On the Evolution of the Public and the Private in the Genre Structure of Comic Drama: Plautus’ Plot in the Plays by J.F. Regnard and H. Fielding

Abstract

The article focuses on the transformations of the plot of Mostellaria (or The Haunted House) by Plautus in the plays by J.F. Regnard (Le Retour Imprévu or The Unexpected Return) and H. Fielding (The Intriguing Chambermaid). The article gives special attention to the relations between public and private spheres as they are represented in those works’ dramaturgy. Pointing out the ambiguity of the comedic genre in respect of the interpretation of the public and the private, the author examines the collisions between the two spheres tracing their manifestations on the levels of plot, dramatic action and the relations of characters of the plays under discussion. In The Haunted House the controversy is solved on the ground of genre memory preserving its ritual roots and reviving the purifying effect of putting private relations and individual vices on public display. In the works of Regnard, who writes in the situation of more complex private life, a comic effect comes from the violation of privacy and from the discrepancy between inner cynicism and formal propriety of personages. Lessening the strain of formal symmetry, characteristic of the classical structure of Regnard’s play, H. Fielding represents the violation of privacy as a kind of “familiar” chaos (typical of modern life). This tendency is counterbalanced by the ideal of defending and harmonizing private sphere which is meant to serve the foundation of the public good.

Keywords

• fabula palliata
• ”small” comedy
• farce
• plautus
• the haunted house (mostellaria)
• regnard
• the unexpected return (le retour imprévu)
• fielding
• the intriguing chambermaid
• the public
• the private.