The Marriage of Figaro (Criticism)

Criticism

Rena Korb

Korb has a master’s degree in English literature and creative writing and has written for a wide variety of educational publishers. In the following essay, she explores how Beaumarchais uses comedy to raise social issues.

The subtitle of The Marriage of Figaro, “A Single Mad Day,” indicates the complexity of the intrigue that faces Figaro and the other characters on the day of his proposed marriage. What neither the title nor the subtitle indicate, however, are the more serious issues that Beaumarchais raises in his play. One of the most significant messages, and the one that led to the play’s initial censorship, is that the lower classes should be given the opportunity to resist and even compete with the upper classes. Writes Joseph Sungolowsky in Beaumarchais, “Insofar as it [the play] claims the rights of the illegitimate child, of women, and of the individual to enjoy his freedom and to obtain a fair trial, it remains eternally universal.”

On one level, despite the ever-changing plot machinations, the intrigue is very simple: Figaro, servant to the Count, wants to marry the woman he loves, Suzanne, who is the Countess’s maid. The Count, however, is determined to seduce Suzanne. These two men come into conflict as each strives to thwart the other and achieve his desire. The Countess, upon learning of her husband’s faithlessness, decides to teach him a lesson and plans with Suzanne to trap him. Meanwhile, Suzanne, who knows that Figaro is busy trying to foil the Count, does not alert him to the Countess’s plans. Thus, deception is crucial to the plot. The ways the characters deceive each other, and the extents to which they go, render the play comic. Despite the frivolity, the play does not lose sight of the crucial social issues it raises. Most shocking to the eighteenth-century audience, writes Brereton in French Comic Drama from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century, was the

struggle between two males for a desirable woman... [and] however it... is surrounded with gaiety, spectacle and song, there is no question that it is won by the better man, who is a commoner.

The physical act of hiding is most pronounced in act 1 as Suzanne receives many unwanted male visitors in her room. Not wanting to be seen by the Count, Cherubino hides behind the armchair. When the Count fears discovery by Basil, he throws himself behind the armchair, and Cherubino throws himself atop the armchair while Suzanne hides him under a dress. This series of movements is carried out gracefully yet is still largely comic because the Count is completely unaware of the page’s presence. Additionally, the Count is ridiculed as he is forced to hide, crouching, in his own domain. In a further bit of comic irony, his ignominious position comes at the heels of his using his social position as leverage to demand that Suzanne sleep with him. The comic tension in the scene is further heightened when the Count, having revealed himself, reenacts how he earlier discovered Cherubino hiding in Fanchette’s room.

I grow suspicious while I talk to her and as I do so I case an eye about. Behind the door there was a curtain of sorts, a wardrobe, something for old clothes. Without seeming to I gently, slowly lift the curtain...

He illustrates by lifting the dress off the armchair.

And I see...

He catches sight of Cherubino.

... I say!

In this scene, the literal act of hiding provides comic release for the audience along with the opportunity to learn about the dynamics of the castle’s inhabitants. At the same time, however, the scene alludes to the social relationship between the upper and lower classes. Suzanne, as a servant in the Count’s household, is subject to his desires. The Count touches Suzanne and pressures her to meet him that evening. She also sees her wedding plans grind to a halt at the Count’s whim. Thus, she, as well as Figaro, is hardly able to assert individual will. Any amount of liberty they can attain must come through trickery, even when their own behavior is deserving of such liberty.

Act 2 mixes physical deception with an idea that is key to the success of both Figaro’s and the Countess’s plans to unmask the Count: taking another’s place. The Count surprises the Countess, who has been visited by both Suzanne and Cherubino. With nowhere to go, the page ducks into the closet, but when the Count is away from the room, Cherubino slips away and jumps out the window. Suzanne takes his place in the closet, but the Countess is unaware of the exchange. She is forced to admit that the page is hiding, however, when the Count opens the door, for the stage directions indicate that Suzanne comes out laughing. Suzanne’s laughter shows that she has the upper hand in this situation, if only for a brief moment. Of the three people now in the room, she alone knew the truth about what the Count would find when he opened the closet door. Here Beaumarchais underscores the idea of rebellion against the upper classes. Suzanne, a mere maid, holds power — in the form of knowledge — over her superiors. Later in this act, the Countess and Suzanne conspire to outsmart the Count. The Countess forbids Suzanne from telling Figaro about the plan, which Suzanne believes to be “delightful,” one that will ensure that her marriage will take place. This interlude upends the subjugation of women in Beaumarchais’s society. It pits the women against the men, even Figaro, who is certainly sympathetic to the cause. The women have taken control of their own destinies, and as the play bears out, it is their plan that results in happiness and triumph for both of them.

Another type of deception that is used throughout the play is the tactic of speaking in asides. The characters are continuously having conversations in which they try to determine how much knowledge the other person has and what his or her intentions are. As well, they attempt to mislead the other person about their own knowledge and intentions. A prime example of this occurs in the conversation between Figaro and the Count in act 3. The Count wants to know if Suzanne has told Figaro about his designs on her, while Figaro deliberately leads him to believe first one thing and then its exact opposite. In a series of asides, both the Count and Figaro announce their perceptions to the audience. The Count first believes that Figaro “wants to go to London; she hasn’t told him.” Shortly thereafter, he notes, “I can see she’s told him everything; he’s got to marry the duenna [Marceline].” These asides are comic because the characters remain oblivious to the irony of their words and actions, yet these scenes serve the important function of alerting the audience to plot developments. The importance of speaking secretly is emphasized at the end of this exchange. Suzanne, believing the Count has already exited, speaks aloud to Figaro: “You can go to court now, you’ve just won your suit,” meaning that the Count will allow the marriage between Figaro and Suzanne to take place because he thinks that Suzanne will give in to his demands for sex. However, the Count overhears, which leads to the next major plot twist — the court hearing that ends in Figaro being ordered to either pay Marceline back or marry her before the day is through.

On another level, this dialogue between the two men reveals the class conflict that was an integral part of Beaumarchais’s society. Figaro acts insubordinately by refusing to be honest with his master. Additionally, he deliberately tries to needle the Count. As he reveals in an aside, “Let us see his game and match him trick for trick.” In truth, there is no logical reason for Figaro to let the Count know that Suzanne has revealed the seduction plan, and it is when the Count thinks thusly that he decides Figaro must marry Marceline. One plausible explanation for Figaro’s actions, however, is his desire to place himself on the same level as the Count. He can tussle with the Count as the man’s equal, not as a subordinate. This dialogue shows that members of the lower classes have the same abilities as members of the upper classes.

Act 5 culminates in these two types of deception — physically hiding and speaking falsely — as the Countess, dressed as Suzanne, meets the Count. This rendezvous has attracted a large audience; Marceline, Fanchette, and Cherubino all are hidden in one of the pavilions. They observe the Count’s attempts to seduce “Suzanne.” His efforts are comical partly because they show him to be a practiced seducer who relies on cliches, like how her “little arm [is] firm and round” and her “pretty little fingers full of grace and mischief!” The comedy also derives from his comparison of “Suzanne” to the Countess; “Your hand is more lovely than the Countess’s,” he avows. Figaro and Suzanne are right in laughing at the Count, for all the trouble he takes to seduce his own wife.

In Act 5, Figaro and Suzanne also act out their own drama for the Count, pretending that the “Countess,” really Suzanne, is allowing Figaro to seduce her. The Count then chastises his wife, elevating the comedy to an even higher pitch. Condemning his wife as “an odious woman,” the Count proclaims that he can never forgive her, even though what he castigates her for is exactly what he wanted to do with Suzanne and has suggested to Fanchette. The Countess appreciates the ridiculous position in which her husband has placed himself in front of a large audience of his underlings — which now includes Basil, Antonio, Bartholo, and Bridlegoose — as she grants him forgiveness, she is laughing.

As with the rest of the play, however, the comedy masks serious issues. The Count’s behavior demonstrates that women are merely the chattel of their husbands or the men who hold power over them. The Countess’s words make this clear: “In my place, you would say ’Never, never!’ whereas I, for the third time today, forgive you unconditionally.” This idea that women may be regarded as nothing more than property is further supported by Figaro’s rampant jealousy when he believes that Suzanne will actually have an affair with the Count. It is only after heeding Marceline’s advice that they go witness the rendezvous that reins in his emotions and anger.

The play closes with a series of ten short verses. Though this segment is dubbed as “entertainment,” thus implying that its purpose is merely to amuse the audience, Beaumarchais has imbued the short songs with important messages. Suzanne sings the second verse, decrying the society that allows a husband to betray his wife but mandates that, if she similarly “indulge her whim,” she will be punished. Suzanne concludes that this double standard exists only because men, who are the dominant sex, have brought it about. The Countess’s verse puts down false virtue and recommends that women should be judged by their honesty. The two final verses remind the audience to pay attention to the moral issues raised in the play. Suzanne acknowledges that, though this play is “mad yet cheerful,” the audience should “accept it as a whole”; that is, enjoy the “gaiety” of the play, yet recognize the truths it speaks. Bridlegoose, upon whom the play closes, reminds the audience that the “c-comic art /... Apes the life of all of you.” Thus does Beaumarchais beseech the audience to pay attention to their own moral behavior.

Source: Rena Korb, Critical Essay on The Marriage of Figaro, in Drama for Students, The Gale Group, 2002.

“ONE PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR FIGARO’S ACTIONS... IS HIS DESIRE TO PLACE HIMSELF ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE COUNT. HE CAN TUSSLE WITH THE COUNT AS THE MAN’S EQUAL, NOT AS A SUBORDINATE.”