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Essay Subject: Analysis of Beaumarchais play; its historical controversial elements. Themes, plot, characters.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Analysis of Beaumarchais play; its historical controversial elements. Themes, plot, characters. Paper Introduction: Beaumarchais' play Figaro's Marriage was very controversial, and was banned by Louis XVI for three years, because it looked at class differences in a new, perhaps revolutionary way. The plot involves an aristocrat, Count Almaviva, who is tricked by his valet, Figaro, who is shown to be a better man than his master in almost every way. The play questioned the value of noble birth, praised self-determination, raised questions about sexuality and desire, and generally looked at the social order in a new and liberal fashion. In an even more interesting way, however, the play also seems to open up the world to women who, once the opportunity is presented, turn from being relatively passive, and limited to their own private spaces, to the active pursuit of their own interests in public. Beaumarchais was not a revolutionary in the sense of Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. He does not consider his intrusion on the couple to beof any importance and assumes that they will simply get over it -- and mayeven be glad to have the money. But the reader cannotmistake the play's critical tone toward the Count's abuse of power, andFigaro's long soliloquy makes the themes very clear. And, while the will of the individuallord may be the deciding voice in many areas, it is only legitimate so longas personal interests, such as the Count's sexual desire, are kept out ofconsideration. By the end ofthe play the passive Countess has become a major force and she isresponsible for saving her own marriage. The decision touse his basic ideas is about to be made by the two women and they willdecide that they also have to leave Figaro out of their plans because heinsists that Suzanne not involve herself any further with the Count.Suzanne will use a technicality (that she herself will not actually bemeeting him in the garden) to avoid having to follow her promise to Figaro. Ah, madam, you spare me nothing-- Suzanne. But he has grown tired ofhis marriage and begun to have affairs with many women. Sungolowskyadds that since "Marceline is chiefly concerned with getting a husband anddefending women's rights . My lady had only to let you call the servants-- Count. Her plight is exactly theone to which Suzanne could potentially be subjected if the Count manages toseduce her and Marceline's rejection by Basil is not unlike the Count'srejection of the Countess, at least in that it shows a great deal ofcallousness toward a woman once he is no longer interested in her. Jacques Barzun. Works CitedBeaumarchais. Oncethe reader or audience member notices how important the roles of the womentruly are in Beaumarchais' play it becomes clear that his idea of a publicsphere that included women is even more radical than his challenge to theclass structure. Butsurely it could not have been any more serious--or brought the action toany more of a halt--than Figaro's long soliloquy. Did I join my life to yours only to be a perpetual victim of your neglect and your jealousy, two things which only you can reconcile? In addition to this limited, but important, self-emancipation by theCountess the play may have had more to say about women's role in the publicsphere in relation to the specific difficulties that surround desire andsexuality. By mentioning both the Count's "neglect and jealousy" (as well as hisinterest in Suzanne) the Countess identifies the two points on which he isguilty. New York: Applause, 1989.Brereton, Geoffrey. . The fact thatthe Countess could not have done this at all since she believed thatCherubino was in the closet does not matter in the least to Suzanne who hasbecome inspired, much like Figaro, by the close call they have just had.In her quick perception in this act, as much as anywhere else in the play,Suzanne proves herself to be an ideal companion for Figaro. Now he desiresSuzanne and wants to reinstate the old privilege, and is willing to paySuzanne's dowry in order to have her agree. These responses by Suzanne and the Countess are very important. You are right and I abase myself. "Embodying the Public Sphere: Censorship and the Reading Subject in Beaumarchais's Mariage de Figaro." Representations 61 (1998): 57-77.Sungolowsky, Joseph. There are many interesting ways in which these themes and ideas arepresented in the play. It is, perhaps, so radical that some critics do not evenseem to notice it. This play is a comedy, however, and so, as Beaumarchais wrote, theplot "tangles and untangles unceasingly through a host of comic situationsand of piquant and varied tableaux" (quoted in Sungolowsky 82). The play also addresses the question of control over sexuality anddesire. They have an even deeper sense oftheir common cause, and their own responsibility for it, because of thedanger they have just passed through and -- to the Countess -- miraculouslyescaped. Beaumarchais. But she is equally moved by a slight sense of guiltover the feelings she has toward the boy. Suzanne. Within the privacy of her own room the Countess'actions and words had just indicated to the audience the extent to whichshe was moved by Cherubino's beauty, charm, and his claim to love her.Suzanne had recounted the story of Cherubino's theft of the ribbon and theCountess has recovered it, stained now with the boy's blood. In a sense, therefore,their marriage could also be called Figaro's marriage. In an even more interesting way, however, the play alsoseems to open up the world to women who, once the opportunity is presented,turn from being relatively passive, and limited to their own privatespaces, to the active pursuit of their own interests in public. You deserve to be, you must admit (229). This message is reiterated in the Count's willingness tomake a decision in the court case that will ensure that Figaro will beforced to marry Marceline, thereby giving him a bit of revenge on his valetand leaving him free to pursue Suzanne. The Count is surprised by the extent of her frank comments and claimsthat she is taking full advantage of the situation to score against him inthis way. But the Countessexploits it for herself as well as for Figaro and Suzanne. The Count, whose will is the last word on any matter, wishes toinvade the privacy of Suzanne's and Figaro's marriage -- and betray theprivacy of his own. The Count's interests, as presented at the opening of the play, areentirely selfish. she has rightly been described as an'overeager' female to the point of being comic" (97). But, asBeaumarchais wrote, "her affection for a lovable child, her godson, couldbecome a dangerous liking" (quoted in Brereton 246-47). MacArthur notes, for example, that the settings forthe acts move from the privacy of the two bedrooms in the first two acts tothe controlled public spaces of the "courtroom" and the Count's receptionhall where the party will be held, to the garden of the last act. In fact this element of the plotis so important that it might be possible to read the title in two ways.The marriage of Figaro could refer to his own marriage --which he strugglesto pull off while keeping Suzanne from the Count. This is an abuse of his power as anobleman because he is not using it in a way that is of service to anybodybut himself. Realistically, however, they also set their own interests first andthen work cooperatively. AsMacArthur notes, the Count's general power is not actively challenged; heremains in place and "there is no Revolution" (59). The women come to dominate the action gradually (although Figarodominates the play) and they seem to fill up the public sphere as it isopened by Figaro's efforts. Much of herconfusion when the Count knocks at her door is over the way the scene willlook to her husband. Trans. Nearly all of Figaro's own plans fail in one way or anotherand it is the two women who are finally responsible for the eventualoutcome. London: Methuen, 1977.MacArthur, Elizabeth. Forgive me. Since her innocence has been proved the Countess scolds the Count forhis behavior and Suzanne supports her. Basil has no more sense of basicresponsibility for his sexual activities and their results than the Countdoes. Countess, gradually herself again. And Beaumarchais' presentation of the Countessas a fully drawn human being who could be moved -- out of loneliness andsimple attraction -- by the appeal of a young boy is one of the mostremarkable facets of this play. The Count had been very modern and renounced thetraditional droit du seigneur, "the lord's privilege of the first night"with a woman when she marries (Sungolowsky 83). People have the right to make decisions about their ownsexuality, but this means that they also have a responsibility to do so.Even more radically, the play "suggests that the rights andresponsibilities of sexuality are best negotiated through ongoing publicexchange, involving both sexes and all classes" (MacArthur 59). Atthis point in the play Figaro's elaborate plans have been destroyed andonly their outline (disguise and public exposure) remains. issubmitted to the scrutiny and judgment" of everyone (MacArthur 59). It also shows how thegroup can prevail over even the most powerful individual when people acttogether. Brereton notes that "the supposed immorality of [his] pubescent love,and especially the Countess' very tentative response to it, apparentlyshocked some contemporaries" (247). This, in turn, would also have madeit much more difficult for Suzanne to protect herself from the Count. Beaumarchais was not a revolutionary in the sense of desiring thekind of total rebellion that was to destroy Louis XVI a few years later.Critics have usually discarded the idea that Beaumarchais was arevolutionary in this sense and argue that he "never meant to advocate theoverthrow of the monarchy and its institutions" (Sungolowsky 99). French Comic Drama from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. By challenging hispower to interfere in their private sphere the couple says that "theirsexuality should be their own affair and not the province of stateauthority and intrusion" (MacArthur 59). The Countess wishes to protect Cherubino, but her personalinterest in him is her strongest motivation -- until she decides that thismight interfere with her more important interest in her own marriage. Her transition to the public sphere begins with the Count's entryinto her private quarters and his demand to know who hides behind thedressing room door. Marcelineis not treated as being particularly ridiculous. She notes that at least theCountess has not called in all the servants and allowed him to be exposedas an unreasonably jealous and mistrustful husband. She did! From his neglected wife to the gardener's young daughter Fanchetteall the women in the play are potential objects of desire for the Count andhe regrets having made Suzanne at least partly exempt from this group bychanging the old law. In the dramatically perfectevents that follow both the Countess and Suzanne are severely shaken by theclose escape they experience. . The Countess' transition to the public sphere begins, in severalways, with her mild infatuation with her godson, the young page Cherubino.The difference in their ages is not so great, since, as Breretonspeculates, the Countess must have been around seventeen in the first playand she would now be twenty, while Cherubino is thirteen. 1778. Count. . Another example of this assessment of what 'all men' are like is Basil'srefusal to marry Marceline, even though he is the father of Figaro, simplybecause he dislikes his son so much. Men's desire was surely not asubject that was avoided as carefully as any realistic presentation ofwomen's desire surely was. Ed. In this way they take possessionof the whole of the plot. Thiscombination of many individual and group interests against the single willof the Count points out for the audience the injustice of placing oneperson's interests over those of everyone else. The twentieth-centuryreader is, therefore, forced to wonder whether the omission of the speechis due to the mistaken idea that the play is solely about Figaro's triumphover the Count--the triumph of the lower over the upper class. Figaro's Marriage. Power, the play implies, is meant to be used to keep orderand promote the general welfare. Butthe most interesting way in which these themes are developed may be the waythe women in the play, especially the Countess, move forward into thepublic sphere and in the way the Countess' sexuality is portrayed. Figaro, however, is caughtin the trap the Countess lays for the Count and is shown to have somequalities in common with his master. Beaumarchais' play Figaro's Marriage was very controversial, and wasbanned by Louis XVI for three years, because it looked at class differencesin a new, perhaps revolutionary way. But at this point Suzanne interjects with the idea of thepotential of an appeal to public opinion. And theCountess sees, perhaps for the first time, that she too can be more than amatch for her husband. This seemssurprising given that the portrayal of the illicit (but unfulfilled andtemporary) desire of an aristocratic woman of good reputation was probablya much less common subject of comedy -- maybe even non-existent outside ofsome dramatic Greek legends -- while the pursuit of one woman by two men(and one of them a legitimate pursuer who desired to marry her) wascertainly a somewhat familiar subject. The plot involves an aristocrat,Count Almaviva, who is tricked by his valet, Figaro, who is shown to be abetter man than his master in almost every way. Or it could refer to themarriage created by Figaro -- the marriage of the Count and Countess. Inan earlier play, called The Barber of Seville, Figaro had outwitted anumber of people to arrange a marriage between Rosine, a young woman whoseguardian wanted to marry her, and Count Almaviva. Had he called all theservants to witness the Countess' infidelity, Suzanne implies, he would,instead, have exposed his own failings to public opinion. But Brereton says that the scene hasalways been omitted, even over Beaumarchais' own objections, because it wasconsidered inappropriately serious in a comedy and was a case in which "thephilosophical preacher preaches openly" rather than disguising his messagein witty dialogue and the complications of the plot (25 ). He sees the world under hiscommand as existing solely for himself and responsible only to his ownwill. They comprehend even more clearly than before the power ofFigaro's suggestion of public exposure as the means to get the Count tofollow his stated intention of giving up the droit du seigneur. Eric Bentley. The possible exposure of Figaro's plotagainst the Count and the alternative possibility that he would havegrounds for believing the anonymous accusation regarding her fidelity wouldhave been disastrous for the Countess. . In thisfinal setting most of the characters hide, "privately," inside of thepavilions while "the Count's attempted rendezvous with Suzanne . He betrays his own marriage with his pursuit of other women andhis neglect of her, which is emphasized by his misplaced jealousy. They show this by specifically defining the two central themesthat involve the Count's behavior. But, Brereton argues, the theme of thestruggle over Suzanne offered "much greater offence" (247). As a result of this shock, and the enforced change in plans, the twowomen are suddenly far more focused on the rights and wrongs of the entiresituation. The three women may even besaid to succeed to a greater degree than Figaro does because none of themis ever publicly exposed as guilty of anything. This might have been the message of Marceline's speech in thecourt scene which, according to Brereton, is "a passionate denunciation ofmen who seduce helpless girls and then abandon them" and of theirsubsequent economic exploitation (25 ) and, according to Sungolowsky, is adefense of "women's rights" (97). Thus the lesson they teach the Count is not just that he needs tohonor their privacy but that he also needs to be in control of his ownbehavior. In a different way it is also a woman, Marceline, who makesanother of his plans fail and then succeed. Since the passage is still omitted in Barzun's translation it is notpossible to judge the extent to which these are accurate descriptions. And theCountess decides to adapt his means to achieving her own goals as well. New York: Twayne, 1974. I am discomfited. Instead of suggestingrebellion, however, the playwright imagined a world in which anyone -- richor poor, male or female, young or old -- might receive justice bypresenting his or her case to the world at large. The Misanthrope and Other French Classics. Yet thecurious thing about the play is that even though Figaro comes off as themaster schemer who defeats the Count time after time, Figaro himself windsup being accidentally fooled by the trick that is arranged by the Countessand Suzanne. Therefore the other characters inthe play create "an authentic public sphere in order to critique andcontrol an abusive state authority" (MacArthur 58). Figaro and Suzanne set out to protect their ownmarriage and privacy, but they are always aware of the Countess' interestsas well. AndMarceline needs to ensure that she has the protection of money or ahusband, but is very happy when she discovers that she is not alone in theworld and that she has interests in common with her rediscovered son andhis wife. Heclearly expects her to behave honorably yet he does not do so himself.And, as the Countess explicitly says, these are "two things which only [he]can reconcile" (229). The reader or audience member mighteven assume from this that Beaumarchais wished to group Figaro with othermen in opposition to the relative guiltless state of the women in the play. The play questioned thevalue of noble birth, praised self-determination, raised questions aboutsexuality and desire, and generally looked at the social order in a new andliberal fashion. But the secret will be theirs and at this point in the play they definethe problems that their plot addresses. It is his strategy to force the Count to dowhat he wants by appealing to law and to public opinion. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.