INTRODUCTION

Among the treasures of the Comedie-Francaise, interesting alike to students of letters and of art, is a painting by Vanloo.  It bears the date of 1753, and represents a man of doubtful age—­for it is hard to tell whether he is past his prime or not—­yet, if the truth were known, one could not write him down for less than sixty-five.  The face is life-like and attractive, full of an expression of gentle breeding, kindliness, wit, and subtlety.  The eyes are rather dark, large, fine, and keen; with the thin lips, pursed in a half-smile, they form the most striking features of the countenance, and serve to give it that characteristic of finesse so peculiar to the man.  The well-developed brow, the full cheeks, and faint suggestion of a double chin, the powdered hair, the black silk coat, the lace jabot, are all in keeping with our conception of this French dramatist, whom a competent critic[1] of to-day has classed as greater than any of his contemporaries in the same field, than Beaumarchais, Voltaire, Regnard, Le Sage, and second only to Moliere, Corneille, and Racine.  Marivaux, whose rehabilitation has come but slowly, and in spite of many critics, occupies a place to-day, not only with the ultra-refined, but in the hearts of the theatre-going public, which, I doubt not, even the most enthusiastic admirers among his contemporaries would not have dared to hope for him; for, next to Moliere, no author of comedies appears so often upon the stage of the Theatre-Francais as does the author of le Jeu de l’Amour et du Hasard.

In the very heart of Paris, and just back of the Hotel de Ville, stands the church of Saint-Gervais, a church of comparatively little fascination to the general student of art or history, although its mingling of Flamboyant and Renaissance styles may attract the specialist in architecture:  but to the student of literary history it has a greater interest, for it is here that “poor Scarron sleeps.” and it was in this parish that Pierre Cariet de Chamblain de Marivaux was born, and in this church, doubtless, that he was christened, although the register of baptism was destroyed at the time of the burning of the archives of the Hotel de Ville, in May, 1871.

The date of his birth was February 4, 1688, a year noteworthy as introducing to the public the first edition of the Caracteres of La Bruyere, with whom Marivaux has often been compared.  His father was of an old Norman family, which had had representatives in the parlement of that province.[2] Since then the family had “descended from the robe to finance,” following the expression of d’Alembert.[3] Ennobled by the robe, they had assumed the name de Chamblain, but unfortunately the latter name was common to certain financiers, and, to still better distinguish themselves, the family had adopted the additional name of Marivaux.[4] There seems, however, to have been no connection between them and the lords of Marivaux (or Marivaulx), a branch of the house of l’Isle-Adam.[5] Our author signed, himself de Marivaux or Carlet de Marivaux.