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Six months after the brilliant success of the PrécieusesRidicules, Molière brought out at the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon a newcomedy, called Sganarelle, ou le Cocu Imaginaire, which I havetranslated by Sganarelle, or the self-deceived Husband. It hasbeen said that Molière owed the first idea of this piece to an Italianfarce, Il Ritratto ovvero Arlichino cornuto per opinione, but, asit has never been printed, it is difficult to decide at the present timewhether or not this be true. The primary idea of the play is common tomany commedia dell' arte, whilst Molière has also been inspiredby such old authors as Noël Du Fail, Rabelais, those of the Quinzejoyes de Mariage, of the Cent nouvelles Nouvelles, andperhaps others.
The plot of Sganarelle is ingenious and plausible; every triflebecomes circumstantial evidence, and is received as conclusive proofboth by the husband and wife. The dialogue is sprightly throughout, andthe anxious desire of Sganarelle to kill his supposed injurer, whilsthis cowardice prevents him from executing his valorous design, isextremely ludicrous. The chief aim of our author appears to have been toshow how dangerous it is to judge with too much haste, especially inthose circumstances where passion may either augment or diminish theview we take of certain objects. This truth, animated by a great deal ofhumour and wit, drew crowds of spectators for forty nights, though theplay was brought out in summer and the marriage of the young king keptthe court from Paris.
The style is totally different from that employed in the PrécieusesRidicules, and is a real and very good specimen of the stylegaulois adapted to the age in which Molière lived. He has often beenblamed for not having followed up his success of the PrécieusesRidicules by a comedy in the same style, but Molière did not want tomake fresh enemies. It appears to have been a regular and set purposewith him always to produce something farcical after a creation whichprovoked either secret or open hostility, or even violent opposition.
Sganarelle appears in this piece for the first time, if we except thefarce, or rather sketch, of the Médecin volant, where in realitynothing is developed, but everything is in mere outline. But inSganarelle Molière has created a character that is his own just as muchas Falstaff belongs to Shakespeare, Sancho Panza to Cervantes, orPanurge to Rabelais. Whether Sganarelle is a servant, a husband, thefather of Lucinde, the brother of Ariste, a guardian, a faggot-maker,a doctor, he always represents the ugly side of human nature, anantiquated, grumpy, sullen, egotistical, jealous, grovelling, frightenedcharacter, ever and anon raising a laugh on account of his boasting,mean, morose, odd qualities. Molière was, at the time he wroteSganarelle, more than thirty years old, and could thereforeno longer successfully represent Mascarille as the rollicking servantof the Blunderer.
This farce was published by a certain Mr. Neufvillenaine, who was sosmitten by it that, after having seen it represented several times, heknew it by heart, wr