SOURCE: "French Realistic Drama: The Problem Play," in The Development of Dramatic Art, D. Appleton and Company, 1928, pp. 514-41.

In the following chapter from The Development of Dramatic Art, Stuart traces the influence of Scribe and the well-made play on the development of the French realistic drama.

The Mariage de Figaro had combined a discussion of a social problem with an intricate plot handled with great dexterity. During the Revolution the theatre had been given over to propaganda. The characters were mere masks. The plots were often inartistically sacrificed for the sake of satire in comedy, and in order to voice republican sentiments in serious plays. Drama, like all other arts, was at low ebb. But, while the war over tragedy was being waged, comedy began a peaceful development which was to culminate in the work of Scribe and, through him, to exert a powerful influence on all...