Marivaux in the 18th-century France and Poland. Two Models of Commedia dell’arte

The French career of Marivaux’s dramatic work relied to a great extent on the situation of commedia dell’arte in the country — reopening of the official Italian stage in 1716 was not so much meant for the previous triumphs of the Comédie Italienne to continue but rather to contribute to a complete reform of the genre: it was an erudite and yet fully professional theatre that anticipated in certain respects the development of comedy enterprises of the 19th century. Awareness of the change, however, did not reach Poland which remained under a strong influence of the old Comédie-ltalienne (closed in 1697) and as a result the most interesting 18th-century plays associated with the Parisian stage of commedia dell’arte were related to the fairground shows, rather than erudite theatre. What complicated the situation even further is the fact that the European quarrel of the ancients and the moderns had a weak impact on the Polish intellectual life; Polish reformers of the 18th century, although resembling the French moderns of the previous century, were inconsistent in their aesthetic choices. Molière (representing the ancients who opposed the moderns under the aegis of Richelieu) in Poland was interpreted from the modern standpoint of utility, which limited the scope of what was to be expected from the comedy in general; the genre was meant mostly for didactic purposes and often served as a handy means to meet some urgent need; this was also how the plays by Marivaux were perceived in Poland. Research financed by Polish National Centre Science (KBN; DEC --2012/04/S/HS2/00161)Research financed by Polish National Centre Science (KBN; DEC --2012/04/S/HS2/00161