Émile Augier

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Lore & Background

Émile Augier, born at Valence, Drôme, was the grandson of the writer Pigault Lebrun and belonged by both birth and temperament to the well-to-do bourgeoisie. After a good education and legal training, he wrote a two-act verse play, *La Ciguë*, which was rejected by the Théâtre Français but produced with considerable success at the Odéon, settling his career. He described his own life as "without incident." His early important work, *L'Aventurière* (1848), already deviated from romantic ideals, and in *Le Mariage d'Olympe* (1855) he portrayed the courtesan realistically, not glorified as in Dumas's *Dame aux Camélias*. In *Gabrielle* (1849), the husband, not the lover, is the sympathetic character. He provided the libretto for Charles Gounod's first opera, *Sapho* (1851), in which the title character is wholly heterosexual and a courtesan is the villainess. His works often satirized greed, social moralization, ultramontanism, and lust of power, notably in *Les Effrontés* (1861), *Le Fils de Giboyer* (1862)—which was regarded as an attack on the clerical party and brought out by direct imperial intervention—and *La Contagion* (1866). *Lions et renards* (1869), written with Jules Sandeau, is considered the high-water mark of his art. He also produced the graceful drawing-room comedy *Philiberte* (1853). His later problem plays, *Madame Caverlet* (1876) and *Les Fourchambault* (1879), show him as a moralist in the manner of Molière. His works depend not on elaborate plot but on characters built from real people. He died at his home at Croissy-sur-Seine.

Reader's Guide

Émile Augier’s significance as a dramatist stems from his role as a moralist who used the stage to critique contemporary society, particularly the greed of gold, ultramontanism, and the lust of power. His plays depend not on elaborate plot but on characters built from real people, and his domestic range of subject matter scarcely appears in the form of pure poetry. Augier belonged to the well-to-do bourgeoisie in spirit as well as by birth, and his work consistently reflected that perspective. His career began with a two-act verse play, *La Ciguë*, which was refused at the Théâtre Français but achieved considerable success at the Odéon, settling his path. He frequently collaborated with other writers, including Jules Sandeau, Eugène Marin Labiche, and Édouard Foussier. His play *Le Fils de Giboyer* was regarded as an attack on the clerical party in France and was brought out by direct imperial intervention. Augier’s early important work, *L’Aventurière*, already showed a deviation from romantic ideals, and in *Mariage d’Olympe* the courtesan is shown as she is, not glorified as in Dumas’s *Dame aux Camélias*. In *Gabrielle*, the husband, not the lover, is the sympathetic character. He provided the libretto for Charles Gounod’s first opera, *Sapho*, in which a courtesan is the villainess and the title character is wholly heterosexual. In *Les Lionnes pauvres*, the wife who sells her favours comes under the lash. His later works, including *Madame Caverlet* and *Les Fourchambault*, are problem plays, and he is considered a moralist in the same sense as Molière. His last comedy was *Les Fourchambault* in 1879, after which he wrote no more, restrained by the fear of producing inferior work.

Did You Know?

• Émile Augier was the grandson of the novelist Pigault Lebrun.
• He described his own life as 'without incident'.
• Augier died at his home at Croissy-sur-Seine.
• His plays critique the greed of gold, ultramontanism, and the lust of power.
• Augier's characters are built from real people, not elaborate plots.