Pierre Beaumarchais
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (pjɛʁ bomaʁʃɛ; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French
playwright
, watchmaker
, inventor, musician
, diplomat
, fugitive
, spy
, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier
, and revolutionary
(both French
and American
).
Beginning as a provincial watchmaker's son, Beaumarchais rose in French society and became influential in the court of Louis XV
as an inventor and music teacher. He made a number of important business and social contacts, played various roles as a diplomat and spy, and had earned a considerable fortune before a series of costly court battles jeopardized his reputation.
An early French supporter of American independence, Beaumarchais lobbied the French government on behalf of the American rebels during the American War of Independence. Beaumarchais oversaw covert aid from the French and Spanish governments to supply arms and financial assistance to the rebels in the years before France's formal entry into the war in 1778. He later struggled to recover money he had personally invested in the scheme. Beaumarchais was also a participant in the early stages of the French Revolution. He is probably best known, however, for his theatrical works, especially the three Figaro
plays.
, Paris
on 24 January 1732. He was the only boy among the six surviving children of André-Charles Caron, a watchmaker from Meaux
. The family had previously been Huguenot
s but had converted to Roman Catholicism in the wake of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
and the increased persecution of Protestants that followed. The family was comfortably middle-class and Beaumarchais had a peaceful and happy childhood, and as the only son was spoilt by as his parents and sisters. He took an interest in music and played several instruments. Though born a Catholic, Beaumarchais retained a sympathy for Protestants and would campaign throughout his life for their civil rights
.
From the age of ten Beaumarchais had some schooling at a "country school" where he learnt some Latin
. Two years later Beaumarchais left school at twelve to work as an apprentice under his father and learn the art of watchmaking. He may have used his own experiences during these years to inspire the character of Cherubino when he wrote the Marriage of Figaro. He generally neglected his work and at one point was evicted by his father only to be later allowed back after apologising for his poor behaviour.
At the time pocket watches were commonly unreliable for timekeeping and were worn more as fashion accessories. In response to this Beaumarchais spent nearly a year researching improvements. In July 1753, at the age of twenty one, he invented an escape mechanism for watches that allowed them to be made substantially more accurate and compact. One of his greatest feats was a watch mounted on a ring, made for Madame de Pompadour
, a mistress of Louis XV
. The invention was later recognised by the Academy of Sciences, but only after a dispute with Lepaute, the royal watchmaker, who attempted to pass off the invention as his own. The affair first brought Beaumarchais to national attention and introduced him to the royal court at Versailles
.
. His wife died less than a year later which plunged him into financial problems and he ran up large debts.
. His role soon grew and he became a musical advisor for the royal family. In 1759 Caron met Joseph Paris Duverney, an older and wealthy entrepreneur. Beaumarchais assisted him in gaining the King's approval for the new military academy École Royale Militaire he was building and in turn Duverney promised to help make him rich. The two became very close friends and collaborated on many business ventures. Assisted by Duverney, Beaumarchais acquired the title of Secretary-Councillor to the King in 1760–61, thereby gaining access to French nobility. This was followed by the purchase in 1763 of a second title, the office of Lieutenant General of Hunting, a position which oversaw the royal parks. Around this time he became engaged to Pauline Le Breton, who came from a plantation
-owning family from Saint-Domingue
, but broke it off when he discovered she wasn't as wealthy as he had been led to believe.
, an official at the Ministry of War. While in Spain he was mostly concerned with striking business deals for Duverney. They sought an exclusive contracts for the newly acquired Spanish colony of Louisiana and attempted to gain the right to import slaves to the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Beaumarchais went to Madrid with a letter of introduction
from the Duc de Choiseul
who was now his political patron. Hoping to secure Clavijo's support for his business deals by binding him by marriage, Beaumarchais initially shamed Clavijo into agreeing to marry Lisette, but when further details emerged about Clavijo's conduct, the marriage was called off.
Beaumarchais's business deals dragged on, and he spent much of his time soaking up the atmosphere of Spain which would become a major influence on his later writings. Although he befriended important figures such as the foreign minister Grimaldi, his attempts to secure the contracts for Duverney eventually came to nothing and he went home in March 1765. Although Beaumarchais returned to France with little profit, he had managed to acquire new experience, musical ideas, and ideas for theatrical characters. Beaumarchais considered turning the affair into a play, but decided to leave it to others--including Goethe, who wrote Clavigo
in 1774.
to Spain, but his application was rejected. Instead he concentrated on developing his business affairs and began to show an interest in writing plays. He had already experimented in writing short farce
s for private audiences, but he now had ambitions to write for the theatre.
His name as a writer was established with his first dramatic play, Eugénie
, which premiered at the Comédie Française in 1767. This was followed in 1770 by another drama, Les Deux amis.
Beaumarchais's Figaro plays are Le Barbier de Séville
, Le Mariage de Figaro
, and La Mère coupable
. Figaro and Count Almaviva, the two characters Beaumarchais most likely conceived in his travels in Spain, were (with Rosine, later the Countess Almaviva) the only ones present in all three plays. They are indicative of the change in social attitudes before, during, and after the French Revolution. Figaro and Almaviva first appeared in Le Sacristain, which he wrote around 1765 and dubbed "an interlude, imitating the Spanish style."
To a lesser degree, the Figaro plays are semi-autobiographical. Don Guzman Brid'oison (Le Mariage) and Bégearss (La Mère) were caricatures of two of Beaumarchais's real-life adversaries, Goezman and Bergasse. The page Chérubin (Le Mariage) resembled the youthful Beaumarchais, who did contemplate suicide when his love was to marry another. Suzanne, the heroine of Le Mariage and La Mère, was modelled after Beaumarchais's third wife, Marie-Thérèse de Willer-Mawlaz. Meanwhile, some of the Count monologues reflect on the playwright's remorse of his numerous sexual exploits.
Le Barbier premiered in 1775. Its sequel Le Mariage was initially passed by the censor in 1781, but was soon banned from performance by Louis XVI after a private reading. Queen Marie-Antoinette lamented the ban, as did various influential members of her entourage. Nonetheless, the King was unhappy with the play's satire on the aristocracy and over-ruled the Queen's entreaties to allow its performance. Over the next three years Beaumarchais gave many private readings of the play, as well as making revisions to try to pass the censor. The King finally relented and lifted the ban in 1784. The play premiered that year and was enormously popular even with aristocratic audiences. Mozart's opera premiered just two years later. Beaumarchais's final play La Mère was premiered in 1792 in Paris.
In homage to the great French playwright Molière
, Beaumarchais also dubbed La Mère "The Other Tartuffe
". All three Figaro plays enjoyed great success, and are still frequently performed today in theatres and opera houses.
To garner public support, Beaumarchais published a four-part pamphlet entitled Mémoires contre Goezman. The action made Beaumarchais an instant celebrity, for the public at the time saw Beaumarchais as a champion for social justice and liberty. Goezman countered Beaumarchais's accusations by launching a law suit of his own. The verdict was equivocal. On 26 February 1774, both Beaumarchais and Mme. Goezman (who had taken the bribe from Beaumarchais) were deprived of their civil rights, while Magistrate Goezman was removed from his post. At the same time, Goezman's verdict in the La Blache case was overturned. The Goezman case was so sensational that the judges left the courtroom through a back door to avoid the large, angry mob waiting in front of the court house.
To restore his civil rights, Beaumarchais pledged his services to Louis XV. He traveled to London, Amsterdam and Vienna
on various secret missions. His first mission was to travel to London to destroy a pamphlet, Les mémoires secrets d'une femme publique, which Louis XV considered a libel of one of his mistresses, Madame du Barry
. Beaumarchais was sent to London to persuade the French spy Chevalier D'Eon
to return home, but while there he began gathering information on British politics and society. Britain's colonial situation was deteriorating and in 1775 fighting broke out between British troops and American rebels. Beaumarchais became a major source of information about the rebellion for the French government and sent a regular stream of reports with exaggerated rumours of the size of the success of the rebel forces blockading Boston
.
Once back in France, Beaumarchais began work on a new operation. Louis XVI
, who did not want to break openly with Britain
, allowed Beaumarchais to found a commercial enterprise, Roderigue Hortalez and Company
, supported by the French and Spanish crowns, that supplied the American rebels with weapons, munitions, clothes and provisions, all of which would never be paid for. This policy came to fruition in 1777 when John Burgoyne
's army capitulated at Saratoga
to a rebel force largely clothed and armed by the supplies Beaumarchais had been sending and marked a personal triumph for him. Beaumarchais was injured in a carriage accident while racing into Paris with news of Satagoa.
Beaumarchais had dealt with Silas Deane
, an acting member of the Committee of Secret Correspondence
in the Second Continental Congress
. For these services, the French Parliament reinstated Beaumarchais's civil rights in 1776. In 1778 Beaumarchais' hopes were fulfilled when French government agreed the Treaty of Alliance
and entered the American War of Independence followed by Spain in 1779 and the Dutch Republic in 1780.
in 1778, Beaumarchais set out to publish Voltaire's complete works, many of which were banned in France. He bought the rights to most of Voltaire's many manuscripts from the publisher Charles-Joseph Panckouck in February 1779. To evade French censorship, he set up printing presses in Kehl
, Germany. He bought the complete foundry of the famous English type designer John Baskerville
from his widow and also bought three paper mills. Seventy volumes were published between 1783 to 1790. While the venture proved a financial failure, Beaumarchais was instrumental in preserving many of Voltaire's later works which otherwise might have been lost.
It was not long before Beaumarchais crossed paths again with the French legal system. In 1787, he became acquainted with Mme. Korman, who was implicated and imprisoned in an adultery suit, which was filed by her husband to expropriate her dowry. The matter went to court, with Beaumarchais siding with Mme. Korman, and M. Korman assisted by a celebrity lawyer, Nicolas Bergasse
. On 2 April 1790, M. Korman and Bergasse were found guilty of calumny (slander), but Beaumarchais's reputation was also tarnished.
Meanwhile, the French Revolution
broke out. Beaumarchais was no longer the idol he had been a few years before. He was financially successful, mainly from supplying drinking water to Paris, and had acquired ranks in the French nobility. In 1791, he took up a lavish residence across from where the Bastille
once stood. He spent under a week in prison during August 1792, and was released only three days before a massacre
took place in the prison where he had been detained.
Nevertheless, he pledged his services to the new Republic. He attempted to purchase 60,000 rifles for the French Revolutionary army from Holland, but was unable to complete the deal. While he was out of the country, Beaumarchais was declared an émigré
(loyalists to the old regime) by his enemies. He spent two and a half years in exile, mostly in Germany, before his name was removed from the list of proscribed émigrés. He returned to Paris in 1796, where he lived out the remainder of his life in relative peace. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery
in Paris.
. Before her death in 1770, she bore a son, Augustin, but he died in 1772. Beaumarchais lived with his lover, Marie-Thérèse de Willer-Mawlaz, for twelve years before she became his third wife in 1786. Together they had a daughter, Eugénie.
Beaumarchais was accused by his enemies of poisoning his first two wives in order to lay claim to their family inheritance. Beaumarchais, though having no shortage of lovers throughout his life, was known to care deeply for both his family and close friends. However, Beaumarchais also had a reputation of marrying for financial gain, and both Franquet and Lévêque were previously married to wealthy families. While there was insufficient evidence to support the accusations, whether or not the poisonings took place is still the subject of debate.
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, watchmaker
Watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since virtually all watches are now factory made, most modern watchmakers solely repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their parts, by hand...
, inventor, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
, spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
, and revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
(both French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
).
Beginning as a provincial watchmaker's son, Beaumarchais rose in French society and became influential in the court of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
as an inventor and music teacher. He made a number of important business and social contacts, played various roles as a diplomat and spy, and had earned a considerable fortune before a series of costly court battles jeopardized his reputation.
An early French supporter of American independence, Beaumarchais lobbied the French government on behalf of the American rebels during the American War of Independence. Beaumarchais oversaw covert aid from the French and Spanish governments to supply arms and financial assistance to the rebels in the years before France's formal entry into the war in 1778. He later struggled to recover money he had personally invested in the scheme. Beaumarchais was also a participant in the early stages of the French Revolution. He is probably best known, however, for his theatrical works, especially the three Figaro
Figaro
-Literature:* Figaro, the central character in:** The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais***Il barbiere di Siviglia , the opera by Paisiello based on Beaumarchais' play...
plays.
Early life
Beaumarchais was born Pierre-Augustin Caron in the Rue Saint-DenisRue Saint-Denis (Paris)
Rue Saint-Denis is one of the oldest streets in Paris. Its route was first laid out in the 1st century by the Romans, and then extended to the north in the Middle Ages. From the Middle Ages to the present day, the street has become notorious as a place of prostitution...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 24 January 1732. He was the only boy among the six surviving children of André-Charles Caron, a watchmaker from Meaux
Meaux
Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...
. The family had previously been Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s but had converted to Roman Catholicism in the wake of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
and the increased persecution of Protestants that followed. The family was comfortably middle-class and Beaumarchais had a peaceful and happy childhood, and as the only son was spoilt by as his parents and sisters. He took an interest in music and played several instruments. Though born a Catholic, Beaumarchais retained a sympathy for Protestants and would campaign throughout his life for their civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
.
From the age of ten Beaumarchais had some schooling at a "country school" where he learnt some Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Two years later Beaumarchais left school at twelve to work as an apprentice under his father and learn the art of watchmaking. He may have used his own experiences during these years to inspire the character of Cherubino when he wrote the Marriage of Figaro. He generally neglected his work and at one point was evicted by his father only to be later allowed back after apologising for his poor behaviour.
At the time pocket watches were commonly unreliable for timekeeping and were worn more as fashion accessories. In response to this Beaumarchais spent nearly a year researching improvements. In July 1753, at the age of twenty one, he invented an escape mechanism for watches that allowed them to be made substantially more accurate and compact. One of his greatest feats was a watch mounted on a ring, made for Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
, a mistress of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. The invention was later recognised by the Academy of Sciences, but only after a dispute with Lepaute, the royal watchmaker, who attempted to pass off the invention as his own. The affair first brought Beaumarchais to national attention and introduced him to the royal court at Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
.
Rise to influence
Marriage and new name
In 1755 Beaumarchais met Madeleine-Catherine Aubertin, a widow and married her the following year. She helped Beaumarchais secure a royal office and he gave up watchmaking. Shortly after his marriage he adopted the name "Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais", which he derived from "le Bois Marchais", the name of a piece of land belonging to his new wife. He believed the name sounded grander and more aristocratic and adopted at the same time an elaborate coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. His wife died less than a year later which plunged him into financial problems and he ran up large debts.
Royal patronage
Beaumarchais problems were eased when he was appointed to teach Louis XV's four daughters the harpHarp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
. His role soon grew and he became a musical advisor for the royal family. In 1759 Caron met Joseph Paris Duverney, an older and wealthy entrepreneur. Beaumarchais assisted him in gaining the King's approval for the new military academy École Royale Militaire he was building and in turn Duverney promised to help make him rich. The two became very close friends and collaborated on many business ventures. Assisted by Duverney, Beaumarchais acquired the title of Secretary-Councillor to the King in 1760–61, thereby gaining access to French nobility. This was followed by the purchase in 1763 of a second title, the office of Lieutenant General of Hunting, a position which oversaw the royal parks. Around this time he became engaged to Pauline Le Breton, who came from a plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
-owning family from Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
, but broke it off when he discovered she wasn't as wealthy as he had been led to believe.
Visit to Madrid
In April 1764, Beaumarchais began a ten-month sojourn in Madrid, ostensibly to help his sister, Lisette, who had been abandoned by her fiancé, ClavijoJose Clavijo y Fajardo
José Clavijo y Fajardo , Spanish publicist, was born on Lanzarote . He settled in Madrid, became editor of El Pensador, and by his campaign against the public performance of autos sacramentales, secured their prohibition in 1765...
, an official at the Ministry of War. While in Spain he was mostly concerned with striking business deals for Duverney. They sought an exclusive contracts for the newly acquired Spanish colony of Louisiana and attempted to gain the right to import slaves to the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Beaumarchais went to Madrid with a letter of introduction
Letter of introduction
The letter of introduction, along with the visiting card, was an important part of polite social interaction in the 18th and 19th centuries. It remains important in formal situations, such as an ambassador presenting his credentials, and in certain business circles.In general, a person would not...
from the Duc de Choiseul
Étienne François, duc de Choiseul
Étienne-François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul was a French military officer, diplomat and statesman. Between 1758 and 1761, and 1766 and 1770, he was Foreign Minister of France and had a strong influence on France's global strategy throughout the period...
who was now his political patron. Hoping to secure Clavijo's support for his business deals by binding him by marriage, Beaumarchais initially shamed Clavijo into agreeing to marry Lisette, but when further details emerged about Clavijo's conduct, the marriage was called off.
Beaumarchais's business deals dragged on, and he spent much of his time soaking up the atmosphere of Spain which would become a major influence on his later writings. Although he befriended important figures such as the foreign minister Grimaldi, his attempts to secure the contracts for Duverney eventually came to nothing and he went home in March 1765. Although Beaumarchais returned to France with little profit, he had managed to acquire new experience, musical ideas, and ideas for theatrical characters. Beaumarchais considered turning the affair into a play, but decided to leave it to others--including Goethe, who wrote Clavigo
Clavigo (play)
Clavigo is a five-act tragedy written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1774. The lead role is taken by Beaumarchais. The play was written in just eight days in May 1774. It was published by July 1774 and is the first printed work to which Goethe put his own name, although the play was received...
in 1774.
Playwright
Beaumarchais hoped to be made consulConsul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
to Spain, but his application was rejected. Instead he concentrated on developing his business affairs and began to show an interest in writing plays. He had already experimented in writing short farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
s for private audiences, but he now had ambitions to write for the theatre.
His name as a writer was established with his first dramatic play, Eugénie
Eugenie (play)
Eugénie is a play in five acts by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. It was first performed at the Comédie-Française on January 29, 1767.The premier of Eugénie was delayed for some time by the illness of one of its stars, Préville, who was to play the role of The Baron...
, which premiered at the Comédie Française in 1767. This was followed in 1770 by another drama, Les Deux amis.
The Figaro plays
Le Barbier de Séville
The Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution is a French play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with original music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron. It was initially conceived as a comic opera, and was rejected as such in 1772 by the Comédie-Italienne...
, Le Mariage de Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
The Marriage of Figaro ) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second installment in the Figaro Trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother. The Barber begins the story with a simple love triangle in which the Count has...
, and La Mère coupable
The Guilty Mother
The Guilty Mother subtitled The Other Tartuffe is the third play of the Figaro Trilogy by Pierre Beaumarchais; the first two plays of the trilogy are The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. It is rarely revived these days...
. Figaro and Count Almaviva, the two characters Beaumarchais most likely conceived in his travels in Spain, were (with Rosine, later the Countess Almaviva) the only ones present in all three plays. They are indicative of the change in social attitudes before, during, and after the French Revolution. Figaro and Almaviva first appeared in Le Sacristain, which he wrote around 1765 and dubbed "an interlude, imitating the Spanish style."
To a lesser degree, the Figaro plays are semi-autobiographical. Don Guzman Brid'oison (Le Mariage) and Bégearss (La Mère) were caricatures of two of Beaumarchais's real-life adversaries, Goezman and Bergasse. The page Chérubin (Le Mariage) resembled the youthful Beaumarchais, who did contemplate suicide when his love was to marry another. Suzanne, the heroine of Le Mariage and La Mère, was modelled after Beaumarchais's third wife, Marie-Thérèse de Willer-Mawlaz. Meanwhile, some of the Count monologues reflect on the playwright's remorse of his numerous sexual exploits.
Le Barbier premiered in 1775. Its sequel Le Mariage was initially passed by the censor in 1781, but was soon banned from performance by Louis XVI after a private reading. Queen Marie-Antoinette lamented the ban, as did various influential members of her entourage. Nonetheless, the King was unhappy with the play's satire on the aristocracy and over-ruled the Queen's entreaties to allow its performance. Over the next three years Beaumarchais gave many private readings of the play, as well as making revisions to try to pass the censor. The King finally relented and lifted the ban in 1784. The play premiered that year and was enormously popular even with aristocratic audiences. Mozart's opera premiered just two years later. Beaumarchais's final play La Mère was premiered in 1792 in Paris.
In homage to the great French playwright Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, Beaumarchais also dubbed La Mère "The Other Tartuffe
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...
". All three Figaro plays enjoyed great success, and are still frequently performed today in theatres and opera houses.
Court battles
The death of Duverney on 17 July 1770 triggered a decade of turmoil for Beaumarchais. A few months earlier, the two had signed a statement cancelling all debts that Beaumarchais owed Duverney (about 75,000 pounds), and granting Beaumarchais the modest sum of 15,000 pounds. Duverney's sole heir, Count de la Blache, took Beaumarchais to court, claiming the signed statement was a forgery. Although the 1772 verdict favoured Beaumarchais, it was overturned on appeal the following year by a judge, magistrate Goezman, whom Beaumarchais tried to bribe in vain. At the same time, Beaumarchais was also involved in a dispute with Duke de Chaulnes over the Duke's mistress, which resulted in Beaumarchais's being thrown into jail from February to May 1773. La Blache took advantage of Beaumarchais's court absence and persuaded Goezman to order Beaumarchais to repay all his debts to Duverney, plus interest and all legal expenses.To garner public support, Beaumarchais published a four-part pamphlet entitled Mémoires contre Goezman. The action made Beaumarchais an instant celebrity, for the public at the time saw Beaumarchais as a champion for social justice and liberty. Goezman countered Beaumarchais's accusations by launching a law suit of his own. The verdict was equivocal. On 26 February 1774, both Beaumarchais and Mme. Goezman (who had taken the bribe from Beaumarchais) were deprived of their civil rights, while Magistrate Goezman was removed from his post. At the same time, Goezman's verdict in the La Blache case was overturned. The Goezman case was so sensational that the judges left the courtroom through a back door to avoid the large, angry mob waiting in front of the court house.
American Revolution
Before France officially entered the war in 1778, Beaumarchais played a major role in delivering French munitions, money and supplies to the American army.To restore his civil rights, Beaumarchais pledged his services to Louis XV. He traveled to London, Amsterdam and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on various secret missions. His first mission was to travel to London to destroy a pamphlet, Les mémoires secrets d'une femme publique, which Louis XV considered a libel of one of his mistresses, Madame du Barry
Madame du Barry
Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry was the last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.-Early life:...
. Beaumarchais was sent to London to persuade the French spy Chevalier D'Eon
Chevalier d'Eon
Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont , usually known as the Chevalier d'Éon, was a French diplomat, spy, soldier and Freemason whose first 49 years were spent as a man, and whose last 33 years were spent as a woman...
to return home, but while there he began gathering information on British politics and society. Britain's colonial situation was deteriorating and in 1775 fighting broke out between British troops and American rebels. Beaumarchais became a major source of information about the rebellion for the French government and sent a regular stream of reports with exaggerated rumours of the size of the success of the rebel forces blockading Boston
Siege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
.
Once back in France, Beaumarchais began work on a new operation. Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, who did not want to break openly with Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, allowed Beaumarchais to found a commercial enterprise, Roderigue Hortalez and Company
Roderigue Hortalez and Company
Roderigue Hortalez and Company was a fictitious business set up in July 4 1776 by Spain and France House of Bourbon, which after entering into a secret agreement with the colonists to support them in their rebellion against England...
, supported by the French and Spanish crowns, that supplied the American rebels with weapons, munitions, clothes and provisions, all of which would never be paid for. This policy came to fruition in 1777 when John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
's army capitulated at Saratoga
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...
to a rebel force largely clothed and armed by the supplies Beaumarchais had been sending and marked a personal triumph for him. Beaumarchais was injured in a carriage accident while racing into Paris with news of Satagoa.
Beaumarchais had dealt with Silas Deane
Silas Deane
Silas Deane was an American merchant, politician and diplomat. Originally a supporter of American independence Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and then as the United States' first foreign diplomat when he travelled to France to lobby the French government for aid...
, an acting member of the Committee of Secret Correspondence
Committee of Secret Correspondence
The Committee of Secret Correspondence was a Revolutionary American council dedicated to attaining European support for the war for independence. The CSC's most notable success was convincing the French government to support the colonials' cause. The organization was formed on November 29, 1775 by...
in the Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
. For these services, the French Parliament reinstated Beaumarchais's civil rights in 1776. In 1778 Beaumarchais' hopes were fulfilled when French government agreed the Treaty of Alliance
Treaty of Alliance (1778)
The Treaty of Alliance, also called The Treaty of Alliance with France, was a defensive alliance between France and the United States of America, formed in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, which promised military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely into the future...
and entered the American War of Independence followed by Spain in 1779 and the Dutch Republic in 1780.
The Voltaire revival
Shortly after the death of VoltaireVoltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
in 1778, Beaumarchais set out to publish Voltaire's complete works, many of which were banned in France. He bought the rights to most of Voltaire's many manuscripts from the publisher Charles-Joseph Panckouck in February 1779. To evade French censorship, he set up printing presses in Kehl
Kehl
Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...
, Germany. He bought the complete foundry of the famous English type designer John Baskerville
John Baskerville
John Baskerville was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and typographer.-Life:...
from his widow and also bought three paper mills. Seventy volumes were published between 1783 to 1790. While the venture proved a financial failure, Beaumarchais was instrumental in preserving many of Voltaire's later works which otherwise might have been lost.
More court battles and the French Revolution
Nicolas Bergasse
Nicolas Bergasse was a French lawyer.He was born at Lyon. In his early years, he became a disciple of Franz Mesmer, and published a systemization of Mesmerism titled Considérations sur le magnetisme animal....
. On 2 April 1790, M. Korman and Bergasse were found guilty of calumny (slander), but Beaumarchais's reputation was also tarnished.
Meanwhile, the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
broke out. Beaumarchais was no longer the idol he had been a few years before. He was financially successful, mainly from supplying drinking water to Paris, and had acquired ranks in the French nobility. In 1791, he took up a lavish residence across from where the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
once stood. He spent under a week in prison during August 1792, and was released only three days before a massacre
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
took place in the prison where he had been detained.
Nevertheless, he pledged his services to the new Republic. He attempted to purchase 60,000 rifles for the French Revolutionary army from Holland, but was unable to complete the deal. While he was out of the country, Beaumarchais was declared an émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
(loyalists to the old regime) by his enemies. He spent two and a half years in exile, mostly in Germany, before his name was removed from the list of proscribed émigrés. He returned to Paris in 1796, where he lived out the remainder of his life in relative peace. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
in Paris.
Private life
Beaumarchais married three times. His first wife was Madeleine-Catherine Franquet (née Aubertin), whom he married on 22 November 1756; she died under mysterious circumstances only 10 months following the marriage. He married Geneviève-Madeleine Lévêque (née Wattebled) in 1768. Again, the second Mme. de Beaumarchais died under mysterious circumstances two years later, though most scholars believed she actually suffered from tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Before her death in 1770, she bore a son, Augustin, but he died in 1772. Beaumarchais lived with his lover, Marie-Thérèse de Willer-Mawlaz, for twelve years before she became his third wife in 1786. Together they had a daughter, Eugénie.
Beaumarchais was accused by his enemies of poisoning his first two wives in order to lay claim to their family inheritance. Beaumarchais, though having no shortage of lovers throughout his life, was known to care deeply for both his family and close friends. However, Beaumarchais also had a reputation of marrying for financial gain, and both Franquet and Lévêque were previously married to wealthy families. While there was insufficient evidence to support the accusations, whether or not the poisonings took place is still the subject of debate.
List of works
- 1760s – Various one-act comedies (parades) for private staging.
- Les Député de la Halle et du Gros-Caillou
- Colin et Colette
- Les Bottes de sept lieues
- Jean Bête à la foire
- Œil pour œil
- Laurette
- 1765(?) – Le Sacristain, interlude (precursor to Le Barbier de SévilleLe Barbier de SévilleThe Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution is a French play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with original music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron. It was initially conceived as a comic opera, and was rejected as such in 1772 by the Comédie-Italienne...
) - 1767 – EugénieEugenie (play)Eugénie is a play in five acts by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. It was first performed at the Comédie-Française on January 29, 1767.The premier of Eugénie was delayed for some time by the illness of one of its stars, Préville, who was to play the role of The Baron...
, drama, premiered at the Comédie Française. - 1767 – L'Essai sur le genre dramatique sérieux.
- 1770 – Les Deux amis ou le Négociant de Lyon, drama, premiered at the Comédie Française
- 1773 – Le Barbier de SévilleLe Barbier de SévilleThe Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution is a French play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with original music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron. It was initially conceived as a comic opera, and was rejected as such in 1772 by the Comédie-Italienne...
ou la Précaution inutile, comedy, premiered on 3 January 1775 at the Comédie Française - 1774 – Mémoires contre Goezman
- 1775 – La Lettre modérée sur la chute et la critique du «Barbier de Sérville»
- 1778 – La Folle journée ou Le Mariage de Figaro, comedy, premiered on 27 April 1784 at the Comédie Française
- 1784 – Préface du mariage de Figaro
- 1787 – Tarare, opera with music by Antonio SalieriAntonio SalieriAntonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
, premiered at the Opéra de Paris (full-text) - 1792 – La Mère coupableThe Guilty MotherThe Guilty Mother subtitled The Other Tartuffe is the third play of the Figaro Trilogy by Pierre Beaumarchais; the first two plays of the trilogy are The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. It is rarely revived these days...
ou L'Autre Tartuffe, drama, premiered on 26 June at the Théâtre du MaraisThéâtre du MaraisThe Théâtre du Marais has been the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France. The original and most famous theatre of the name operated in the 17th century. The name was briefly revived for a revolutionary theatre in 1791, and revived again in 1976... - 1799 – Voltaire et Jésus-Christ, in two articles.
List of related works
- ClavigoClavigo (play)Clavigo is a five-act tragedy written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1774. The lead role is taken by Beaumarchais. The play was written in just eight days in May 1774. It was published by July 1774 and is the first printed work to which Goethe put his own name, although the play was received...
(1774), a tragedy by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
based on Beaumarchais's experiences in Spain - Il barbiere di SivigliaIl barbiere di Siviglia (Paisiello)Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile is a comic opera by Giovanni Paisiello from a libretto by Giuseppe Petrosellini, even though his name is not identified on the score's title page....
, ovvero La precauzione inutile (1782), music by Giovanni PaisielloGiovanni PaisielloGiovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and...
, revised in 1787 - Le nozze di FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
(1786), an opera based on the title play, libretto by Lorenzo Da PonteLorenzo Da PonteLorenzo Da Ponte was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte....
and music by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music... - Ta veseli dan ali Matiček se ženi (1790) by Anton Tomaž LinhartAnton Tomaž LinhartAnton Tomaž Linhart was a Slovene playwright and historian, best known as the author of the first comedy in Slovene, Županova Micka...
, a play adapted from Le Mariage de Figaro - Il barbiere di Siviglia (1796), an opera based on the title play, music by Nicolas IsouardNicolas IsouardNicolas Isouard was a Maltese composer.Isouard studied in Valletta with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with Giuseppe Amendola, and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at St...
- La pazza giornata, ovvero Il matrimonio di Figaro (1799), an opera based on the title play, libretto by Gaetano RossiGaetano RossiGaetano Rossi was an Italian writer who wrote opera libretti for several composers including Mayr, Rossini, Donizetti, Mercadante, Pacini, and Meyerbeer.-Biography:...
, and music by Marcos PortugalMarcos PortugalMarcos António da Fonseca Portugal was a Portuguese classical composer, who achieved great international fame for his operas in Italian.... - Il barbiere di SivigliaThe Barber of SevilleThe Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
(1816), an opera based on the title play, libretto by Cesare SterbiniCesare SterbiniCesare Sterbini was an Italian writer.Sterbini was born at Rome. He is known for two libretti for operas by Gioacchino Rossini: Torvaldo e Dorliska and The Barber of Seville ....
, and music by Gioachino Rossini - ChérubinChérubinChérubin is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Francis de Croisset and Henri Cain after de Croisset's play of the same name...
(1905), an opera based on the title role, music by Jules MassenetJules MassenetJules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
, libretto by Francis de CroissetFrancis de CroissetFrancis de Croisset was a Belgium-born French playwright and opera librettist.His opera librettos include Massenet's Chérubin , based on his play of the same name, and Reynaldo Hahn's Ciboulette .He married, in 1910, Marie-Thérèse Bischoffsheim, the widow of banking heir Maurice Bischoffsheim and...
and Henri CainHenri CainHenri Caïn was a French dramatist, opera and ballet librettist. He wrote over forty librettos from 1893 to his death, for many of the most prominent composers of the Parisian Belle Epoque.... - Beaumarchais (1950), a comedy written by Sacha GuitrySacha GuitryAlexandre-Pierre Georges Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.- Biography :...
- La mère coupableLa mère coupableLa mère coupable is an opera in three acts, op.412, by Darius Milhaud to a libretto by Madeleine Milhaud after the last play in Beaumarchais’ Figaro trilogy. It premiered at the Grand Théâtre de Genève on June 13, 1966.-Roles:-References:*...
(1966), opera based on the title play, music and libretto by Darius MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality... - The Ghosts of VersaillesThe Ghosts of VersaillesThe Ghosts of Versailles is an opera in two acts, with music by John Corigliano to an English libretto by William M. Hoffman. The Metropolitan Opera had commissioned the work from Corigliano in 1980 in celebration of its 100th anniversary, with the premiere scheduled for 1983...
(1991), opera based loosely on La Mère coupable, music by John CoriglianoJohn CoriglianoJohn Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
, libretto by William M. HoffmanWilliam M. HoffmanWilliam Moses Hoffman is an American playwright, editor and educator.- Biography :Born in New York City, New York, United States, Hoffman's earliest works either were mounted in small, experimental off-off-Broadway theaters in New York City or remain unproduced.It was not until 1985 that he... - Den brottsliga modern (1991), opera based on La Mère coupable, music by Inger WikströmInger WikströmInger Wikstrom is a Swedish pianist, composer and conductor.-Biography:Inger Wikstrom began studying piano in Stockholm at the age of six, and at sixteen played as soloist with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. She made successful debuts as a concert pianist in Stockholm, Berlin, London and...
, libretto by Inger Wikström and Mikaael Hylin. - Beaumarchais l'insolent (1996), film based on Sacha GuitrySacha GuitryAlexandre-Pierre Georges Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.- Biography :...
's play, directed by Édouard MolinaroÉdouard MolinaroÉdouard Molinaro is a French film director, actor, and screenwriter. He was born in Gironde, Bordeaux.He is best known for his comedies with Louis de Funès , My Uncle Benjamin , Dracula and Son , and the Academy Award-nominated La Cage aux Folles Édouard Molinaro (born 13 May 1928) is a French...
Further reading
- Jacques BarzunJacques BarzunJacques Martin Barzun is a French-born American historian of ideas and culture. He has written on a wide range of topics, but is perhaps best known as a philosopher of education, his Teacher in America being a strong influence on post-WWII training of schoolteachers in the United...
"From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life – 1500 to Present" - Lion FeuchtwangerLion FeuchtwangerLion Feuchtwanger was a German-Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht....
, "Proud destiny", 1947, Viking – a novel based mainly on Beaumarchais and Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, and their involvement in the American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. - Benjamin IvryBenjamin IvryBenjamin Ivry is an American writer on the arts, broadcaster and translator.Ivry is author of biographies of Francis Poulenc, Arthur Rimbaud, and Maurice Ravel, as well as a poetry collection, Paradise for the Portuguese Queen...
's review, 2009, of English translation of biography http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/29/DDIV176CLC.DTL by Maurice Lever of Beaumarchais.