Philippe Néricault Destouches
Encyclopedia
Philippe Néricault Destouches (9 April 1680 – 4 July 1754) was a French
dramatist.
, in the today's department of Indre-et-Loire
.
When he was nineteen years of age he became secretary to M. de Puysieux, the French ambassador in Switzerland
. In 1716 he was attached to the French embassy in London, where he remained for six years under the abbé Dubois. He contracted with a Lancashire
lady, Dorothea Johnston, a marriage which was not avowed for some years. He drew a picture later of his own domestic circumstances in Le Philosophe marié (The Married Philosophe) (1726).
On his return to France (1723) he was elected to the Academy
, and in 1727 he acquired considerable estates, the possession of which conferred the privileges of nobility. He spent his later years at his chateau of Fortoiseau near Melun, dying on the 4th of July 1754. His early comedies were:
Most highly regarded is L'Irrésolu (The Irresolute Man), in which Dorante, after hesitating throughout the play between Julie and Climène, marries Julie, but concludes the play with the reflection: "J'aurais mieux fait, je crois, d'épouser Climène" (I would have done better, I think, to marry Climène).
After eleven years of diplomatic service Destouches returned to the stage with the Philosophe marié (1727), followed in 1732 by Le Glorieux, a picture of the struggle then beginning between the old nobility and the wealthy parvenus who found their opportunity in the poverty of France. Destouches wished to revive the comedy of character as understood by Molière
, but he thought it desirable that the moral should be directly expressed. His later, moralizing comedies include 'Le Tambour nocturne (1736), La Force du naturel (1750), Le Dissipateur (1736).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
dramatist.
Biography
Destouches was born at ToursTours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, in the today's department of Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
.
When he was nineteen years of age he became secretary to M. de Puysieux, the French ambassador in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1716 he was attached to the French embassy in London, where he remained for six years under the abbé Dubois. He contracted with a Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
lady, Dorothea Johnston, a marriage which was not avowed for some years. He drew a picture later of his own domestic circumstances in Le Philosophe marié (The Married Philosophe) (1726).
On his return to France (1723) he was elected to the Academy
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, and in 1727 he acquired considerable estates, the possession of which conferred the privileges of nobility. He spent his later years at his chateau of Fortoiseau near Melun, dying on the 4th of July 1754. His early comedies were:
- Le Curieux Impertinent (1710)
- L'Ingrat (1712)
- L'Irrésolu (1713)
- Le Médisant (1715)
Most highly regarded is L'Irrésolu (The Irresolute Man), in which Dorante, after hesitating throughout the play between Julie and Climène, marries Julie, but concludes the play with the reflection: "J'aurais mieux fait, je crois, d'épouser Climène" (I would have done better, I think, to marry Climène).
After eleven years of diplomatic service Destouches returned to the stage with the Philosophe marié (1727), followed in 1732 by Le Glorieux, a picture of the struggle then beginning between the old nobility and the wealthy parvenus who found their opportunity in the poverty of France. Destouches wished to revive the comedy of character as understood by Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, but he thought it desirable that the moral should be directly expressed. His later, moralizing comedies include 'Le Tambour nocturne (1736), La Force du naturel (1750), Le Dissipateur (1736).