Page:The thirty-six dramatic situations (1921).djvu/114

 and knotting together two or three dramatic situations. He belongs, this type, to the family of the poetic Prologue, of the "Deus ex machina" (although more admissible) of the Orator of the parabases, of the Molièresque Valet, and of the Theorist (the good doctor, clergyman, journalist, "family friend"). He is in short the old Narrator of the monodramas. Nothing could be more naif, consequently, than this creature, whose unconvincing artificiality has spoiled many a scene.

(3) — False Suspicion Thrown Upon a Rival — "Diana" (Paladilhe, 1885); "L'Ogre" (Marthold, 1890); "La Boscotte" (Mme. Maldagne, 1908).

(4) — Thrown Upon One Innocent, Because He Has Refused to be an Accomplice: — "Valentinian" by Beaumont and Fletcher; "Aetius" by Metastasio.

(5) — Thrown by a Deserted Mistress Upon a Lover Who Left Her Because He Would Not Deceive Her Husband: — "Roger-la-Honte" (Mary, 1888).

(6) — Struggle to Rehabilitate Oneself and to Avenge a Judicial Error Purposely Caused: — "La Dégringolade" (Desnard, 1881); the end of "Fiacre No. 13."