SOURCE: "Women and Men," in Marivaux, University of Toronto Press, 1965, pp. 124-65.

In the following excerpt, Green declares The Game of Love and Chance "a masterpiece of comedy" and attempts to identify the sources of its "enduring appeal. "

The first of Marivaux's works to achieve the status of a classic, Le Jeu was not immediately recognized as a masterpiece. Created on January 23, 1730, by the Italians, it had a good first run of fourteen performances, plus two at court and one for the Duchesse du Maine. The Mercure termed it a "very great success," but the average box-office receipts at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, 1,200 livres, were not outstanding. One must nevertheless conclude that the play made a strong impression on those who attended the first showings, because three months later the Mercure printed a long review of it, including a summary of criticisms collected from spectators. A remarkable...