Théâtre complet (review)

Before the present century the last complete edition of Scarron's theatre was published in 1775. Véronique Sternberg's monumental contribution, executed with care, scholarly precision, and sensitivity to the seventeenth-century dramatic context is particularly welcome, therefore, not least because Scarron's comic theatre is one of the key links between Corneille's and Molière's. Laughter is unambiguously central to Scarron's comic enterprise, as is the privileging of a single dominant character, who recurs in successive plays. Molière himself was not deaf to this lesson. Sternberg gives us all nine plays, plus Les Boutades de Matamore and some comic fragments. She uses as her base text the last edition published during Scarron's lifetime, except for the posthumous works, in which case she uses the first edition. She modernizes spelling but retains the original punctuation, includes the few variants that exist, and provides notes that aim at straightforward lexical or grammatical elucidation. The second volume ends with a helpful grammatical appendix, a glossary, a bibliography, and useful indexes. In addition to the careful editorial work, Sternberg offers truly excellent introductions: a general introduction along with introductions to each of the texts, which together constitute a major new assessment of Scarron the comic dramatist. Modern criticism has made Scarron, both as poet and dramatist, something of a test case for the notion of the burlesque. Sternberg does not ignore the burlesque but nuances its significance, stressing above all the diversity, complexity, and exuberance with which Scarron adapts his (often) Spanish source material to appeal to the perceived tastes of a mid-seventeenth-century French audience. He practises above all 'un discours comique, plutôt que systématiquement burlesque' (p. 20). Sternberg hopes that her edition will make these works better known both to the reader and even to the spectator. Sadly, this might appear a vain hope, given the publisher's price of €220. Bizarrely, however, there is another twenty-first century critical edition of Scarron's Théâtre complet, by Barbara Sommovigo (Pisa: Felici, 2007), currently priced at a mere €30. I have not been able to inspect the Sommovigo edition, but any reader with a depleted bank account might be tempted by its most obviously distinguishing feature.