Mélite

Mélite, or they false letters is a Comédie into five acts and Towards written by Pierre Corneille in 1629 represented for the first time in December 1629 with the Play of palm of Berthaud.

Argument

Pierre Corneille wrote to him even the argument: Eraste, in love with Mélite, makes known it with his/her friend Tircis, and, become then jealous of their obsession, makes return to supposed love letters, on behalf of Mélite, in Philandre, granted of Cloris, sister of Tircis. Philandre, being solved, by the artifice and persuasions of Eraste to leave Cloris for Mélite shows these letters with Tircis.

( in more clearly for the reader of today : Eraste, in love with Mélite, makes known it with his/her friend Tircis, who of éprend in his turn.

Eraste, jealous, assembles a stratagem complicated to be avenged for Tircis: it gives to Philandre, promised in marriage to Cloris, the sister of Tircis, false love letters that Mélite would have written in this Philandre. Philandre leaves Cloris for Mélite and watch these letters with Tircis.)

This poor lover falls in despair and withdraws himself at Lisis, which comes to give to Mélite false alarms of its death. It pâme with this news, and testifying by there its affection, Lisis the disillusioned one and makes return Tircis which marries it.

However Cliton having seen Mélite pâmée, believes it dead, and the news carries from there in Eraste, as well as the death of Tircis. Eraste, seized of remorse, enters in madness: and given in its good sense by nurse from Mélite, from which he learns that it and Tircis are alive, he suits him to ask for forgiveness of his cheating, and obtains these two Cloris lovers, who did not want any more Philandre after his lightness.

Examination of Mélite

Pierre Corneille wrote an invaluable criticism of her part: The innovation of this kind of comedy, whose there is no example in any language, and the naive style, which made a painting of the conversation of the decent people, were undoubtedly causes of this surprising happiness which did such an amount of noise then. One had never seen until there that the comedy made laugh without ridiculous characters, such as the servants buffoons, the parasites, the captains, the doctors, etc That Ci made to his effect by enjouée mood people of a condition to the top of those which one sees in the comedies of Plaute and Terence, which were only merchants.

With all that I acknowledge that the listener was quite easy to give his approval to a part whose node did not have any accuracy. Eraste made there counterfeit letter of Mélite, and carry them in Philandre. It makes more: on the lightness of a belief if not very reasonable, it gives up an affection which it was assured and who was ready to have his effect.

Eraste is not less ridiculous than him, to think that its cheating will cause this rupture, which would be however useless with its drawing if it knew certainty only Philandre in spite of the secrecy that it makes him ask by Mélite in these false letters, will miss to show them in Tircis; that this favoured lover will believe a character rather that it forever considering, that the insurances of love which it receives the every day of his mistress, and which it will break with her without him to speak, of fear of clearing up itself some.

This claim of Eraste could be bearable in less than one revelation, and Tircis which is the honest man of the part, does not have the spirit less light than the two others, to give up itself with despair by the same facility of belief in the sight of this unknown nature. The feelings of pain that it can about it legitimately conceive, should at least carry it to make some reproaches with that of which it is believed betrayed, and to give him by there the occasion of the désabuser.

The madness of Eraste is not the best soaks. I consequently condemn it in my heart; but as it was an ornament of theater which never failed to like and was often made admire, I affected readily these great mislayings, and drew from it an effect which I will hold still admirable in this time: it was the way in which Eraste made known in Philandre, by taking it for Minos the cheating one that it made him, and the error where it threw it. In all that I made since, I do not think that it meets anything more skilful for a outcome.

All the fifth act can pass for useless. Tircis and Mélite were mended before it starts, and consequently the action is finished. It is not any more question but of knowing which made the assumption of the letters and it could have known it of Cloris, with which Philandre had said it to be justified. It is true that this act withdraws Eraste of its madness; that it reconciles it with the two lovers; but all that looks at nothing any more but one episodical action, which should not amuse the theater, when the principal one is finished. And on all this marriage and Cloris has if little appearance which it is easy to see there that is only proposed it to satisfy the habit of this time, which was to marry all that one introduced on the scene. It even seems that the character of Philandre, which leaves with a ridiculous resentment, of which one does not fear the effect, is not completed, and which it needed some cousin of Mélite or some sister of Eraste to meet with the others. But consequently I did not subject myself completely with this fashion, and I was satisfied to show the plate of his spirit without taking the care to provide it with another woman.

The text

The author altered the part for the edition of 1660 by removing the rawest expressions.

The final version is available on Wikisource; the first version will be it soon.

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