American Society For Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS)

American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS)
Ambiguity and Unresolved Conflict in Diderot's Theatre

Author(s): Barbara G. Mittman
Source: Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Winter, 1971-1972), pp. 270-293
Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press . Sponsor: American Society for
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Ambiguityand
UnresolvedConflict
in Diderot'sTheatre
BARBARA G. MITTMAN
As NO HISTORY OF FRENCH LITERATURE failsto observe,theosten-

sibleaimofmostofDiderot'stheatrewas to depictmiddle-class social
conditions,and in so doingto inspirevirtuein a way thatwouldbe
applicableto everydaylife.Theatrein the eighteenth centurywas
thenearestequivalentto a mass-medium,' and Diderotenvisagedit
as the new moralforce,as a kind of lay church."Quelquefoisj'ai
pensequ'on discuteraitau theatreles pointsde moraleles plus im-
portants, et cela sans nuirea la marcheviolenteet rapidede l'action
dramatique,"he wrotein De la poesie dramatique.2Thus, in his
plays,Diderotwrotewordsthatexaltedthe maritalstate("O lien
sacredes epoux,si je pense'a vous,moname s'echauffe et s'eleve!"),
thatexpressed indignation at any threatto the family ("Moi, j'au-
toriserais,par une faiblessehonteusele desordede la societe,la con-
fusiondu sanget des rangs,la degradationdes familles?"),thatsang
thesweetrewardsofparenthood("Puissele ciel,qui benitles enfants
par les pereset les perespar les enfants,vous en accorderqui vous
ressemblent, et qui vous rendentla tendresseque vous avez pour
moi!").3He oftenendedhisplayswithGreuze-like tableauxoffamily
reunions.Long-lostfathers, separatedfromtheirchildrenbyphysical
distance,orpsychicdistance,or both,findtheiroffspring once again.
Embracingthem,theyexclaim: "Je l'ai retrouve!Je le tiens!Je le
1 In additionto the Comedie Frangaise,the Comedie Italienne,and the Opera,

therewere approximately 160 privatetheatresin Paris alone (Grimm,Diderot,
Raynal,Meister,etc.,Correspondance philosophiqueet critique,ed. Mau-
litteraire,
riceTourneux,16 vols.[Paris,1875-1877],I, 158).Thisis a significantnumber, con-
sideringthatthepopulationof Paris at thetimewas only524,000,and thattoday,
witha populationof 6,000,000,greaterParis has only 279 moviehouses and 66
theatres.
ed. P. Verniere(Paris,1959),p. 197.
2 Diderot,Oeuvresesthe'tiques,
3 The citationsare fromLe Pere de famille(II.ii and II.vi), and Le Fils naturel
(V.v),respectively.
270
AMBIGUITY IN DIDEROT'S THEATRE 271
serre entre mes bras! 0 jour heureux! . . . Nous voila reconcilies,

reunis."4By such touchingportrayalsof familywarmthand cohe-
siveness,Diderothopedto createa kindof sincerepropagandathat
wouldexercisebeneficialinfluenceon thelivesof themultitudinous
theatre-goers of his time.
But are thingsreallyas theyseem?Was theuniversethatthe au-
thorinventedforhis public,as well as forhimself,- reallyan ideal,
well-behaved, modelone-or was all oftheapparentwarmth, virtue,
and innocencea kindof window-dressing forsomething morenega-
tive?
Diderot'stheatre, exceptforEst-ilbon? Est-ilmechant?,is almost
universally condemnedforbeing too moralizingand "sermoneur."
Moralizing,however,impliesa pointof view: in orderto preacha
sermononemusthaveconvictions, realor simulated.But convictions
and a pointof vieware preciselywhatis lackingin Diderot'splays.
It is truethattheplaysgivethe impressionof extollingvirtue,self-
control,reason,sociallyconstructive behavior,etc.,and indeed,they
all endhappily.Buttheplaysare alwaysbroughtto theirdenouement
bya deusex machina;neverdo theyarrivetherevia an honestresolu-
tionofconflict. Problemsareleftin theair.The authorneverdeclares
himself.In fact,the veryinstitutions and conditionsthatDiderot's
theatrewas ostensibly designedto exemplify-marriage, thefamily,
fatherhood-proveupon scrutinyto be subtlyunderminedin his
plays.The purposeofthisinquiryshallbe to demonstrate theunder-
lyingambiguityof Diderot'swritingsforthe theatre,and to show
how thisambiguity reflectscertainnever-to-be-resolvedconflicts
in
theauthor'slife.The discussionwillbe dividedintothreeparts: (1)
Diderot'sapproachto marriagein hisplays,(2) hisportrayal offam-
ilylife,and (3) hishandlingofthefather.
"Ecoutez-moiencoreun moment,"writesDiderotto Mme Ricco-

boni in his famousletteraboutthetheatre."Quel est le fondde nos
comedies?Toujours un mariagetraversepar les peres ou par les
meres,ou par les parentsou par les enfants,
ou par la passionou par
ou par d'autresincidentsque vous savez bien."6 Whatever
l'interet,
Sc. xx.
4 Les Peresmalheureux,
5 RogerKempf,in Diderotet le roman,ou le de'monde la presence(Paris,1964),
pp. 68-72, has alreadypointedout thatthe theatreseemsto have represented
for
272 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES
thecase mightbe forFrenchcomedyingeneral,thereis no doubtthat

in Diderot's case, "le mariage traverse"is one of the dominant
themes,ifnotthedominanttheme,ofhiswritings forthetheatre.Of
hisfivecompletedplays,fourdependheavilyon a "mariagetraverse."
In addition,thethemeappearsin a numberof thesketches.7 Of the
varioustypesof opposed marriagethatDiderotmentionsto Mme
Riccoboni,it is marriageopposed by theauthority of a parent(or,
morebroadly,by the authority of organizedsociety),thatpreoccu-
pied himin particular.Whileit would indeedbe difficult to name
verymanyauthorsofcomedyin theseventeenth and eighteenthcen-
turieswho did not,at one timeor another,make use of theidea of
opposedmarriage,in thecase of Diderotthe questionimmediately
presentsitself:Was thisthememerelya playwright's device,a good
formula?Or was thisa formulawhichat thesame time-
theatrical
and moreimportantly-permitted theauthorto deal withone ofhis
ownpainfulconflicts?
The unpleasantcircumstances of Diderot'sownmarriageare well
known.In love withan impecuniousParis seamstress,Antoinette
Champion,Diderotreturned to Langresin 1742 to seekhis father's
permissionto marryher.The Coutelierde LangresconsideredMlle
Championnot a suitablematchforhis son,and was adamantin his
opposition.Alternating pleas withthreatsofdisinheritance,butfind-
Diderota meansof liberation, a meansto attainpsychological repose.Whilethereal

worldwas tumbling downabouthis earsin 1757-58 (persecution on accountof the
Encyclopgdie, misunderstanding withRousseau,desertionby d'Alembert), Diderot
seemedmoreintentthaneveron retreating intoplaywriting.Most of all, thetheatre
meanta measureof reposeas concernedthe author'sfather.Althoughthe elder
Diderotremainedas harshand intractable as ever,theplaywright inventeda series
of temperate, docile fathersfor the stage.By thusdeforming his father'simage,
Diderotwas able to acceptit.
6 Diderot,Correspondance, ed. GeorgesRoth and JeanVarloot,16 vols. (Paris,
1955-1970),II, 101.
7 The fiveplays are: Le Fils naturel,Le Pere de famille,Est-il bon? Est-il
mechant?,Les Peres malheureux, and Le Joueur.The last two are adaptationsof
foreign plays.Thereare eightsketches forotherplays(La Mortde Socrate,Le She'rif,
Le Traindu monde,Mme de Linan ou l'honnOte femme,L'Infortune'e, Les Deux
amis,Plan d'undivertissement domestique,Terentia),as wellas twoforcomicoperas
(Plan d'un opera comiqueand Plan du Mari libertin puni).Most of theseappearin
volumesVII and VIII of the Oeuvrescompletes,ed. Assezat-Tourneux, 20 vols.
(Paris,1875-1877).The sketchforLa Mortde Socrateappearstwicein Discourssur
la poesie dramatique(Oeuvresesthetiques, pp. 198-99 and pp. 272-76). The Plan
d'unope'racomiquewas publishedforthefirsttimein 1955 by J.R. Loy, "Diderot's
UneditedPlan d'unope'racomique,"RomanicReview,46 (February1955),3-24.
ingthatneitherwas effective,
Diderotperefinallyhad theheadstrong
Denis (thennearlythirtyyearsold) imprisonedin a nearbymonas-
tery.At the same time,he communicatedwith Mme Champion,
urgingthatAntoinetteherselfcometo theaid ofhis cause:
Si Mademoiselle votrefileestaussibienneeet 1'aimeautantqu'ilcroit,

ellel'exhortera 'arenoncer a sa main;carce n'estqu'a ce prixqu'ilrecou-
vrera la liberte,
car'aI'aidedemesamisquionteteindignes desa hardiesse,
je l'aifaitmettre enlieude surete,etnousaurons, je crois,plusde pouvoir
qu'iln'enfautpourl'yconserver jusqu'acequ'ilaitchange desentiment.8
Diderot,however,escaped fromthemonastery by jumpingfroma

window.He immediately returnedto Paris and marriedNanettein
secret.It was not untilyearslaterthatfatherand son were recon-
ciled.
Quiteotherwise fromwhatone mightexpect,thisact of rebellion
did notcommitDiderotto a life-longcondemnation of parentalau-
thority.On thecontrary, he seemssubsequently to have viewedthe
fatheras a kindof benevolentmonarch,9 whosenaturalrightit was
to be obeyed,butwho,byactingwith"douceurmeleede fermete," "I
managedto findhimself in accordwithhischildren,and hischildren
in accordwithhimself. Dependingon whether Diderotis closerto the
timeof his own marriage(1743), or to thatof his daughter,Ange-
lique (1772), one or anotheraspectofthisconceptionofparentalau-
thority is emphasized.Thus,in 1751, in thearticle"Autorite"forthe
Encyclopedie,Diderotdwellsupon thelimitsof paternalauthority:
Si la nature
a etabliquelqueautorite,
c'estla puissance
paternelle;
maisla
puissancepatemelle a ses bornes,et dans1'etatde natureelle finirait
aussitotquelesenfants enetatdeseconduire.1"
seraient
However,as Angeliqueapproachesmarriageableage, the philoso-

phe,nowperede famille,thinksless aboutrestraintand moreabout
thenecessityof choosinga suitablemate forher. Indeed,in 1767,
whenhe is toyingwiththeidea ofoffering Angeliqueas a wifeto his
friendViallet,his daughter'spossiblesentiments
on the matterare
8 Roth,I, 43.
9The words"pere" and "souverain"are used almostsynonomously
throughout
theEntretiens avec Catherine11.
10 Oeuvrespolitiques,ed. P. Verniere(Paris,1963),p. 19.
11Ibid.,p. 9.
quite subordinateto "les arrangements des deux amis."12 And in

1770, whenAngeliqueand her futurehusband,Caroillonde Van-
deul, are aboutto be broughttogether, Diderotstatesthatwhilehe
wouldneverforcehisdaughterto marrya manforwhomshedid not
care,bythesametoken,"il ne fautpas qu'elle prenneun epouxdont
je ne voudraispas." 13 Fortunately forthephilosophe'sequilibrium,
Angeliqueand Caroillonfoundeach othermutuallypleasing,and in
due course the marriagewas concluded.Diderot was nevertruly
forcedto workout fromthefather'spointof viewthedilemmathat
he himself had presented tohisownfather.How he mighthave acted,
or whatmighthave happenedhad Angeliqueconductedherselfin
thesamewayhe had (or in thewaySaint-Albin in Le Pere de famille
mighthave,had Sophie'strueranknotbeendiscovered),is doubtless
anotherstory.The conflictbetweenpassion and paternalauthority
was to remainunresolvedin theauthor'slife,justas, in fact,it did in
hisplays.
One need not delveveryfarto ascertainthe extentto whichthe
author'sown "mariagetraverse"furnished himwithmaterialforthe
theatre.Two plays,Le Pe'rede familleand Les Peres malheureux,
are but variationsof his real-lifesituation.In them,he seemsto be
tryingto workout variouscombinationsof his own experience;to
explorewhatcould have happened,had certainfactorsbeen other
thantheywere.The firstof theseplays,Le Pere de famille(1758),
bears the closestresemblanceto biographicalfact.Saint-Albinis a
headstrong youngmanwhois in love withthebeautifuland virtuous
Sophie. Like Antoinetteand hermother,Sophie and an oldercom-
panion,Mme Hebert,barelyeke out a livingas seamstresses. In the
same way thatyoungDiderothad, Saint-Albinhas renteda room
nextdoor to Sophie's"reduit"(I.vii).'4 And like theelderDiderot,
M. d'Orbesson,who is Saint-Albin's fatherand the"perede famille"
of thetitle,expressesthemostviolentoppositionwhenhe learnsof
his son's desireto marrythepennilessSophie. Justas was Diderot
pere,d'Orbessonis againstsucha marriagebecause Sophieis ofun-
certainfamilybackground,and clearlybelow Saint-Albinin social
rank."Moi, j'autoriserais,par une faiblessehonteuse,le desordrede
12 Roth,VII, 203.
13 Ibid.,X, 31.
14 According to Mme de Vandeul,"monperese trouvaavoirretenuune chambre
au-dessusd'elle [Antoinette]"
(Assezat-Tourneux,
I, xxxviii).
la societe,la confusiondu sang et des rangs,la degradationdes fa-

milles?"he asksrhetorically(II. vi).
Launchinga campaignto stopthemarriage,he triesfirstto dis-
courage his son by paintinga black pictureof the lifethatawaits
whoeverwouldstrayfromtheboundsofsociety:
Vousvoustrouverez seulavecelle,sansetat,sansfortune,sansconsidera-
tion[Saint-Albinwillbe disinherited
if he insists
on marrying Sophie];
1'ennui
et le chagrin
voussaisiront.Vous la haYrez, vousI'accablerez
de
reproches;voushaYrez les enfants
qu'ellevous auradonnes,et vousla
ferez
mourir dedouleur.(IJ.vi)
When Saint-Albinpersists,M. d'Orbessonappeals to Sophie to re-

nouncetheidea ofmarriage, justas theCoutelierde Langreshad ap-
pealedto Antoinette. "Jecomptebeaucoup surelle,"theperede fa-
milleadmits(III.vii). Finally,thereis a threatofimprisonment, just
as therehad beenintheconfrontation betweenDiderotandhisfather.
But theconflictbetweenfatherand son,betweenthereasonablebe-
haviordemandedby society,and thatdictatedby passion,is not to
be resolved.At play'send, Diderotblandlyside-stepsthedilemma.
The problemofSaint-Albin's"mariagetraverse"evaporateswhenit
is learnedthatSophie is actuallySaint-Albin'scousin and thusof
entirelysuitablefamily(V.xii). The marriagecan take place; there
is no needtochoose.Bothadversaries can prevail.
A variantof thissituationis examinedin Les Peres malheureux,
whichcan almostbe considereda sequelto thePeTre de famille.15
The
initialpremiseofLes Peres malheureuxis nearlyidenticalto thatof
thepreceding play,inthatan "unsuitable"marriagehas beenopposed
by a youngman'sfather. Here,however,thesondefieshisfather.Un-
like Saint-Albin,he has alreadyseduced the girl.Preventedby his
fatherfrommarrying thewomanof his choice,he goes offto make
his lifewithher outsidethe bounds of society.These eventshave
takenplace tenyearsearlier,and theplay itselfopenswitha depic-
tionofthecouplelivingat theedgeofa forest.It is clearthattheson
in thisplayhas doneexactlywhatSaint-Albinmighthave done,had
Sophienotturnedout to be an acceptablematchafterall. We hope,
15
AlthoughLes Pe'resmalheureux
was an adaptationof a contemporary
German
play,SalomonGessner'sErast,ratherthanan originalcreation,therecan be little
doubtabouttheacuteaffinityDiderotfeltforthesubject.Retainingthebasic situa-
tionof theGessnerplay,Diderotrethoughtthedialogue,and reworkedsomeof the
structure.
then,to learnwhatthe consequencesof thiskind of defiancehave

been. Have M. d'Orbesson'spredictionsforsuch cases come true?
Once again, however,the answeris inconclusive.To be sure,the
firstpart of the pere de famille'sprognosis("Vous vous trouverez
seul avec elle,sansetat,sansfortune, sansconsideration; l'ennuiet le
chagrinvous saisiront")has been realized.The couplelivein a state
of abjectmaterialmisery,and theyoungfatherregretshavingbeen
thecause ofso much"douleur"and "infortune" forhiswife(Sc. iv).
But thesecond,moresignificant part("Vous la hairez,vous l'accab-
lerezde reproches;vous halirezles enfantsqu'elle vous aura donnes,
et vous la ferezmourirde douleur")is shownto be quitefalse.Far
fromreproaching hiswifeandhatinghischildren, he findsthewoman
withwhomhe strayed"encorebelle,"a "creatureceleste,"a "femme
divine,"and is as lovinga fatheras couldbe towardhistwochildren.
Physicalmisery,yes, but loss of love, most certainlynot. Indeed,
neartheendoftheplay,theelderfather, takingstockofthesituation,
admitsthathe has actedwithinjustice."Notrebonheureutcommence
dixans plustot,"he confesses;"je ne l'ai pas voulu" (Sc. xx).
By thusrefuting theblackestportionof M. d'Orbesson'spredic-
tion,Diderotseemsalmostto be takingsides: fortherebelliousson,
and againstthesociety-oriented father;forpassion,and againstrea-
son. He almostseemsto be sayingthatauthority and societyneed
notnecessarily be heeded.But in reality,theauthorhas again subtly
evaded theissue. The situationdoes not represent a trueconfronta-
tionbetweenauthority and passionbecauseoftheintroduction ofthe
elementofhonor.Havingalreadyseducedthe"jeuneinnocente," the
son is obligedto disobeyhis father,and pursuetheconsequencesof
his passion.To do otherwisewouldhave been unthinkable. But be-
cause thiselementof honorhas been introduced,the termsof the
playare changed,so thatwe are stillnotshownto whatextent,when
no extraneous factorsare present,parentalauthority oughtto prevail
over"les enfantsqui ferment l'oreille'a la voix de la raison."16
This same themeof unionagainstparentalwishescropsup again
in Le Fils naturel.Thoughalludedto onlybriefly, its patternis the
same. Lysimond,who in his youngerday was anotherheadstrong
lover,seduced "une jeune infortunee, trop tendre,trop sensible"
(IV.iii). Dorval,thefruitofthisunion,tellshowhismother's parents,
irritatedand powerful,had forcedhis fatherto embarkforthe is-
16 Pere de famille(II.viii).
lands.But,as in theotherplays,theproblemof disobediencein con-

nectionwitha marriageneverhad to be resolvedforLysimond,be-
cause "il y appritla mortde ma mere,au momentou il pouvaitse
flatter de devenirsonepoux" (IV.iii).
This particularkind of crossed marriageis only in the back-
groundhowever.The mainactionofLe Fils naturelis governedby
anothertypeof "mariagetraverse,"one whichis frustrated-still
keepingto Diderot'slist in his letterto Mme Riccoboni-"par la
passion"as well as "par l'interet."Althoughthe vocabularyof the
conflictin thisplay is different
fromthatin Le Pere de familleand
Les Peresmalheureux, itsoonbecomesclearthatthereal issueis the
same: shoulda youngpersonmarryaccordingto thedictatesofduty
and reason,or accordingto thedictatesof passion?Equally clear is
Diderot'srefusaltodecidethisissue.
The play,havingalmostnothingto do withtheconditionof one
bornoutofwedlock,despiteitstitle,openson theeve ofthemarriage
,ofRosalie and Clairville.The unionis to takeplace as soon as Rosa-
lie's long-absentfatherarrivesfromAmerica.Whilewaiting,how-
ever,Rosalie becomesdisenamoredof her fiance,and fallsin love
withDorval,hisbestfriend(and quitegratuitously, "le filsnaturel").
"Je l'aimais; j'ai cesse. . . . C'est que j'en aime un autre," confesses
Rosalie (JJ.ii).Clairville,shakenbythischangeofheart,pleadswith
her: "Rosalie, dites un mot, et nous allons . . . etre unis d'un lien
eternel." "Laissez-moi," responds Rosalie, "je vous hais....
Laissez-moi,vous dis-je" (JII.iv). The pendingmarriagehas thus
been subverted by theintervention of passion.But Diderotdoes not
immediately allowhischaracters to cometo gripswiththeirdilemma.
Rosalie neednotfacetheproblemofpassionvs. thereasonable,vir-
tuousbehaviorthathercommitment to a worthy manwouldrequire,
thanksto thetimelyintervention of financialcatastrophe.Old Lysi-
mond'sshiphas been capturedby pirates,and Rosalie's fortunehas
beenlostat sea (JII.viiand viii).Her fiance,moreover, is also without
financialresources.The marriage,therefore, can probablynot take
place; it wouldbe too clearlyagainstthe"interet"of Rosalie. Clair-
ville himselfsummarizesthe situation:"S'exposera-t-elle, pour un
hommequ'elle n'aimeplus,a toutesles suitesd'un etatpresquein-
digent?"(JJI.viii).If onlytemporarily, the real conflictin Le Fils
naturelhasbeendilutedbythisnewconsideration.
The marriagebetweenRosalie and Clairvillenow appearshope-
lesslythwarted,by the obstaclesof both "passion" and "interet."

However,at thispointDorval stepsin. Althoughin lovewithRosalie
himself, and now suddenlyin a positionto winher,he will,out of a
sense of virtueand friendship, undertaketo clear the path forhis
friend.Secretlyhe transfershis fortuneto Rosalie,makingit appear
thatshehas collectedinsuranceon thepiratedship (IJJ.ix).Withthe
obstacleof "interet"thusremoved,he nextsets about to overcome
themoredifficult obstacleof "passion."In an eloquentlecture,Dor-
val triesto convinceRosaliethattheymustrenouncetheirpassionfor
one another,thathappinesslies in reasonand virtue.Were theyto
bringthemselves to betrayClairville,fianceand friend,theirdeed
wouldhauntthem,and assuretheirmisery:"Loin de Clairvilleet de
Constance [Clairville'ssister],otuirions-nous?que deviendrions-
nous? quelle seraitnotresociete?... L'ivressepasse; on se voittel
qu'on est,on se meprise;on s'accuse;et la miserecommence"(V.iii).
Weretheyto disobeythedictatesof reason,theywould findthem-
selvesunhappyoutcasts-just as iftheyhad disobeyedtheirparents.
Indeed,Dorval'swordsmightwellhavebeenthoseofM. d'Orbesson
whenhe warnedSaint-Albinthat,marriedto Sophie,"l'ennuiet le
chagrinvous suivront.Vous la haYrez,vous I'accablerez de re-
proches. .
The apparentproblemin Le Fils naturel,then,is thesame as in
Le Pere de familleand Les Peres malheureux:willthosewho value
passionoverdutyand reasonsuffer the dire consequences?On the
surfaceit looks as thoughreasonand dutyhave triumphed. Le Fils
naturelendswitha familyreunion(old Lysimondhas made his way
to Paris), and withthe promiseof a double wedding(Rosalie will
marryClairville,and Dorval will marryClairville'ssister,Con-
stance).However,when Lysimondfinallyappears,he revealsthat
Dorval and Rosalie are brotherand sister.This new factat once ex-
plains and dissipatestheir"unreasonable"attractionto each other.
It also precludesany lingeringdoubtsas to whetherRosalie might
have beenhappiermarrying forpassion.The dilemmais thusneatly
annulled.As in theothertwoplays,theauthorhas once again side-
steppedtherealconflict.
If,in Diderot'stheatre,opposedmarriageshave a way of turning

intohappyweddings,thereis but scantreasonto concludethatthe
authorforeseesa satisfactory marriedlifeforthe partners.Indeed,

thesame kindof acute tensionthatexistsbetweenpassionand rea-
son beforemarriageseemsto be presentin his attitudetowardsthe
of marriageitself.The panegyricdeclaimedby M. d'Or-
institution
bessonin thePe'rede familleexpressessomeofDiderot'smoreideal-
isticnotionsaboutthemarriedstate:
[Le mariage,] c'estunetatquela nature impose.C'estla vocation de tout

ce quirespire.... Si le mariage exposea despeinescruelles, c'estaussila
sourcedesplaisirs lesplusdoux.Oiusontlesexemples de l'interetpuret
de la tendresse
sincere, reelle,dela confiance intime,
dessecours continus,
dessatisfactions reciproques, deschagrins partag's.dessoupirs entendus,
deslarmesconfondues, sice n'estdansle mariage? Qu'est-ce quel'homme
debienprefere 'asa femme? . . . 0 liensacr;e
desepoux,si je pensea vous,
monames'echauffe ets'eleve!(II.ii)
However,as we know,Diderot was alreadydeeplyinvolvedwith

SophieVolland at the timethesewordswerewritten, and was em-
barkingon a periodof severetroublein his own marriage.Aftera
quarrelwithMmeDiderothe writesto Sophie:
touterenversee....Voussavezle malterrible
J'ai a'ame que mecausent
Eh bien,imaginez
et la deraison.
l'injustice qu'il a falluen supporterun
debordement qui a dureplusde deuxheures"as'ecouler. Mais dites-moi
quelavantage a cettefemme
il enreviendra lorsqu'ellem'aurafaitrompre
unvaisseau dansla poitrine
ou derange ducerveau?
lesfibres O! quela vie
meparaitdure'a passer!Combien de moments oiuj'en accepteraisla fi
avecjoie!17
And,a fewdayslater:
Depuisle dernier
oragedomestique,nousmangeons separes.On mesert
dansmoncabinet.Lorsquenousnenousverrons ilfaut
plusqu'enpassant,
espererque nousn'auronsni l'occasionni le tempsde quereller.0 la
cruellevie!'8
This hardlyseemsthe"lien sacre des epoux" thatthe authorwould

have his audiencesbelievein. Indeed,Diderot'snegative,or at best
mixed,sentiments towardmarriageare expressedwith regularity
17 Roth,III,305. (1761)
18Ibid.,p. 313.
thenceforward,19 of thisdilemmaprobably
theexquisiteinsolubility
reachingitspeak in connectionwiththependingweddingof Ange-
lique. "J'auraistoutdonneau mondepourqu'ellerenoncaft a ce mau-
ditetatde mariage,"he lamented;"maisje ne lui en ai jamais ditun
mot. 20
The extentto whichthequestionmusthave stymied theever-volu-

ble authorcan possiblybe gaugedwhenone notesthatin assigning
articlesto be written fortheEncyclope'die, Diderotkeptnone of the
subjectshavingto do withmarriageor itsconsequencesforhimself.
The articlesentitled"Mariage,""Famille,""Pere,""Mere,"wereall
written byothers.2'
Perhapsit was fortheveryreasonofbeingunable to resolvethis
conflictin privatethatDiderot feltcompelledto glorifymarriage
and the familyon the stage.But here again thingsare not as they
seem,fordespitethefactthatDiderot'scharactersspeak reverently
ofmarriage, in notone playor sketchis therea portrayalofa normal
familygroup-thatis, one in whichhusbandshavewives,wiveshave
husbands,and thereis somesemblanceofa comfortable, harmonious
life.In fact,itwouldalmostappearthat,exaltedspeechesto thecon-
trary,the authorhas gone out of his way to subverttheidea of the
family.22In nearlyall ofthesetsofrelationships thatDiderothas con-
ceivedforthetheatre, thefamilyis eitheralreadybroken,or is about
tobe destroyed.
The salientcharacteristic of thesebrokenfamiliesis the absence
ofthemother.Two dead mothersare evokedin Le Fils naturel:Dor-
val's mother"[luil donna la vie, et mourutpeu de tempsapres"
19 In 1762he writesto Sophie: "Voudriez-vous bienme direen quellecirconstance

il fautse marier,car je vois qu'on se repenta la hate d'un mariagefaita loisir,et
qu'on se repenta loisird'un mariagefaita la hate" (Roth,IV, 205). The refrainis
repeatedin 1765: "Le voeu du mariageindissoluble faitet doitfairepresqueautant
de malheureuxque d'epoux"(ibid.,V, 134) and in 1769: "O la sotteconditiondes
hommes!Mariezvous,vous courezle risqued'unevie malheureuse; ne vous mariez
pas, vous etes sur d'une vie dissolueet d'une vieillessetriste"(ibid.,IX, 234). In
1772: "La fievre, la coliqueetle mariage!Si j'avais a choisir,le mariageme parailtrait
peut-etre la plusdangereuse etla pluslonguedestroismaladies"(ibid.,XII, 30).
20 Ibid.,XI, 85.
21 Diderotwas the authorof thearticleentitled "Enfants,"but it consistslargely
of a discussionof thelegal statusof childrenin variousancientcivilizations.
22 Roger Kempf has pointedout that Diderot's novels consistently depictthe
familyin something less thanan idealisticmanner.Indeed,in thenovels,thefamily
"se desagregeet se deshonore.... Diderotn'evoque... la familleque sous son jour
le plus sombre"(Diderotet le roman,p. 120). In a less obviousway,thesameis true
in theplays.
(IV.iii); Rosalie (Dorval's half-sister) had a motherin far-away

America,"maissa meremeurt"(I.vi). In Le Pere de famille,Saint-
Albin's motheris conspicuouslymissing;Mine d'Orbesson"n'est
plus" (II.vi). Anotherdeceased motheris indicatedin the plan for
Le Sherif;theheroine"se faitconduiresurle tombeaude sa mere"
(V.iii). Sometimes, in thesebrokenstagefamilies,itis thefatherwho
is eliminated. In Est-ilbon?Est-ilmechant?alonethereareportrayed
no lessthanthreemothers without husbands(Mme de Vertillac,Mme
Bertrand, and Mlle Beaulieu)."3In Le Pere de famille,youngSophie
has a mother, butno father(II.iv), whileyetanotherfatherlessfamily
is suggested in theoutlineforLes Deux amis.Occasionally,offspring
inDiderot'stheatrearedeprivedofbothparents,thecase ofGermeuil
in Le Pere de famille,as well as of Constanceand Clairvillein Le
Fils naturel.
Certainotherplaysdo containall theelementsof a completefam-
ily (children,motherand father), butin everyone ofthesecases,the
familyis depictedas in serioustrouble.In Les Peres malheureux,
father, mother,and twoyoungchildrenhavebeen nearlystarvingat
theedgeofa forestfortenyears.Te'rentia, thelongsketchwritten for
Tronchin,portrays theaftermath of a Roman divorce,and includes
a mother'srepudiationof herdaughter.24 Le Joueur,as itstitlesug-
gests,shows a familybeing tragicallyunderminedby the evils of
gambling.Othervarietiesoffamilialdisorderare indicatedin several
of the shortsketchessuch as Plan du Mari libertinpuni,L'Infor-
tune'e,Plan d'un ope'racomique,and Plan d'une come'dieintitule
Le Traindu monde.
Indeed,one is obligedto conclude-despitethenimbusoffamilial
warmth whichat first glanceappearsto surroundDiderot'stheatre-
thatfarfromglorifying thefamilyin hisplays,Diderotwas doingal-
mosttheopposite.Whateverhis avowedintention mighthave been,
thefactremainsthatnot once in his writings forthetheatredid he
depicta whole and unmenacedfamilygroup.As withmostaspects
oflifethattouchedhimdeeply,Diderotreservedtherightto remain
inconclusive and contradictory.
23 Mme de Vertillacis a kind of comic "merede famille,"who, trueto form,

wishesto preventthemarriageof herdaughter.Mme Bertrand is a charming"veuve
d'un capitainede vaisseau,"who is tryingto obtaina permanentpensionfor her
child.Mlle de Beaulieuis a talentedchambermaid and motherseveraltimesover,
inwhosefamilythereare"autantde peresque d'enfants,niplusni moins"(IV.xvi).
24 Assezat-Tourneux,VIII, 294-96.
This same ambiguity existsin Diderot'shandlingof thefatherin

his plays. On the surface,Diderot seems to be creatingidealized
fathers,perhapsas a kind of therapy,to repairon stagewhatwas
irreparablein his life.Whilethe author'sfathercould be cruel,in-
transigent, and domineering in real life,the fathersin his playsare
gentle,reasonable, compliant,and, where necessary,repentant.
Thus, if Diderot'sreal fatherwas capable of havinghimlockedup
withoutbattingan eyelash,in Le Pere de famillethisoneroustask
is transferred to the Commandeur.25 Whilethe author'sreal father
could seriouslythreatento disinherit him,or could refusehis pleas
formoney,26 Lysimond,theelderlyfatherin Le Fils naturel,under-
takesa longand dangerousjourneyjustin orderto delivera fortune
to hischild.If thereis no evidencethattheCoutelierde Langresever
regretted actingas he did, theelderfatherin Les Peres malheureux
fairlyluxuriatesin self-recrimination overhis heartlesstreatment of
his son.
But is this"ideal" father-thisparentwho has been renderedvir-
tuallyharmless-reallysatisfying enough?Was theresufficient ther-
apy in merelyremodelingthe fathers?The answer,upon scrutiny,
seemstobe in thenegative.Diderotseemsto haveneedednotonlyto
createperfectly docilefathers, butto punishthemas well.Eitherco-
vertlyor overtly,thethemeof the"peremalheureux"runsthrough
mostof what Diderot conceivedforthe theatre.His stage fathers
undergonot onlypsychologicalpain, but violentphysicalsuffering
as well.
The first, and perhapsleast severelypunishedof thesefathers,is
old Lysimondin Le Fils naturel.Unlikesomeof theotherfathersin
Diderot'splays,Lysimondis a cooperativefather-thatis, one who
does notstandin theway ofhis offspring's marriage.(Clairvillere-
25 The blamelessfather, M. d'Orbesson,can thenreactin shockand outrage:"Non,
monsieurle Commandeur, vous ne ferezde moi ni un pere injusteet cruel,ni un
hommeingratet malfaisant. Je ne commettrai pointune violence,parce qu'elle est
de moninteret" (III.vii).
26 In 1743 Diderotinformed Antoinettethat"mon pere est dans une fureursi
grandeque je ne doutepointqu'il ne me desherite, commeil m'ena menace"(Roth,
I, 43). Six yearslater,fromhisprisoncell in Vincennes,Diderotwrotetwolettersto
his fatheraskingformoney.Diderotpere repliedin partas follows:"Vous me de-
mandezde l'argent.Quoi! un hommecommevous, qui travailleza des ouvrages
immenses, commevous faites,peut-ilen avoirbesoin?Voila vingt-huit joursecoules
dansun endroitouiil ne vous en a riencofute" (ibid.,p. 93).
marksthatLysimond"n'arriveque pourm'unira sa fille"[I.vi]). He

does notseem,therefore,to directly
merithispunishment. Punished,
however,he willbe: hisphysicaland mentalsufferingare catalogued
in detail.TakenprisonerbyEnglishpiratesas hisshipnearsthecoast
of France,Lysimondand his servant,Andre,are transported to the
enemyport.So near and yetso farfromhis goal, the old fatheris
overcomebyhis anguish.The symptoms are describedby Andre:
Que devint
alorsmonmaitre!
Des larmes
coulaientde sesyeux.I1poussait
de profonds
soupirs.
I1 tournait
sesregards, sesbras,soname
il 6etendait
semblaits'6lancerversles rivagesd'oiunousnous eloignions.. .. I1 tomba
dansunedouleur
sombre
etmomequimefittrembler
poursavie.(III.vii)
The physicalpunishment whichtheauthorimaginesforLysimondis

no lessacute.Chains,a dankprisoncell,abuse,starvation;
thelistis
complete:
On chargemonmaltrede liens .... J'allais'a lui.... On ouvritles portes

d'uncachotobscur ou je descendis.... Jefusfrappe d'unevoixmourante
quisefaisaitentendre....Jecourus"a1'endroit d'oiuvenaitcettevoix....
[C'etait] monmaitre... I1etaitnu.I1etaitetendu surla terre
humide.....
"Lesmalheureux quisontici,medit-il a voixbasse,ontabusede monage
et de ma faiblesse,
pourm'arracher le pain,et pourm'oterma paille."
(III.vii)
Despite themostirreproachablebehaviortowardhis children(the

factofhavingfathereda filsnaturelexcepted),Lysimondis not ex-
cusedfromthenecessityto suffer.
He is thefirst
in a seriesof "peres
malheureux."
As mightbe expected,twomorepunishedfathers can be observed
in Les Peresmalheureux.But in thisplay,as thefathersthemselves
recognize,theirpunishment is a direct,ornearlydirect,resultoftheir
own behavior.Les Peres malheureux,it will be recalled,tells the
storyofa youngmanwhohas seduceda girland marriedheragainst
his father'swishes.As a result,the fatherhas disownedand disin-
heritedtheson. The son,withhis wifeand twochildren,livesapart
fromsociety.Bothfathers willbe punished,physically as wellas psy-
chologically.
For theyoungerofthetwofathers (designatedin thedramatisper-
sonae simplyas UN PERE), thephysicalpunishment consistsof the
extremepovertyin whichhe mustlive. Disownedand penniless,he
mustnow feedhis starvingwifeand children.Materially,his lifeis

continualhardship.His costumeis "celui de l'extremeindigencede
la campagne."His housingis a "pauvrecabane." His dietis starva-
tion: "pas un morceaude pain dans la cabane," and his stateof
healththatof exhaustion:"Je succombede fatigue."27 As forthe
psychologicalpunishment visitedupon him,it is severe.It consists
of being a spectatorto the miseryof his two children,and of the
womanhe stillloves."Malheureuxque je suis,"he wails,"pourquoi
l'ai-je connue?PourquoiI'ai-je entralneedans ce desert,ai-je accru
sa douleuret son infortune en accroissantle nombrede ses enfants?"
(Sc. iv). So overcomeis he bythefeelingofhisownguiltforthisspec-
tacle("il n'ya que moi de coupable"),thathe evencontemplates sui-
cide:
Ma tetes'embarrasse etse perd.... Ce n'estpas la mortque je redoute,

c'estce spectacle ... mafemme ... sesenfants.... Non,non,je ne le
verraipoint.... Jen'enpuissupporter l'idee;je ne le verraipoint.Ah!
plut6ot
... (ils'avance verssonfusil,
ilI'arme.)(Sc.vi)
Butifhispresentmiseryis ofhisownmaking,itis also ofthemak-

ingoftheunyieldingfatherwho drovehimaway.This fatherwillbe
punished,too,andindeed,no onewishesitmorethanhisson:
0 toi,quimefussi cruel,apresm'avoirsi tendrementaim6,o monpere!

quen'es-tuici,quenepeux-tuvoir!... 0 monpere!unjourtutoucheras
aussi"atonheurederniere,
unjourtucraindras quele perecommun quiest
la-hautnepesetesfautes
dansla balancerigoureuseoiutupesasla fautede
tonenfant;unjourtuchercherastonfilsa cotede toi,tuI'appelleras,
etil
neseraplus.(Sc.iv)
Duly punishedtheelderfatherwill soon revealhimselfto be. After

tenyearsofseparationfromhisson,hisaccumulatedmentalanguish
is extreme:
Jepleure,oui,je pleureetje nepleureraijamaisassez.... J'aieteunpere

dur,etje suisdevenul'homme du mondele plusmalheureux... .I1 n'a
cess6demesupplier; j'ai ferm6 a sa priere,
l'oreille je mesuisendurci....
Jeluttais
contre monpropre coeur,je m'exhortais A pre-
"al'inflexibilite.
sentquej'ypense,madurete medesespere etmeconfond. (Sc. xix)
27 The quotations VIII, 20 andSc. vi.

arefromAss6zat-Tourneux,
And,in an ultimateseizureof masochisticguilt(thatfortheauthor

himselfsurelyremainedin therealmoffantasyonly),theold gentle-
mancriesout: "O monfils!maudis-moi, maudisun pereinflexible et
dur"(Sc. xx).
His punishment, however,willnotbe confinedto thepsychologi-
cal; he will be made to sufferphysicallyas well. As he scoursthe
countryside in searchof his son ("Je le chercheet je le chercherai
jusqu'a ce que je meureou que le ciel me le rende" [Sc. xix]), he is
waylaidby a highwayrobber.Unbeknownst to him,therobberis his
son's servant,Simon. Later the miscreantremorsefully describes
how,crazedbythefamily'splight,he accosteda stranger in thedark
and drewhisknife:
C'estla, la,au sommetde cettemontagne deserteque vousvoyez,a la

chutedu jour.... Jeme1eve,je I'attends; je m'elancea la bridede son
cheval,et,luipresentant
a la poitrine
moncouteauquej'ai tiresansdoute,
je luidemande la bourse.I1mela donne.(Sc. xiv)
Upon hearingthisstory,theyoungfatherrecognizeshis guilt."Peu

s'enfautque je ne soistoncomplice,"he saysto Simon(Sc. xiv). Al-
beitindirectly,thefatherhas been punishedby thelong armof his
son.
That thesuffering of thesetwo fathers,elderand younger,is in-
tentionalon the author'spart,cannotbe doubted.The titleof the
originalGermanworkfromwhichthisplay was adaptedis simply
Erast.It was Diderotwhoconceivedofchangingitto Les Pe"resmal-
heureux.
Anotherfatherto whompunishment is metedout appearsin the
sketchentitledLe She'rif.
Ostensiblya storyofreligiouspersecution,28
thissubjectis soon forgotten,and a familiarset of personalmotiva-
tionstakesover.In notesforthissketch,Diderotindicatesthatthe
kindlyold fatheris beingpersecutedby the cruelshe'rif mainlybe-
cause he has refusedthelatterhisdaughter'shandin marriage.29 For
28 The introduction to the sketchreads in part as follows:"Jacquessecondfut
tres-attacheau cultede l'Egliseromaine,et il employatouteson autoritea le retablir
dans son royaumed'Angleterre, oiu il avait ete aboli. Pour cet effet,il fitchoix
d'hommessuperstitieux, ambitieuxet cruels, qu'il envoya dans les differentes
provinces,ou ils exergaient contreles non-conformistes la persecution la plus vi-
olente"(Assezat-Tourneux, VIII, 5). The sherifwas supposedlyone of these.
29 "Celui qu'il [le sherif]menagaitentretous dans sa pensee cruelle,c'etaitun
vieillardqui lui avaitrefusesa filleen mariagelorsqu'ilvivaitdansl'hameau"(ibid.,
6).
thismistake,thefatherwillbe torturedand killed (III.i). Although

the daughtertriesto save her fatherby prostituting herselfto the
sherif, thesacrifice
is in vain.By theend ofthesketch,"les projetsdu
sherif sontaccomplis.Le pereestmort"(V.i).
The one remaining ofDiderot'sstagefathers-obviouslythemost
important-isthefatherof the titlein Le Pere de famille."Je vois
que cetteesquisseme convient," writesDiderotin De la poesiedram-
atique,"parceque le pere,dontje me proposede fairesortirle car-
actere,seratresmalheureux."30 And,indeed,it is forM. d'Orbesson
thathas been reservedperhapsthecruelestpunishment of all. To be
sure,M. d'Orbessondoes not go to prison,is not tortured, nor does
he undergoattackat knife-point. His suffering is of a higherorder
thanthemerephysical:he has been thoroughly incapacitatedpsy-
chologically-or in modern-day parlance,he has been deprivedof
hismanhood.
Violentlyopposedto hisson Saint-Albin's desireto marrySophie,
M. d'Orbessonattempts to take action.But whathe does is entirely
characteristic of the way in whichhe abdicatesresponsibility. Ap-
pealingto thesixteen-year-old Sophieto solvehis problemsforhim,
he pleadswithhertodisciplinehisson."C'est'avousa merendremon
fils,"he says;"c'esta vous a lui apprendrece que l'on doita ses par-
ents"(II.iv).31
His modusoperandiwhenit comesto expressing paternalauthor-
ityseemsaccuratelyexpressedby his own wordsto his ward Ger-
meuil: "Jen'ordonnerai point;je prierai"(I.v). To Saint-Albinhim-
selfhe pointsout thathe could verywell use his authority and insist
thatSaint-Albinbehave, "mais je ne vous ai jamais rien demande
sans vous en montrer la raison;j'ai voulu que vous m'approuvassiez
en m'obeissant"(II.vi). Far fromapprovinghis father,however,
Saint-Albin expressesthestrongest ofprotests."Des peres!des peres!
il n'yen a point,"he accuses."II n'ya que des tyrans"(II.vi). Momen-
tarilyenragedby thisaccusation,M. d'Orbessoncurseshis son: "Je
vous donne ma malediction: allez loin de moi. . . ." But in the next
breathhe callshimback: "Otuvas-tu,malheureux?"(II.vi).
30 Oeuvresesthtiques,p. 208.
31 It is enlightening
to note the contrastbetweenthesewords and thoseof the
Coutelierde Langresin hisletterto Mme Champion(citednearthebeginning of this
paper).WhereDiderotpere made harshthreatswhichturnedout to be not in the
leastidle,M. d'Orbessonis limitedto a ratherpathetic
plea.
It is thismoment,earlyin theplay (Act II), thatmarks,in effect,

theendofanyfurther attempt at actionon thepartofM. d'Orbesson.
Abandoninghimselfto self-pity, M. d'Orbessonthenceforward turns
overtheburdensof fatherhood the Comman-
to his brother-in-law,
deur. "Ecoutez votreoncle," he says to Saint-Albinimmediately
afterthe retractedcurse; "je vous l'ordonne"(II.vii). Throughout
theremainingr portionof theplay,whilethe othersact, thepere de
famillelaments."Ne craignezrien,"GermeuilreassuresCecile,who
is afraidofbeingnoticedby M. d'Orbesson,"votrepereesttouta sa
douleur"(111). As theCommandeurwilllaterremarkto M. d'Or-
besson, "tandis que . . . vous vous abandonnez 'a une tristesseinu-
tile,le desordres'estetablidansvotremaison"(V. ix).
Even learningwhathe believesto be thescandalousworst-that
Saint-Albinis entertaining Sophiein his sisterCecile's bedchamber
-does notspurM. d'Orbessonto decisiveaction.His sole reaction,
in fact,is no morethana tearfulwhimper:"J'enmourrai,j'en mour-
rai. Et qui chercherai-jeautour de moi! . . . Ah! . . . Ah! . . .
(I1 pleure)"(V.ix). LittlewonderthattheCommandeurcontemptu-
ouslycallstheperede famillean "hommepusillanime."
So thoroughly has Diderotcarriedoutthedisablement ofthepere
de famillethathe seems,in effect, to have splithimin two.How else
is one reallyto comprehend therole of theCommandeur, ifnot as a
kindofalterego tod'Orbesson?He seemstoembodyall oftheodious
charactertraitsthatDiderotcould not bear to attribute to the man
he called "perede famille"-but whichwerenecessaryall the same
in orderto retainthedramaticconflict. The Commandeur'spresence
in theplay does not seem otherwiseexplainable.Internallythereis
forhis role. Monsieurle commandeurd'Auvileis
littlejustification
thebrotherofd'Orbesson'sdead wife.He has nevermarried.Hateful
natureand all,he has becomeacceptedas a permanent fixturein the
d'Orbessonhousehold.The backgroundto thisis somewhatvague:
"Jeme suispnve6de toutpendantquaranteans; j'auraispu me mar-
ier,etje me suisrefusecetteconsolation.J'aiperdude vue les miens,
pourm'attacher'a ceux-ci"(II.viii). WhatreasonstheCommandeur
mighthave had forchoosingto do thisare not revealed.Nor is it
reallyclearwhythed'Orbessonfamilyhas toleratedhimall thistime,
sincetheyall dislikeand distrust him,and thechildren,at least,ex-
presscontempt fortheinheritance bywhichhe hopesto controlthem.
The onlyalternative is to understandtheperede famillein theun-
sympathetic who will put up withanyim-

lightof a fortune-hunter
positionforthesake ofmoney.
Fromthedramatist's pointof view,thepresenceof theComman-
deuris equallyincommodious. He contributes in no way to the au-
thor'sadvertisedpurpose,whichis to demonstrate the "condition"
ofpe'rede famille.To theextentthathisroledilutesthatofthefather,
his presenceis, in fact,a hindrance.More to the pointmighthave
beentheinclusionofa wifeforM. d'Orbesson.
Viewed, however,as representing the alter ego of the pere de
famille-his worse half-the presenceoftheCommandeurbecomes
a gooddeal morecomprehensible.32 For,ineffect, arenotM. d'Orbes-
son and theCommandeur butthetwoconflicting facesoftheauthor's
own father-thelovingand the cruel-neatly separatedformore
comfortable handling?ThatDiderotshouldhavedonethisis notsur-
prising;the treatment is comparableto the LUI and MOI of Le
Neveu de Rameau. Justas he nevercame to a conclusionconcerning
the internalconflictproposedin Le Neveu,so was he neverable to
resolvetheconflict presentedby fatherhood, and by his relationship
withhisownfather.
It is interesting
toexaminehow,inthecourseoftheplay,theCom-
mandeurtakesoverfromM. d'Orbessonthosefunctions oftheCou-
telierde Langreswhichhad resultedin themostpain fortheauthor.
As we know,theinitialsituationin Le Pere de familleparallelsal-
mostexactlythecircumstances of Diderot'sown courtship.As was
Diderotpe're,M. d'Orbessonis facedwithpreventing a marriageof
whichhe does not approve.We are awarethatin real lifeDiderot's
fathertriedto combathis son's marriage,first by exhorting Denis to
obedience,and thenby appealingto Antoinette. But whenboththese
measuresfailed,he did notshrinkfromclappinghis son intoprison.
M. d'Orbessonindeedloses no timein takincr stepsone and two,but
is, on theotherhand,totallyincapableof takingthethird.The exe-
cutionofthisodiousmeasureis leftto theCommandeur.But theplay
32 Diderotsaw theCommandeur as "un hommedurqu'on n'aimaitpas" (Oeuvres

esthetiques, p. 229). Indeed,the Commandeurappearsat timesas a kindof fore-
runnerto themoustachio-twirling villainofnineteenth-century
melodrama."Jeromps
a la foisdeux mariages,"he gloatsat theend of Act IV. "O! Commandeur!Quelle
journeepourtoi!" Actually,he is responsible forsome of 1heliveliestscenesin the
play (I.i, I.ii, III.iv); his "gaiet6mechante"is even remarkedupon by one of the
othercharacters. Apartfromthosein Est-ilbon?Est-ilmecSlant?, theCommandeur
is probablythemostinteresting of Diderot'sstagepersonnages,in thathe is theonly
one whois notso relentlessly virtuous.
heredeviatesfrombiography:it is not Saint-Albinwho is to be in-

carcerated, but Sophie!This idea is farblacker,doubtless,fromthe
ethicalstandpoint, but fromthe author'spointof view it is under-
standablethattheson'sskinbe savedat anyprice.The Commandeur
has obtaineda lettrede cachet; Sophie is alreadymissing(III.v).
M. d'Orbesson,farfromcooperating withsucha wickedact,hastens
to reassurehisfrantic sonthat,"je n'ai aucunepart'a [son] absence"
(III.v). His condemnation ofhisbrother-in-law's actionis unequivo-
cal: "Qu'avez-vousfait?"he queriesin disbelief."Serait-ilpossible?
. . . Mais non,le projetest tropodieux"(III.v). As forhimself, he
would like it knownthat,unlikethe Coutelierde Langres,"je ne
commettrai point une violence parce qu'elle est de mon interet"
(III.vii.).
The evidenceseemspersuasivethattheCommandeurand M. d'Or-
bessoneach represents not a separateentity,but a separatehalfof
the"perede famille."Fromthebeginningof theplay theComman-
deur appearsas a kindof cautionaryconscience,tryingto alertM.
d'Orbessonto danger,to stiffen his backbone."II ne s'agitpas de
soupirer,de gemir,maisde montrer ce que vousetes,"he admonishes
thefather."Le tempsde la peineest arrive"(I.iii). A bit later,when
M. d'Orbesson'smomentoftrutharrives-thatis,whenhisentreaties
have failedto swaySaint-Albin, and whenhe musteithertake cruel
actionor witnessthesubversionof his igaternal authority-heabdi-
cates thatauthority to his alterego, the Commandeur.As we have
seen,finding himself unabletodisownhisson,he throwsup hishands,
and turnshim overto the Commandeur.("Ecoutez votreoncle; je
vous l'ordonne.") From now on, the Commandeuris, indeed,in
command(his titleis certainly not accidental);it is now his turnto
play therole of father."Oiuvas-tu?"he asks the recalcitrant Saint-
Albin a momentlater."As-tuoublie que je te parle au nom de ton
pere?"(II.viii).The shiftinrolesis thereby confirmed.
The scenethatensuesbetweentheCommandeurand Saint-Albin
is,as a matteroffact,butan echoofthescenethathasjusttakenplace
betweenM. d'Orbessonand Saint-Albin.Each half-father in turn
accuses Saint-Albinof ingratitude, and predictsdarklyforthe fu-
ture:
M. D ORBESSON: je me
Combien LE COMMANDEUR: Je me suis
suis donnedes peinespourvous prive de toutpendantquarante
en epargner.. . . Je n'ai rien ans.
neglige....
M. D'ORBESSON: Vous VOUS LE COMMANDEUR: ta

Tu 1'aura,
trouverezseulavecelle,sansetat, Sophie,puisquetu I'as voulu;
sansfortune, sansconsideration. maistun'auraspasde paina lui
. . .Vous la hairez,vousI'ac- donier,nia sesenfants
qwivien-
cablerezde reproches;. . . vous dronten demander a ma porte.
hairezles enfants qu'ellevous
auradonnes.
(JJ.vi) (JJ.viii)
Wherethetwodiffer is in thenatureof theirfinalappeals. While
M. d'Orbessonappeals to the highestinstinctsof Saint-Albin,the
Commandeurappealsto thelowest."J'auraifaitmondevoir;et mal-
heur 'a vous, si vous manquez au v6tre," says M. d'Orbesson, calling
uponSaint-Albin's senseofduty.The Commandeur, puttingtheissue
on anotherlevel,threatens to disinheritSaint-Albin:"Tu peux .
attendrevingt-cinq millede ton pere,et presquele double de moi.
Saint-Albin, on faitdes folies;maison n'enfaitpas de pluscheres."
The Coutelierde Langres, as we know, used both these ap-
proaches.
Anotherpassage whichilluminatesthistransference of roles oc-
cursduringa laterconfrontation betweend'Orbessonand theCom-
mandeur.Irritatedby theformer's totalpassivity,theCommandeur
blurtsout: "J'enrage.Et vous etes un pere de famille?Vous?" To
this, d'Orbessonreplies,in apparentearnestness:"Pourriez-vous
m'apprendre ce qu'il fautfaire?"(III.vii). The ensuingexchangeof
pointsof view betweenthe two personnagesexpresses,somewhat
analogouslyto Le Neveu de Rameau,thetensionbetweentwooppo-
sitebutequallypossiblemodesofbehavior.Thereis on theone hand
thebehaviorof a fathergovernedby "head,"who values obedience
above all else ("Etrele maitrechez soi"), and on theotherhandthat
of a fathergovernedby "heart,"to whomlove is themostimportant
consideration("Je me rendraiodieuxa monfils;j'eteindraidans son
ame les sentimentsqu'il me doit; . . . N'avez-vous pas honte de vos
conseils?").
By thusintroducingtherole of theCommandeurto take overall
of thehatefuldutiesoffatherhood-byessentially thepe?re
splitting
de famillein two-Diderot has managednot only to preserveap-
pearances,to perpetuatetheillusionof thewhollylovingfather,but
at thesametimeto retaintheconflict whichwas partofhis ownlife,
and without whichtheplaywouldhaveno dramaticinterest."
33Both Diderot'sbrotherand uncle have been suggestedas autobiographical
sourcesfortheCommandeur.Mme de Vandeul refersto "le caracteresec, dur,et
That it is indeedcorrectto interpret thesetwo personnages,M.

d'Orbessonand theCommandeur, each as halfofa "splitfather," can
perhapsbe further confirmed by examiningcertainportionsof Le
Sherif.Althoughthesituationdiffers, therelevantcharactersin this
sketchare almostexactlyanalogousto thosein Le Pere de famille.
The authortellsus, in someremarkswhichfollowthesketch,that"le
pere [the Jugede Kent] est un vieillardcharitable,juste, ferme,
equitable,tranquille, sereinettolerant."3 In otherwords,he is a man
muchlikeM. d'Orbesson.Opposed to theJugede Kentis Le Sherif,
or, as he is sometimes called, Le Commissaire.Much like theCom-
mandeur,"le sherifestun hommeatroce,sans moeurs,sans probite4
sanshonneur."35
Of thefactthatthecharacteroftheJugede Kenthas morethana
casual relationship to theauthor'sown father, we can be certain.In
a letterto Grimmdated 13 July1759, shortlyafterthedeathof his
father, and in partconcernedwiththedifficulty ofwriting Le SheIrif,
Diderotcomplains:"Mais il y a un inconvenient a cela; c'est que,
quand je veuxm'occuperde montravail,monesprits'egare,et que
ce n'estplus le Jugede Kent,mais le coutelierde Langresque je
vois." 36
Clearlythe portrayalof thisparticularpersonnagewas causing
theauthora good deal of difficulty. A hintof theconflictthatmay
have been takingplace in his mindis afforded whenone notesthe
successivechangesin theplay'stitle.Firstmentioning thesketchon
5 June1759, Diderotrefersto it as the Commissairede Kent (the
cruelcharacter).He stillusesthesametitleon 3 Julyabout a month
afterhisfather'sdeath.But in lettersdated 13, 18, and 20 JulyDid-
erotrefersto theplay as theJugede Kent(thekindlycharacter).At
thebeginningof August,thetitlehas shiftedback again. It is now
theSheIrifde Kent,ou le Commissaire.37
imperieux"of theabbe Diderotas forming partof "le canevasde cet ouvrage[Le
Pere de famille]".(Assezat-Tourneux, I, xxxviii).However,Diderot himself,in
speakingof hisimprisonment, says,"Mon pereavaitportela duretejusqu'a me faire
enfermer chez les moines"(Roth,I, 43; italicsadded), and does not mentionthe
father'sbrother.Littleis knownaboutDiderot'suncle,thoughit appearshe offered
his nephewproperty if he wouldbecomea priest.He is describedin theEntretien
d'un pere avec ses enfants as "un homme dur, mal avec ses confreres" (Oeuvres
philosophiques,pp. 436-37). The chanoineVigneron,however,did notplay an im-
portantrole in his nephew'smaturelife,havingdied when Diderotwas stillan
adolescent.
34 Assezat-Tourneux,VIII, 14-15.
35 Ibid.
36 Roth,II, 172.
37 The letters to areinRoth,II, 150,167,171,172,176,and 199.
referred
Most revealingof all, however,are certainunintentional slips

withinthetextofthesketchitself.As maybe recalled,theplotcon-
cernsthepersecution of theold fatherby the "Sherif,"forreligious
reasons,and because thefatherhad previouslyrefusedthe "Sherif"
his daughter'shand in marriage.The daughteris now betrothedto
the"Amant."In Act III, Diderotproposeda confrontation between
the "Sherif"and the "Amant."For the second scene we read: "Le
sherifseul. I1 attendl'amantqui lui a faitdemanderaudience."And
in thefollowing scene: "L'amantentre.Sceneviolente.I1metle poig-
nardsurla gorgedu juge. (Italicsadded.) I1 estarrete.""Juge"is, of
course,a mistakehere;thereadingshouldbe "Sherif,"sinceit is he
whois awaitingthe"Amant"in theprecedingscene,and sinceobvi-
ously the "Amant"would have littleinterestin threatening his fi-
ancee's father.This interestingerroris continuedin thenextscene:
"La filleentre.Elle voitson amantarrete.Elle pleure,elle demande
grace.Ironiesdu juge surle pere,la filleet l'amant."(Italicsadded.)
The correctreadingherewouldbe: "Ironiesdu sherifsurle pere,"
since the "juge" and the "pere" are one and the same person.The
identicalconfusionoccursonce more,in Sceneix,whenthedaughter
is beggingthe"Sherif"to spareherfather."Le sherifdonnel'ordrede
mort. La fille . . . se prosterneaux pieds du juge, se roule a terre.
La filledemandea voirsonpere.Le sherify consent."Sincethe
itdoes notmakesenseforherto prostrate
4'juge"is herfather, herself
at hisfeetand beg mercy.The passagein questionshould,ofcourse,
read: "La fille . . . se prosterneaux pieds du sheIrif."The author
has confusedtheidentitiesof thecruelauthority figureand thekind
one throughout!
Was thefatherforDiderotto be Jugeor Sherif?Was he to be M.
d'Orbessonor Le Commandeur?The dualityof the fatherin Did-
erot'smindcannotbe doubted.Neitherhalfofthissplitfathercould
be toleratedalone;norcouldtheauthorfacecombiningthemas one.
True to style,thephilosophedid not come to a conclusion.Whatis
clear,however,is thatwe are witnessto a wholeparade of unhappy
fathersin Diderot'stheatre:Lysimond,thetwo fathersin Les Peres
malheureux,M. d'Orbesson,the Juge.These fathersare punished
and made to suffer mostlyin connectionwiththeiroppositionto a
marriage.It would be difficult
to believethatthese"paresmalheu-
reux"wereaccidental;theyexpressedinsteadan important fantasy
fortheauthor.
One is forcedintotherealization,then,thatDiderot'swritings for

thetheatrehardlycontainall theuplifting sentiment thattheywould
have us believe.Underneaththeirveneerof virtueand goodnesslies
a core of unresolvedconflictconcerningmarriage,the family,and
fatherhood. While seemingon the surfaceto show marriagesthat
satisfybothpassionand social reason,the authorin realityis side-
steppinggenuineconfrontation. Whileseemingto glorify thesacred-
nessand beautyoffamilylife,he is in truthrepresenting nothingbut
brokenor miserablefamilies.And whileseemingto portraythemost
admirable,wise, humanefathers,he is in factpunishingthemre-
soundingly at everyturn.As we can see, theelementof ambiguity is
verymuchpresentinDiderot'stheatre.
The thoughtthereforepresentsitselfthat the shortcomings of
Diderot'stheatredo not,as is oftensuggested,springfromoverstated
convictions,but ratherfromrefusalto acknowledgethe absence of
conviction.In his novels,Diderot capitalizedmostdelightfully on
ambivalentattitudesand ambiguities, as he did in one play, Est-il
bon?Est-ilme'chant?. But in thebulkofhis writings forthetheatre,
the
Diderotstifled ambivalencethatwas so mucha partofhisnature,
andtriedto concealtheconflicts he couldnotresolve.The oneliterary
pursuithe claimedmeantthemostto himwas thereby doubtlesscon-
siderablyweakened.
ofIllinoisat ChicagoCircle
University

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Ambiguity and Unresolved Conflict in Diderot's Theatre

As NO HISTORY OF FRENCH LITERATURE failsto observe,theosten-

1 In additionto the Comedie Frangaise,the Comedie Italienne,and the Opera,

serre entre mes bras! 0 jour heureux! . . . Nous voila reconcilies,

"Ecoutez-moiencoreun moment,"writesDiderotto Mme Ricco-

thecase mightbe forFrenchcomedyingeneral,thereis no doubtthat

Diderota meansof liberation, a meansto attainpsychological repose.Whilethereal

Si Mademoiselle votrefileestaussibienneeet 1'aimeautantqu'ilcroit,

Diderot,however,escaped fromthemonastery by jumpingfroma

However,as Angeliqueapproachesmarriageableage, the philoso-

quite subordinateto "les arrangements des deux amis."12 And in

la societe,la confusiondu sang et des rangs,la degradationdes fa-

When Saint-Albinpersists,M. d'Orbessonappeals to Sophie to re-

then,to learnwhatthe consequencesof thiskind of defiancehave

lands.But,as in theotherplays,theproblemof disobediencein con-

lesslythwarted,by the obstaclesof both "passion" and "interet."

If,in Diderot'stheatre,opposedmarriageshave a way of turning

authorforeseesa satisfactory marriedlifeforthe partners.Indeed,

[Le mariage,] c'estunetatquela nature impose.C'estla vocation de tout

However,as we know,Diderot was alreadydeeplyinvolvedwith

This hardlyseemsthe"lien sacre des epoux" thatthe authorwould

The extentto whichthequestionmusthave stymied theever-volu-

19 In 1762he writesto Sophie: "Voudriez-vous bienme direen quellecirconstance

(IV.iii); Rosalie (Dorval's half-sister) had a motherin far-away

23 Mme de Vertillacis a kind of comic "merede famille,"who, trueto form,

This same ambiguity existsin Diderot'shandlingof thefatherin

marksthatLysimond"n'arriveque pourm'unira sa fille"[I.vi]). He

The physicalpunishment whichtheauthorimaginesforLysimondis

On chargemonmaltrede liens .... J'allais'a lui.... On ouvritles portes

Despite themostirreproachablebehaviortowardhis children(the

mustnow feedhis starvingwifeand children.Materially,his lifeis

Ma tetes'embarrasse etse perd.... Ce n'estpas la mortque je redoute,

Butifhispresentmiseryis ofhisownmaking,itis also ofthemak-

0 toi,quimefussi cruel,apresm'avoirsi tendrementaim6,o monpere!

Duly punishedtheelderfatherwill soon revealhimselfto be. After

Jepleure,oui,je pleureetje nepleureraijamaisassez.... J'aieteunpere

27 The quotations VIII, 20 andSc. vi.

And,in an ultimateseizureof masochisticguilt(thatfortheauthor

C'estla, la,au sommetde cettemontagne deserteque vousvoyez,a la

Upon hearingthisstory,theyoungfatherrecognizeshis guilt."Peu

thismistake,thefatherwillbe torturedand killed (III.i). Although

It is thismoment,earlyin theplay (Act II), thatmarks,in effect,

sympathetic who will put up withanyim-

32 Diderotsaw theCommandeur as "un hommedurqu'on n'aimaitpas" (Oeuvres

heredeviatesfrombiography:it is not Saint-Albinwho is to be in-

M. D'ORBESSON: Vous VOUS LE COMMANDEUR: ta

That it is indeedcorrectto interpret thesetwo personnages,M.

Most revealingof all, however,are certainunintentional slips

One is forcedintotherealization,then,thatDiderot'swritings for

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