Le Voyage De Monsieur Perrichon | Page 2

is mean «all over»; there is no external
hindrance to the exhibition of the weakness within. The feminine
characters, as is invariably the case in his répertoire, are but lightly
sketched in. He claimed that «woman is no joke,» and got all his fun
out of men. Only in the first Act are the peculiarities of Madame
Perrichon at all brought out: the lack of refinement of her speech, her
crustiness when her personal habits are interfered with, etc.; while
Henriette is the typical passive young girl of French comedy, if not of
French life, with no mind of her own, and a perfect readiness to accept
any husband at her father's hand. But every one of the men is carefully
and consistently drawn, from the fussy, pompous Perrichon to the
well-meaning Jean. The susceptible Major offers the humorous contrast
of his exquisitely smooth speech and manners with his
uncompromising exaction of all that is due himself and his «beloved
compatriot,» the French language. Armand and Daniel are both of them
gentlemen and good fellows, yet they are most significantly
distinguished: the former guileless, frank, simple, the latter artful and
ingenious; and such they remain consistently from the opening to the
closing scenes. The contest between them is an open, honorable one,
and the equities are satisfied when simple straightforwardness wins out
over worldly wisdom.

It may be noticed that nothing has here been said about Edouard Martin,
whose name appears on the title-page with that of Labiche. It is
generally agreed, and indeed obvious from internal evidence, that
whatever aid Labiche may have received in the suggestion of plot,
management of scenes, etc., from his many collaborators, the qualities
that made his plays so uniformly successful are properly his own.
Edouard Martin had produced a few light plays, now absolutely
unknown, before his association with Labiche. With him he wrote not
only Le Voyage de M. Perrichon, but also La Poudre aux Yeux, Les
Vivacités du capitaine Tic, which have rescued his name from oblivion.
He died in 1864, at the age of thirty-six.
As a text for class-room reading, Le Voyage de M. Perrichon can
hardly be surpassed, where familiarity is sought with the vivacity of
French conversation. The dialogue is throughout simply and frankly
natural. It is, as ever in France, profusely sprinkled with expletives.
These exclamations have a very definite force which no careful student
of the language can afford to overlook. For convenience they have here
been collected into a separate alphabetical list, where they can be
readily referred to and reviewed.
As this play is easy reading and may well be taken up early in the study
of French, the Notes are somewhat fuller than an advanced class would
require. They are at some pains to prevent the missing of humorous
points. They also endeavor to keep before the mind of the student the
fact that a correct understanding of the text is not enough. He should
strive to render the French into equivalent English idiom, as racy and as
real as the original. In fact, he should not be satisfied until he has
produced an «acting version.»
The Exercises for Composition, based upon very nearly each scene of
the play, serve a twofold purpose. It too often happens that a word or an
idiom is forgotten as soon as understood; to translate these Exercises
the student must lift the French from the printed page and make it his
own. Secondly, the English of the Exercises often throws additional
light on the expressions that occur in the text, and thereby serves to
secure for them a fuller, wider understanding.

Lastly, the Questions for Conversation, similarly founded on definite
small portions of the comedy, will afford a measure of the real mastery
that the student has acquired of the lesson for each day. Whether
answered orally, or, as may very well be done, in writing, they will
help him to «mobilize» his vocabulary, accidence, and syntax.
I.H.B. SPIERS. PHILADELPHIA, October, 1905.

PERSONNAGES
PERRICHON LE COMMANDANT MATHIEU MAJORIN
ARMAND DESROCHES DANIEL SAVARY JOSEPH, domestique
du Commandant JEAN, domestique de Perrichon MADAME
PERRICHON HENRIETTE, sa fille UN AUBERGISTE UN GUIDE
UN EMPLOYÉ DU CHEMIN DE FER UN FACTEUR
COMMISSIONNAIRES, VOYAGEURS, ETC.

ACTE PREMIER
Gare du chemin de fer de Lyon[1], à Paris.--Au fond, de face, barrière
ouvrant sur les salles d'attente[2]. Au fond, à droite, guichet pour les
billets. Au fond, à gauche, bancs. A droite, marchande[3] de gâteaux; à
gauche, marchande de livres.
SCÈNE PREMIÈRE
MAJORIN, UN EMPLOYÉ DU CHEMIN DE FER, UN FACTEUR,
VOYAGEURS, COMMISSIONNAIRES[4]
Majorin, se promenant avec impatience.--Ce Perrichon n'arrive pas!
Voilà une heure que je l'attends... C'est pourtant bien[5] aujourd'hui
qu'il doit partir pour la Suisse avec sa femme et sa fille... (Avec
amertume.) Des carrossiers[6] qui vont en Suisse! Des carrossiers