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Mercadet A Comedy in Three Acts By: Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) |
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BY HONORE DE BALZAC Presented for the First Time in Paris
At the Theatre du Gymnase Dramatique
August 24, 1851 PERSONS OF THE PLAY Mercadet, a speculator
Madame Mercadet, his wife
Julie, their daughter
Minard, clerk of Mercadet
Verdelin, friend of Mercadet
Goulard, creditor of Mercadet
Pierquin, creditor of Mercadet
Violette, creditor of Mercadet
Mericourt, acquaintance of Mercadet
De la Brive, suitor to Julie
Justin, valet
Therese, lady's maid
Virginie, cook
Various other creditors of Mercadet SCENE: Paris, in the house of Mercadet TIME: About 1845 MERCADET
ACT I SCENE FIRST
(A drawing room. A door in the centre. Side doors. At the front, to
the left, a mantel piece with a mirror. To the right, a window, and
next it a writing table. Armchairs.) Justin, Virginie and Therese
Justin (finishing dusting the room)
Yes, my dears, he finds it very hard to swim; he is certain to drown,
poor M. Mercadet. Virginie (her basket on her arm)
Honestly, do you think that? Justin
He is ruined! And although there is much fat to be stewed from a
master while he is financially embarrassed, you must not forget that
he owes us a year's wages, and we had better get ourselves discharged. Therese
Some masters are so frightfully stubborn! I spoke to the mistress
disrespectfully two or three times, and she pretended not to hear me. Virginie
Ah! I have been at service in many middle class houses; but I have
never seen one like this! I am going to leave my stove, and become an
actress in some theatre. Justin
All of us here are nothing but actors in a theatre. Virginie
Yes, indeed, sometimes one has to put on an air of astonishment, as if
just fallen from the moon, when a creditor appears: "Didn't you know
it, sir?" "No." "M. Mercadet has gone to Lyons." "Ah! He is away?"
"Yes, his prospects are most brilliant; he has discovered some coal
mines." "Ah! So much the better! When does he return?" "I do not
know." Sometimes I put on an expression as if I had lost the dearest
friend I had in the world. Justin (aside)
That would be her money. Virginie (pretending to cry)
"Monsieur and mademoiselle are in the greatest distress. It seems that
we are going to lose poor Madame Mercadet. They have taken her away to
the waters! Ah!" Therese
And then, there are some creditors who are actual brutes! They speak
to you as if you were the masters! Virginie
There's an end of it. I ask them for their bill and tell them I am
going to settle. But now, the tradesmen refuse to give anything
without the money! And you may be sure that I am not going to lend any
of mine. Justin
Let us demand our wages. Virginie and Therese
Yes, let us demand our wages. Virginie
Who are middle class people? Middle class people are those who spend a
great deal on their kitchen Justin
Who are devoted to their servants Virginie
And who leave them a pension. That is how middle class people ought to
behave to their servants. Therese
The lady of Picardy speaks well. But all the same, I pity mademoiselle
and young Minard, her suitor. Justin
M. Mercadet is not going to give his daughter to a miserable
bookkeeper who earns no more than eighteen hundred francs a year; he
has better views for her than that. Therese and Virginie
Who is the man he thinks of? Justin
Yesterday two fine young gentlemen came here in a carriage, and their
groom told old Gruneau that one of them was going to marry Mlle.
Mercadet. Virginie
You don't mean to say so! Are those gentlemen in yellow gloves, with
fine flowered waistcoats, going to marry mademoiselle? Justin
Not both of them, lady of Picardy. Virginie
The panels of their carriage shone like satin... Continue reading book >>
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