Summer Open Air Comedy by Pierre Carlet de Marivaux
An argument has broken out in front of the assembled court between the prince and Hermiane, whom he desires, over whether it was men or women who first brought infidelity in love into the world. In order to provide clear and conclusive proof, the prince takes Hermiane to a remote place where an ethically dubious experiment is to be completed: Eighteen years ago, three boys and three girls were raised separately and secluded from the world by a pair of governesses. Now, for the first time in their lives, they are to leave their limited world and meet the opposite sex in a controlled manner. They discover their own selves and the opposite sex at breathtaking speed. Completely unsuspecting, they are suddenly caught up in the maelstrom of their first feelings of love and the disastrous game of desire and seduction.
In the middle of the 18th century, Marivaux wrote this entertaining comedy about the confusing relationship between lust and love, devotion and betrayal. However, the hope for an irrefutable truth at the end of this experiment is as unrealistic as the hope for a way out of the irrationality of feelings - even in times of gender, dating apps and polyamory.
