Amour et la verite, another comedy, Arlequin poli par l'amour, and an unsuccessful tragedy, Annibal (printed 1737). In about 1721, he married a Mlle Martin, but she died shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, he lost all of his inheritance money when he invested it in the Mississippi scheme. His pen now became almost his sole resource. Marivaux had a connection with both the fashionable theatres: Annibal had played at the Comedie Francaise and Arlequin poli at the Comedie Italienne. He also endeavoured to start a weekly newspaper, the Spectateur Francais, to which he was the sole contributor. But his irregular work ethic killed the paper after less than two years. Thus, for nearly twenty years the theatre, especially the Comedie Italienne, was Marivaux's chief support. His plays were well-received by the actors of the Comedie Francaise, but were rarely successful there. Marivaux wrote between 30 and 40 plays, the best of which are the Surprise de l'amour (1722), the Triomphe de Plutus (1728), Jeu de l'amour et du hasard (1730) (The Game of Love and Chance), Les Fausses confidences (1737), all produced at the Italian theatre, and Le Legs (1736), produced at the French. At intervals, he returned to journalism: a periodical publication called L'Indigent philosophe appeared in 1727, and another called Le Cabinet du philosophe in 1734. But the same causes which had proved fatal to the Spectateur prevented these later efforts from succeeding. In 1731 Marivaux published the first two parts of his great novel, Marianne. The eleven parts appeared at intervals over the next eleven years, but the novel was never finished. In 1735 another novel, Le Paysan parvenu, was begun, but this also was left unfinished. Marivaux was elected a member of the Academie francaise in 1742. For the next twenty years, he contributed occasionally to the Mercure, wrote plays and reflections (which were seldom of much worth), and so forth. He died on the 12th February 1763, aged seventy-five. -------------------------- De la curs: Pierre de Marivaux (Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux) 1668 -1763 Creatorul comediei psihologice franceze, in secolul 18. Mic nobil, isi faceau nume kilometrice adaugand si proprietatile pe care le aveau la nume. Dupa o cultura serioasa, obtinuta in colegiul Louis le Grand, cel mai mare si mai bun colegiu din Paris. Foarte multi ani a fost anjagatul Comediei Italiene de la Paris. Foloseste pe de-o parte foarte mult procedee ale Commediei del Arte – personaje fixe, interesante, folosite in comedia aceasta, intotdeauna cu aceleasi calitati sau defecte, foarte bine miscate de autor astfel incat caracterele lor erau foarte bine conturate. Provoaca rasul cu mijloace complicate, un ras serios. De aceea este creatorul comediei psihologice, unde trasaturile de caracter definesc personajul. Pe de alta parte aduce aminte prin rafinamentul analizei psihologice pe Racine – a iubit tragedia lui Racine, a imprumutat de la el foarte multe trasaturi de caracter ale personajelor, dar se apropie si de Shakespeare – are rafinamentul lui, dar aplicat de el la comedie. Are rafinamentul limbajului din saloanele literare ale Parisului. E o comedie unde nu se rade prea usor, unde eroii sunt destul de seriosi. E numita comedie pentru ca toate problemele lor se rezolva in felul cel mai intelept posibil. Primele figuri de personaje feminine care sunt foarte pretentioase in comportarea lor in domeniul iubirii. Are mai multe genuri de comedie – unele mai usoare, care si din titlu se apropie mai mult de Commedia del Arte (Arlechin – triumfurile sau necazurile din dragoste ale lui Arlechin). ----------------- Rosa Venozzi, o actrita de la Paris, foarte talentata in piesele lui Marivaux, a impus un anumit stil al interpretarii si un stil de viata. Marivaux spune ca a gandit in inima umana toate nisele in care se poate ascunde dragostea, si ca aceste comedii au ca scop sa faca sa iasa dragostea din aceste niste. Urmarea modul in care apare sentimentul, in care isi gaseste drumul adevarat, si de multe ori dragostea in piesele lui e foarte timida, isi gaseste multe pretexte de a se ignora pana cand apare la suprafata. A dat o noua atentie psihologiei feminine in piese (spre deosebire de Moliere). Femeia e cea care face ca dragostea sa infloreasca, in urma incercarilor la care este supus pretendentul. In piesele sale valetii sunt si ei seriosi. Problemele sunt serioase, si de aceea analiza psihologica este foarte rafinata. Marivaux nu a vrut sa mearga pe liniile obisnuite ale creatiei unei piese. “Imi place mai mult sa stau pe ultima banca a unei banci de autori originali, decat plasat in prima banca a numeroasei trupe de maimute literare.”