The Tyrannical Mother In Madame De Staal-Delaunay's Eighteenth-Century Comedies

Marguerite-Jeanne de Staal-Delaunay's eighteenth-century comedies La Mode (1747) and L'Engouement (1747) reflect an upside-down culture in which the tyrannical mother assumes the authoritative voice traditionally granted to the patriarch. Like Molière's pères de famille, Staal-Delaunay's mother figures are driven by compulsion, demonstrating that irrationality and authority are a bad combination. While both plays portray the flighty and domineering Duchess of Maine, Staal-Delaunay's benefactor, they also reflect the corrupt values of high society. Through her female protagonists, Staal-Delaunay condemns elitism and the women who perpetuate patriarchal values. Staal-Delaunay's tyrannical mothers demonstrate that women in authority are sometimes more of a problem than a solution in a society that privileges men.