Jean-François Regnard

Jean-François Regnard

Jean-François Regnard (born February 7, 1655 in Paris , † September 4, 1709 in his castle Grillon near Dourdan ) was a French author. He left approx. 25 pieces and is considered the most important comedy poet of the generation after Molière .

Life and work

Regnard was the son of a wealthy Parisian merchant who died two years after his birth, so he grew up under the care of his mother and older sister. From 12 he wrote verses, at 16 (1671) he had part of his lovely inheritance (120,000 Frs.) Paid off and went on a two-year journey that took him via Italy to Istanbul.

In 1676 he started another long trip to Italy with his aristocratic friend Fercourt. a. met the French couple de Prade in Bologna. On their return journey together in 1678 (in the meantime Regnard had fallen in love with Mme de Prade) they took a ship from Genoa to Marseille . However, this was captured by North African pirates and the four were sold as slaves in Algiers , whereby Mme de Prade was separated from her friends and her husband. After eight months, in 1679 a monk from Saint-Lazare who specialized in such cases, with money from Regnard, managed to buy him, Fercourt and Mme de Prade out. Regnard did not marry her, however, because her husband, who was believed dead, suddenly reappeared.

In 1681 Regnard went with two friends on a Northern Europe trip, which went via Flanders, Denmark and Sweden to Lapland and back via Poland, Hungary, Austria and Germany. The description of the Lapland stage is considered the most interesting part of the travelogue that he wrote later. After his return in 1682, Regnard bought the high-ranking but not very burdensome office of trésorier (treasurer) de France and subsequently lived partly in Paris and partly on the little castle grill, which he had acquired in Normandy . His house in Paris' Rue de Richelieu, as well as Grillon, quickly became a meeting place for fun-loving and witty people of all origins.

At the same time Regnard began to fill his leisure time with writing. At first he tried his hand at tragedies, but only one of them was performed. He then recognized his gift for observing and representing general human weaknesses, but also specifically contemporary vices, and from 1687 switched to comic pieces that he wrote for the Paris theater of the Comédiens italiens , to whose style of performance and personal circumstances he adapted. They were: Le Divorce (= the divorce / separation, 1688); La Descente de Mezzetin aux Enfers (= Ms journey into hell, 1689); Arlequin, homme à bonnes fortunes (= A., The lucky man with women, 1690).

The latter piece made Regnard famous, but it also caused offense. He took advantage of this by immediately (similar to Molière in a comparable situation) followed by a second piece, La Critique de l'Homme aux bonnes fortunes . Les filles errantes (= the wandering girls) followed in 1690 . In 1691 La Coquette ou L'Académie des dames came out, the title of which refers to Molière, on which Regnard as a whole often draws inspiration.

In 1692/93, due to the high demand, he produced three pieces with the also not unknown Charles Dufresny as co-author: Le Chinois (= the Chinese); La Baguette de Vulcain (= the stick of the volcano ) and L'Augmentation [increase, extension] de "La Baguette" . In 1694 La Naissance d ' Amadis (= the birth of A.) was the last piece of Regnard for the Italy. In the same year he moved to the more renowned Théâtre Français, initially with two one-act plays: Attendez-moi sous l'orme (= expect me under the elm) and La Sérénade .

Also in 1694 he entertained the Parisian literary world with a feud in which he involved the elderly satirist Nicolas Boileau by replicating his satire contre les femmes with a satire contre les maris [husbands] and animating him to react venomously. An ironic verse satire with which Regnard wanted to answer this was no longer printed because the gentlemen were reconciled. Above all, however, he wrote other comedies for the Théâtre Français: La Foire [fair] Saint-Germain (1695); La Suite [continued] de “la Foire St.-G.” or Les Momies [mummies] d'Égypte (1696); Le Bal ou Le Bourgeois de Falaise (1696).

At the end of 1696, Le Joueur (= the player) was a great success. This prompted Regnard to sell his treasury office and to devote himself entirely to his role as a recognized author, wealthy bon vivant (with mistress) and lord of the castle. However, his next pieces were only moderately well received. They were: Le Distrait (= the scattered, 1697); Le Carnaval de Venise (opera libretto, 1699); Démocrite amoureux and Le Retour imprévu (= the unexpected homecoming, both 1700); Les Folies [follies] amoureuses (1704); Les Ménechmes (= the twins, 1705).

At the beginning of 1708 the play came out that is considered his best and secured his place in literary history: the comedy of verse Le Légataire universel (= the sole heir ). The plot revolves around a rich old miser, his nephew, who wants to inherit him, and his smart servant Crispin, who, in various disguises, helps his young master to get the will he needs, but also fills his pockets a little. Regnard suddenly died a year later on Grillon from an unknown cause of death, more likely an accident or a stroke than the suicide, which was also suspected.

In addition to his pieces, he also wrote texts of other genres again and again. He wrote numerous occasional poems, several épîtres (verse epistles), some satires (rhyming satires, see above), travelogues and the small autobiographical novel La Provençale , which is inspired by his love for Mme de Prade. In 1705 a first complete edition appeared as Les Œuvres de Mr. Regnard .

Web links

• Literature by and about Jean-François Regnard in the catalog of the German National Library
• Article in "Names, titles and dates of French literature" (source)