The False Following one

the False Following one, or the Cheating one punished is the title of a play of Marivaux written in 1724 and represented, for the first time, by the ordinary Italian Comédiens of the King saturdays July 8th 1724 with the theater of the Hotel of Burgundy.

Seduction, money, capacity, dressing-up are the main themes of this part where the principage male character proves to be a libertine calculator who maintains by financial interest a rich person countess in the illusion a marriage to come and where the heroin, disguised as a knight, punishes one by deception and inflicts an exemplary lesson with the other for its frivolity.

Characters

the Countess , rich person and tempting.
Lélio , claiming calculator
the Knight (fortunate a Parisienne young person who is made pass for the maidservant of Parisian fortunate and who also disguises itself as a Knight).
Trivelin , servant of the Knight.
Harlequin , servant of Lélio.
Frontin , another servant of the Knight.
Servants, dancers, musicians…

History

To put to the test Lélio which it must marry but which did not see it yet, an young woman (“the young lady of Paris”) presents herself to him disguised as a Knight. She manages to bind closely with him in the capacity as comrade at the moment when he makes the court with a tender countess, which he must marry. A considerable withdrawal having been agreed for the case where one of both been engaged would break engagement, Lélio however wants great to break it, because one proposes an young girl to him three times richer than the countess. As he would like, however, not to pay the withdrawal, he tries to bring, without having of it the air, the countess to be retracted by engaging sound friend to make the court with the lady and to try to be made like of it, while, while continuing to him to show itself hastened near it, arranges itself so as to be made hate. All goes initially to wish, the countess ignites for the alleged knight and déprend of Lélio for the other. But the servants had wind that claimed the knight is a woman. To ensure itself some, Lélio causes in duel the knight… who accepts. Astonished, Lélio makes him excuses. She acknowledges her sex then and is given for the maidservant of the young heiress whom one wants to make marry in Lélio, and, under a pretext, is made give the famous one denied: she returns it to the countess and reveals to him with which cheating she has in business. The countess thanks it, a little angry however that the knight is same sex as it.

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