Le Jeu de l’Amour et du Hasard
The Game of Love and Chance (French: Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard) is a three-act romantic comedy by French playwright Marivaux. The Game of Love and Chance was first performed 23 January 1730 by the Comédie Italienne. In this play, a young woman is visited by her betrothed, whom she does not know. To get a better idea of the type of person he is, she trades places with her servant and disguises herself. However, unbeknownst to her, her fiancé has the same idea and trades places with his valet. The "game" pits the two false servants against the two false masters, and in the end, the couples fall in love with their appropriate counterpart.
Like many of Marivaux's other comedies, The Game of Love and Chance makes use of stock characters from the Commedia dell'arte. In this play, Arlequin is featured. Lisette, who appears in other Marivaux plays, also takes on a stock personality as the feisty servant.
