Opinions differ greatly as to the comparative merits of Marivaux the novelist and Marivaux the dramatist.  His contemporaries[101] considered him superior in the former capacity.  Larroumet classes him in the “small number of those who have shown themselves equally fitted for the drama and the novel,"[102] while Sainte-Beuve [103] declares for the superiority of his drama.  Certainly, one does not weary of his delightful comedies, never long enough to tire, even were they less fascinating than they are, for they never exceed three acts, except in the case of the Serments indiscrets, which is in five.  His creative genius is seen, as nowhere else, in these brief comedies.

After the haute comedie of Moliere, with its presentation of types of character rather than of individuals, and with its general lessons to mankind, it would have been impossible for Marivaux to have gained glory in the same field.  His fondness for originality forbade him from following the traces of his predecessors.  He preferred, he said, “etre humblement assis sur le dernier banc dans la petite troupe des auteurs originaux, qu’orgueilleusement place a la premiere ligne dans le nombreux betail des singes litteraires."[104] So, in the midst of the society in which he moved, a society of idlers, rich, elegant, refined, men in periwigs, in rich brocades and laces, women too, bewitching with their powdered hair, their delicate complexions enhanced by rouge and patches coquettishly arranged, their caught-up skirts and low-cut bodices, Marivaux, with his keen eyes open to the love intrigues so artfully conducted, with his mind awake to all the witty sayings rife on everybody’s tongue, and with his kindly, charitable heart, found inspiration for those dainty creations, so picturesque, so subtle, and so fascinating that they have never ceased to charm, perhaps less truly creations than sketches of the society about him, although no other writer has been able to handle his elusive pen in the portrayal of similar scenes.

In what does the originality of the comedies of Marivaux consist?  In general, one may say, in his treatment of love, their prevailing theme.  “Chez mes confreres,” says Marivaux, “l’amour est en querelle avec ce qui l’environne, et finit par etre heureux, malgre les opposants; chez moi, il n’est en querelle qu’avec lui seul, et finit par etre heureux malgre lui.  Il apprendra dans mes pieces a se defier encore plus des tours qu’il se joue, que des pieges qui lui sont tendus par des mains etrangeres.”  It is true that throughout his plays the lovers rarely encounter any hindrance from without.  There is very little action or intrigue.  The dialogue, witty, brilliant, and ingenious, is all-important, and the denouement often depends upon a misunderstanding, so easy to explain that one sometimes wonders at the wilfulness of the characters in failing to set the matter right until the end.[105] As in all of his plays, marriage follows closely upon the solution of the