In the limited space of this Introduction it will be impossible to analyze the plots of any, save only the most important.[114] The following comedies are about the only ones presented regularly at the Comedie-Francaise:  le Jeu de l’Amour et du Hasard, le Legs, les Fausses Confidences, and l’Epreuve; but this brief list by no means embraces all of his exquisite sketches of eighteenth century society.  Add to these la Mere confidente, for which both Larroumet[115] and Sarcey[116] plead, or, at the suggestion of Lemaitre,[117] la Surprise de l’Amour, les Sinceres, la Double Inconstance, and les Serments indiscrets, and we shall still have left a whole series of treasures unexplored, especially in the realm of the fanciful.  As we have already examined one of the most delightful pieces of the latter class, Arlequin poli par l’Amour, a hasty survey of his best known plays will have to suffice.  It might be well to add here that Marivaux’s favourite plays were the following:  la Double Inconstance, the two Surprises de l’Amour, la Mere confidente, les Serments indiscrets, les Sinceres and l’Ile des Esclaves.[118]

Le Jeu de l’Amour et du Hasard, a comedy in three acts, presented on January 23, 1730, at the Theatre-Italien, is generally considered as the masterpiece of Marivaux, although he did not include it in the number of his favourites.  It is certainly his best-known play.  Its success was great and immediate, according to the Mercure of January, 1730.  The plot is as follows:  With the characteristic caution of the heroines of Marivaux, ever on their guard against an ill-assorted marriage, and with the sad experiences of certain friends of hers in mind to make her still more cautious, Silvia determines not to accept Dorante, the suitor chosen for her, until she has had an opportunity to study him in secret.  She therefore modifies her dress to suit the role of her maid Lisette, which she assumes; but Dorante, who is no more willing to be mismated than is Silvia, determines upon the same stratagem, and arrives in the livery of Harlequin, who in turn is to play the part of the master.

This artifice is not absolutely new to the French stage, and it is possible, as Fleury[119] thinks, that the idea of the double disguise may have been borrowed from a short play by Legrand, le Galant Coureur, The situation, most difficult to handle successfully, is treated with inimitable skill by Marivaux, especially that of the two lovers, whose disguise as servants is not enough to guarantee their hearts.  The prejudice of birth, against which Marivaux contended so often, is overthrown, and the lovers are willing, if necessary, to yield all for love.  Silvia is still struggling with her sense of duty, when she discovers Dorante’s identity, but is unwilling to disclose herself and say the final word, until she is convinced that Dorante loves her for herself alone.  The scenes between Harlequin and Lisette, their language, now exaggerated, now trivial, and their haste to fall in love, lend the comic to the play.