The Emperor of the Moon and Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune

While our play at Bryn Mawr is an adaptation of Aphra Behn’s The Emperor of the Moon, her original play is largely influenced by the French play Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune by Anne Mauduit de Fatouville. Though Behn used the French play so much as to border on having copied the piece, she does openly announce her influence in the prologue, writing

A very barren and thin hint of the Plot. I had from the Italian, and which… was acted in France eighty odd times without intermission. ‘Tis now much alter’d, and adapted to our English Theatre and Genius, who cannot find an Entertainment at so cheap a Rate as the French will, who are content with almost any Incoherences…; which I have endeavour’d … to bring within the compass of Possibility and Nature, that I might as little impose upon the Audience as I cou’d; all the Words are wholly new, without one from the Original.

Behn’s insistence that “the Words are wholly new, without one from the Original”, is perhaps not entirely true once one has read both plays. Despite their shared traits, which mostly concern the general plot that, as Behn states, she “had from the Italian”, referencing the ancient tradition of commedia dell’arte. Although much of The Emperor of the Moon is owed to Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune, it is important to address the key differences that set Behn’s work apart.

Firstly, Aphra Behn’s play is unique in its focus on the women characters. For example, the first scene of Behn’s work centers on the concern Elaria feels for Cinthio after he came to serenade her the previous night and was caught. Contrastingly, Fatouville’s play begins with a scene between the Doctor and Pierrot. During this scene, the Doctor discusses the difficulties he has been having with finding husbands for the women in his household. In this play, the women’s lives are discussed by the men, and the women do not even enter the stage until scene iv, a sharp contrast to Behn’s version.

A second key difference between the two plays is mentioned by Behn in the prologue. Although her assertion that the French are “content with almost any Incoherences” is most definitely a prejudiced British perspective, there is something to say for the importance of the plot to The Emperor of the Moon. Scenes from A_rlequin, Empereur dans la lune_ often seem strung together with very little emphasis on narrative. Rather, Fatouville seems to have placed the humour of the play above the actual story it tells. Though there are some moments in Behn’s version that seem to have little reason for existing other for a joke, the French version of the play features many more examples of humor for its own sake.

By prioritizing narrative and the women’s roles in her play, Behn succeeds in creating a clear distinction between her The Emperor of the Moon and Anne Mauduit de Fatouville’s Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune. These changes mark a unique take on the commedia dell’arte tradition that is heavily influenced by Aphra Behn’s historical moment and, likely, her own personal values and beliefs.

Bibliography

“Arlequin Empereur Dans La Lune, Comédie Par Monsieur D***.” Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale De France, 9 Dec. 2016, gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k853786v/f12.image.

Behn, Aphra. “The Emperor of the Moon.” Edited by Mary Mark Ockerbloom, A Celebration of Women Writers, 2020, digital.library.upenn.edu/women/behn/emperor/emperor.html.

Hayden, Judy A., and Daniel J. Worden, editors. “Arlequin, Empereur Dans La Lune.” Aphra Behn’s Emperor of the Moon and Its French Source Arlequin, Empereur Dans La Lune, vol. 67, Modern Humanities Research Association, Cambridge, 2019, pp. 115–145. JSTOR, [www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvhrcz77.10] (digital.library.upenn.edu/women/behn/emperor/emperor.html). Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.