L'Île de la raison
Encyclopedia
The Island of reason or the little men is a social comedy
in three acts
and in prose
by french playwright Pierre de Marivaux
, represented for the first time the 11 September 1727 by the Comédie-Française
.
and develops them further.
The essential defect of The Island of reason was that its representation on stage needed an impossible optical trick: in Marivaux's mind, the characters of the play are dwarfs that grow slowly and reach the size of a man as their reason increases. This effect was impossible to show to the audience, even if they were informed of the fact. They would have to imagine that individuals whose size does not vary in their eyes, are first dwarves at the beginning of the piece, and ordinary men and women at the end.
Marivaux thought that he could remedy this deficiency by placing a prologue
at the beginning of his comedy. Also, in the first scene, the governor of the island and his daughter share some observations about the little things that the shipwreck has thrown in their island, and they handle them like the people of Brobdingnag treated Gulliver
; but these explanations didn't get enough attention on the subject.
Play:
In their capacity as French, these characters have become dwarfs on arrival, but they are so in various degrees. One whose size is less affected by Blaise is the peasant, and therefore, he is the most reasonable. Blaise agrees frankly that he often overstepped the rules of temperance, and he often wanted to deceive the purchasers of his products. As he admits his mistakes and takes the resolution to correct them, he grows up in the eyes of his companions.
Once healed, he begins to heal the Gascon, who, accepting sincerely that he was a liar, braggart and flatterer, also resumes his size. The Gascon, in turn, confesses and heals the maid. As for the doctor, who has become almost undetectable, he must promise to stop "curing" his patients and to let them die on their own to recover its size. The Countess must, in turn, has to correct her coquetry, her pride and feigned politeness. She even decides to make a statement to the son of the governor of the island, and she gets back the size she was before the wreck.
The hardest conversion is the one of the courtier, whose secretary has the greatest difficulty in reminding him of his loans, left and right, never returned, his false protestations of friendship, his love of praise. The courtier finally confesses his wrongs, and tending his hand to the farmer and the gascon, who showed them to him. Only the poet and philosopher refuse to admit they were wrong, and remain incurable. Spinette decides, as the Countess, to make a statement and it is well received, and everything ends in marriages.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
in three acts
Act (theater)
An act is a division or unit of a drama. The number of acts in a production can range from one to five or more, depending on how a writer structures the outline of the story...
and in prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
by french playwright Pierre de Marivaux
Pierre de Marivaux
Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux , commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French novelist and dramatist....
, represented for the first time the 11 September 1727 by the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
.
Analysis
The Island of reason covers the same topics as L'Île des esclavesL'Île des esclaves
L’Île des esclaves is a one act comedy by Pierre de Marivaux. It was presented for the first time on March 5, 1725 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne by the Comédie Italienne....
and develops them further.
The essential defect of The Island of reason was that its representation on stage needed an impossible optical trick: in Marivaux's mind, the characters of the play are dwarfs that grow slowly and reach the size of a man as their reason increases. This effect was impossible to show to the audience, even if they were informed of the fact. They would have to imagine that individuals whose size does not vary in their eyes, are first dwarves at the beginning of the piece, and ordinary men and women at the end.
Marivaux thought that he could remedy this deficiency by placing a prologue
Prologue
A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Greek prologos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance...
at the beginning of his comedy. Also, in the first scene, the governor of the island and his daughter share some observations about the little things that the shipwreck has thrown in their island, and they handle them like the people of Brobdingnag treated Gulliver
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
; but these explanations didn't get enough attention on the subject.
Reception
Very badly received by the public at the first performance, Island of reason was played only four times. Although it abounds in beautiful details and especially witty spiritual comments, this is less of a play than a philosophical essay. Marivaux wrote a preface in which he acknowledges that the piece is unplayable:Characters
Prologue:- The Marquis
- The Knight
- The Countess
- The Advisor
Play:
- The Governor
- Parmenas, son of the Governor
- Floris, daughter of the Governor
- Blectrue, Advisor to the Governor
- Islander
- A Islander
- Megisti, servant from the island
- Retinue of the Governor
- The Courtier
- The Countess, sister of The Courtier
- Fontignac, Gascon, secretary of The Courtier
- Spinette, following The Countess
- The Poet
- The Philosopher
- The Doctor
- The peasant Blaise
Plot
On the island of reason all people are reasonable. As the sage Blectrue, advisor to the governor of the island, explains to newcomers, it is women who pay court to the men. When individuals who are not reasonable land there, they lose their size in proportion to their degree of madness. Eight French land in this island: a courtier, his gascon secretary, named Frontignac, a countess and her maid Spinette, a poet, a philosopher, a doctor and a farmer.In their capacity as French, these characters have become dwarfs on arrival, but they are so in various degrees. One whose size is less affected by Blaise is the peasant, and therefore, he is the most reasonable. Blaise agrees frankly that he often overstepped the rules of temperance, and he often wanted to deceive the purchasers of his products. As he admits his mistakes and takes the resolution to correct them, he grows up in the eyes of his companions.
Once healed, he begins to heal the Gascon, who, accepting sincerely that he was a liar, braggart and flatterer, also resumes his size. The Gascon, in turn, confesses and heals the maid. As for the doctor, who has become almost undetectable, he must promise to stop "curing" his patients and to let them die on their own to recover its size. The Countess must, in turn, has to correct her coquetry, her pride and feigned politeness. She even decides to make a statement to the son of the governor of the island, and she gets back the size she was before the wreck.
The hardest conversion is the one of the courtier, whose secretary has the greatest difficulty in reminding him of his loans, left and right, never returned, his false protestations of friendship, his love of praise. The courtier finally confesses his wrongs, and tending his hand to the farmer and the gascon, who showed them to him. Only the poet and philosopher refuse to admit they were wrong, and remain incurable. Spinette decides, as the Countess, to make a statement and it is well received, and everything ends in marriages.
Further reading
- Peter Brockmeier, « La Raison en marche: Über Form und Inhalt der Belehrung bei Montesquieu, Marivaux und VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
», Europäische Lehrdichtung, Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchges, 1981, p. 159-73 - Fabrice Schurmans, « Le Tremblement des codes dans les trois ‘Iles’ de Marivaux », Revue d'Histoire du Théâtre, juil.-sept 2004, 3 (223), p. 195-212.
External links
- L’Île de la raison at CÉSAR website