The First English Version of Marivaux's "Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard"

Abstract

In the cultural exchange between France and England during the Restoration and eighteenth century, French comedy was a popular export sent across the Channel. One wonders how the French comic spirit could have survived the voyage, for (like wines) not all comedies travel well. Moliere's were easily the most palatable to English taste, as can be judged by the abundance of translations, adaptations, imitations, and plagiarisms. His clearly articulated plots, boldly delineated characters, and sharp robust wit found a receptive audience in England. Marivaux's comedies, however, did not win such popularity-for reasons that may be suggested as we examine the first English version of one of his best-known plays. The curtain of our investigation rises, so to speak, at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket on Thursday, October 31, 1734, when a French company presented Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard, ou Arlequin maitre et valet, a comedy in three acts. The second performance, a month later, was played At the particular Desire of several Persons of Quality.2 Very likely one of these persons was Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, famous today as a letter writer, poet, traveler, and eccentric. The versatile Lady Mary had long been interested in drama. Before Joseph Addison's Cato was staged (in 1713), it was submitted to her by her husband for correction; and Addison followed some of the suggestions she put forth in a critical essay that she noted was suppress'd at the desire of Mr. Addison.3 (It remained unpublished until this century.) On her way to Constantinople a few years later, she saw a German farce and an Italian comedy in Vienna, as well as George I's company of French comedians at Hanover, and, on her way back to England, an affecting performance of Racine's Bajazet at the Comedie-Franqaise.4 During the many years she resided in London she attended the theater, of course; and in addition she served as play doctor for Henry Fielding's early comedies and for Edward Young's tragedies5 and by herself composed at least one act of a satirical comedy entitled Some People.''6 If Lady Mary saw Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard in 1734 she would have been reminded of her own courtship, however different it was from that in the play; and she certainly could have felt a kinship with the heroine, whose common sense and romantic idealism were similar to her own. Presumably she then got hold of the printed text of the play, published in Paris in 1730 (the same year it was first staged), and set about translating and adapting it into English. Her final draft, which remained among her papers, is a very neat fair copy in her own hand entitled A Comedy/Simplicity.7 Restrained by aristocratic decorum, she could not