Psyché (play)

History

Molière's play was one of many sumptuous spectacles produced in celebration of the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed in 1668 but with festivities continuing into 1671. The play was a product of Louis XIV's desire to re-use the Salle des Machines in the Tuileries Palace, built for Cavalli's opera Ercole Amante in 1662. That theatre could seat over 7,000 spectators but had remained unused since Cavalli's opera due to its excessively large stage and poor acoustics.

Louis XIV likely wished to re-use some sets from Ercole Amante, at least those representing Hell. Molière did not have time to versify the entire play; he invented and outlined the plot and coordinated the intermèdes, versifying the prologue, first act, and first scene of acts two and three. Pierre Corneille versified the rest, and Philippe Quinault wrote all poetry set to music. The subject comes from Apuleius's Metamorphoses, though the story had been adapted for 17th-century morals in earlier ballets and a conte by La Fontaine.

Plot summary

In the prologue, Flora and her followers summon Venus to celebrate the peace Louis XIV has brought, but Venus arrives in a fury and sends her son to punish Psyché. In act one, Psyché's jealous sisters fail to attract her suitors; Psyché refuses both suitors, then learns she must be sacrificed to a monster, and her sisters confess delight as mourners sing the plainte italienne. In act two, the King tells Psyché of her fate; she accepts it, but her father defies the gods.

Her sisters seem reluctant to leave her, then depart, and her suitors appear to defend her, but she chastises their impiety and is carried away by zephyrs. The set changes to a magnificent palace as Vulcan sings the second intermède.

In act three, Zephyr tells Cupid he has brought Psyché to the palace. Psyché wakes, is greeted by Cupid (whose identity she does not know), and after a love scene she insists on sharing her fate with her sisters and father. Cupid concedes and sends Zephyr to fetch them, then invites a Cupid and a Zephyr to sing a divertissement.

Literary reception

The play was first given on January 17, 1671, and many eminent court figures participated in the ballets alongside professionals. It was performed several times at the Salle des Tuileries during Carnaval. Molière later staged it at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, renovating his theatre with stage machinery costing over 4,000 livres. The investment proved worthwhile: during Molière's lifetime the play was given 82 times for a total profit of 77,119 livres.

The intermèdes were modified for the smaller venue, but the text and structure remained virtually identical. The expense of mounting the play has made it virtually unknown in modern times; it is studied more as literature than performed. Despite its impractical qualities and Molière's limited participation, Psyché is widely accepted as one of his greatest successes and finest plays.