Page - 26 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

Marriage and Its Representations | 25www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 23–37 These changes in the representations of marriage in comedy are explained by a shift in western societies whereby marriage was no longer considered sim- ply a family pact and the views of the couple were taken into consideration. Irène Théry has proposed that the idea of a “marriage of love” appeared in literature and was staged in the theater as a reaction against the abuse of pa- ternal power, family alliances, and the Church. The success of works promoting “renewal of the matrimonial relationship” (as in the subsequent novels and es- says of Rousseau) especially with female readers is evidence of the centrality of the female identity to demands for a new model of marriage.3 Freedom became part of understandings of marriage, specifically the freedom of the individuals who might marry to accept or reject the married condition. The new comic convention, with the obstacles to the happiness of the couple generated by the couple themselves, became more popular as the societies in question underwent transformations that included the emergence of a middle class which formed a significant part of the theatrical audience.4 In addition, the definition of marriage as a social pact was gradually replaced by the possibility of reconciling social necessity and individual aspiration. Within the context of the contestation of the traditional matrimonial model, “free choice of spouse” became one of the major themes of comedy. In Shakespeare, Corneille, and Lope de Vega we see the comic tension shifting from a conflict between law and desire to a more detailed investigation of the contradictions of desire it- self.5 Thus, these authors opened the way for modern comedy, anticipating the works of Marivaux or Goldoni.6 For instance, Marivaux’s female characters, al- though in part inspired by comic types inherited from the Commedia dell’arte, acquired a strong individual conscience, and the “internalization of conflict, es- sential for the development of comedy”,7 became one of the most remarkable specificities of his theater.8 3 See Théry 2001, 81. 4 See Girard 1990, 54–55. 5 In most cases, the traditional authority figures become conscience figures in modern comedy: they comment the heroes’ actions instead of opposing them and have only a peripheral impact, and some- times no impact, on the course of events (Girard 1990, 53), as observed in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream or Marivaux’ Le jeu de l’amour et du hasard. In American comedy, this is obvious in the use of character actors specialized in sharp wit and ironic commentary, such as Aunt Patsy (Cecil Cun- ningham) in The Awful Truth, a movie we will discuss later. See Karnick 1994, 133. 6 In the case of Pierre Corneille, we can cite his first comedies, La Galerie du palais (1631–1632), La Place Royale (1633–1634), and La Suivante (1634). Marie-Claude Canova discusses the distance between new comedy and the French theatrical tradition by way of Corneille, who substituted “for the traditional Italian intrigue of blocked love affairs, the dramatic canvas of the love chain inherited of the pastorale, with its conflicted couples and the opposition of faithful or philandering and indifferent lovers”, Cano- va 1993, 70–71: my translation. 7 Martin 1996, 11. 8 See La Double Inconstance (1723), Le Dénouement imprévu (1724), Le jeu de l’amour et du hasard (1730), Les Serments indiscrets (1733), and L’Heureux stratagème (1734).