Le Menteur

"Le Menteur" ("The Liar") is a play by Pierre Corneille that was first performed in 1644.

Summary

Dorante, the eponymous quasi-villain of the play, meets two women in the Tuileries in Paris named Clarice and Lucrece. He impresses them by saying he has returned from the wars in Germany and says, falsely, that he was a vital part of the army. After they leave, he decides to court Clarice, mistakenly thinking her name to be that of her friend, Lucrece.

Géronte, Dorante's father, then announces to his son that he has found a girl for him to marry; Clarice. Dorante, wrongly believing that the girl he likes is Lucrece, concocts an outrageous lie that he is already married, to avoid having to marry Clarice.

After more lies and higgledy-piggledy, Géronte is furious on finding out he had been lied to (Dorante later reveals that his 'wife' is pregnant); Dorante eventually tells the truth and they all live happily ever-after.

This play is based on the work of Mexican playwright, Juan Ruíz de Alarcón, "La Verdad Sospechosa" which was published in 1634.

Commentary Section

Although Pierre Corneille never claimed that his plays had a didactic quality, Le Menteur exhibits certain moralising tendencies.

The play found new life in a masterly translation by Ranjit Bolt, which premiered at the Old Vic in 1989 (dir. Sir Jonathan Miller.) The Daily Telegraph described Bolt's version as "the best translation of a French play into English ever done."