SOURCE: "The Weil-Made Play of Eugène Scribe," in The French Review, Vol. LVI, No. 6, May 1983, pp. 876-84.

In this essay, Cardwell argues that, contrary to general critical opinion, Scribe's dramas include an imaginative use of "the elemental aspects of drama" rather than a mere "mechanical application of a formula."

Eugène Scribe has long been acknowledged as the developer, or inventor, of what is commonly called the well-made play, and there is an abundance of literature on translations, adaptations, and imitations of his works as well as general agreement on the importance of his influence on both French and foreign playwrights well into this century. The reaction against his plays—which began during his lifetime and continues today in the revolt against the "bourgeois" theater that he typifies for many, and of which he is indeed a primary source—serves as additional proof of his importance in...