Philippe Destouches French playwright. Date of Birth: 09.04.1680 Country: France

1. Early Life and Influences
2. Diplomatic Career and Marriage
3. Election to the Academy and Later Years
4. Literary Contributions
5. Artistic Style and Legacy

Early Life and Influences

Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, renowned as a French dramatist, was born into a bourgeois family in Paris. In his youth, he defied societal expectations and embarked on a bohemian lifestyle. He reportedly experimented with acting and military service before securing a position in 1699 as secretary to Philippe-Florant de Puisieux, the French envoy to Switzerland.

Diplomatic Career and Marriage

In 1717, La Chaussée accompanied Abbé Dubois, the French ambassador, to England as his secretary. He spent six years in London, where he was greatly influenced by the moralistic comedies of Colley Cibber and Richard Steele. During this period, La Chaussée married a lower-class Englishwoman, a secret he kept for some time. This autobiographical episode later formed the basis for his renowned comedy "The Married Philosopher."

Election to the Academy and Later Years

In 1723, La Chaussée was elected to the prestigious French Academy. Towards the end of his life, he withdrew from theater and became embroiled in literary polemics with Enlightenment thinkers. He penned epigrams against the Encyclopedists for the "Mercure Galant."

Literary Contributions

La Chaussée's masterpiece, "The Glorious Man," is a classic of the post-Molière comedy of characters. It satirizes the vanity and arrogance of the nobility, contrasting them with the presumptuousness and familiarity of the newly wealthy. Other notable comedies by La Chaussée include "The Malice of the Age" and "Metromania."

Artistic Style and Legacy

La Chaussée's comedies are characterized by their humor and movement, but they also exhibit some of the shortcomings of 18th-century theater. They feature predictable plots, stock characters, and contrived resolutions that detract from the integrity of the characters. Nevertheless, La Chaussée's works hold a significant place in French literary history for their exploration of social themes and their contribution to the development of the comedy of manners.