Marie-Catherine de Villedieu, Le Favori

Polly Mangerson (DePaul University)
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Le Favori

is a five-act comedy in verse composed by Marie-Catherine Desjardins (1640-83), who would later be known as Madame de Villedieu. Written in 1664 and first performed by Molière’s troupe in 1665, this witty, intuitive play represents a key moment in the evolution in women’s writing during the French seventeenth century.

Desjardins’ three dramatic texts, which comprise, in addition to Le Favori, the tragicomedy Manlius (1662), and the tragedy Nitétis (1663), represent some of the earliest published works in the author’s long and productive literary career.  According to Perry Gethner, the young Desjardins was mostly likely encouraged to write for the theatre by her literary mentor, the Abbé François Hédelin d’Aubignac. Although Desjardins’ plays enjoyed

2416 words

Citation: Mangerson, Polly. "Le Favori". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 January 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35710, accessed 29 March 2024.]

35710 Le Favori 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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