Page:The thirty-six dramatic situations (1921).djvu/93

 ing the signature of a contract, and which corresponds also to the pseudo-Situation XXX (Forbidden Loves). Something of their dullness has already emanated from A 1 and A 2.

(2) — Discovery that Ones Wife Has Been Violated Before Marriage: -- "Le Secret de Gilberte" (Massiac, 1890). Since the Marriage: -- "Flore de Frileuse" by Bergerat, with comic dénouement thanks to a "quid-pro-quo."

(3) — That She Has Previously Committed a Fault: — "Le Prince Zilah" (Claretie, 1885); part of Dumas' "Denise." Common instances: Marriages through agencies.

(4) — Discovery that Ones Wife Has Formerly Been a Prostitute: - "Lena" (Berton and Mme. van Velde, 1886). That ones mistress has been a prostitute: — "Marion Delorme." The same situation, from the point of view of "Remorse" (XXXIV), is encountered in Zola's "Madeleine."

(5) — Discovery of Dishonor on the Part of a Lover (this also borders upon XXXIV:- "Chamillae" (Feuillet, 1886); "Le Crocodile" (Sardou, 1886).

(6) — Discovery that Ones Mistress, formerly a Prostitute, Has Returned to Her Old Life with extenuating circumstances):— "La Dame aux Camellias" Dumas); "La Courtisane" (Arnyvelde, 1905); part of "Manon Lescaut." But for feminine cunning, would not this be the normal course of all "bonnes fortunes?"

(7) — Discovery that Ones lover is a Scoundrel, or that Ones Mistress is a Woman of Bad Character: "Monsieur Alphonse" by Dumas; "Mensonges" by Emile Michelet. Since (as Palice remarks) liaisons would last forever if they were never broken off, and since the two lovers, who certainly know each other well, always give as the reason of their rupture the title of the present sub-class, the conclusion is as easy to draw as it is unflattering to the human species. The Same Discovery Concerning a So-Called King: "Sire" (Lavedan, 1909).

(8) — The Same Discovery Concerning Ones Wife:— "Le Manage d'Olympe" by Augier.