Marivaux's play "The Game of Love and Chance" is a short opera composed in the Italian commedia dell'arte style, using stock characters and humor to explore conventional themes. Specifically, "The Game of Love and Chance" is designed to address the relationships between love, luck, and factors such as reason and social class. Marivaux uses the social status and behaviors of the characters to suggest that love and chance, viewed through the prism of social class, are both powerful causal forces that overwhelm reason. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It becomes apparent early in the game that love and luck are both powerful causal forces. The effects of these combined forces are seen most clearly in the psychological states of the characters under their influence. For example, the emotional stability of the upper-class young woman, Silvia, is referenced both indirectly and as a form of self-commentary. Silvia has fallen in love with Dorante, a nobleman disguised as a simple waiter. Other characters first notice the changes that occur in Silvia. The servant Lisette states that Silvia "gets passionate" at the mere mention of Dorante, and says that she "[does not] understand [Silvia's] vicious state of mind" because "she has never seen [Silvia] in such a state" ( 339). Silvia's brother, Mario, states that Silvia appears "strange", "touchy" and "rather frenetic", and her father, Orgon, agrees that Silvia is "so shocked [that] he doesn't recognize her" (345 -346) . Silvia also criticizes herself at the end in a short soliloquy, proclaiming: “How unhappy I feel! I am more than distressed. I feel burdened and disturbed” (347). In the context of the play, Silvia's transformations, which occur after chance suddenly inspires her to fall in love with an unexpected character, imply that the forces of chance and love are capable of causing extensive psychological changes. The verification of these changes by both the character described and all the characters assumed to be most familiar with her strengthens the argument that the forces are indeed quite powerful. It is also implied that the causal forces of love and chance are assumed to be so powerful because they are the laws of nature. For example, Silvia's future relationship with Dorante is discussed early in the show, before the couple has even met. Lisette states that for Silvia to reject or despise arranged marriage "is unnatural" (317). Although the couple has not yet met, in a way this statement foreshadows how natural and easy it will be for Silvia to eventually embrace the changes brought about by love. Likewise, luck is implied as natural law. When Lisette and Harlequin, both lower-class servants, fall in love while disguised as upper-class individuals, Lisette comments on Harlequin by stating that "Such humility is not natural" (358). Since humility is a trait associated with members of the lower classes of society, and Harlequin at the time is considered a person of the upper classes, it is clear that social roles are considered as natural components of each class. Since luck defines social class, it is implied that chance is a natural force acting on individuals. In the play, both love and chance are described as more powerful than human reason. The characters continually attempt to use reason to manage their personal lives, but it seems that when under the influence of the deterministic forces of love and chance, reason is overwhelmed. Silvia, for example, often reflects on herself in a way thatindicates that she is engaged in an internal battle between the love to which fortune has brought her and her ability to reason. In all cases Silvia seems to find herself acting in opposition to reason. For example, in a particular conversation with Dorante, Silvia exclaims: “Whether you go, whether you stay, whether you return, all these movements must not affect me, or rather not even... These are my intentions! My reason doesn't allow me any more and I shouldn't even allow myself to tell them to you” (341). However, despite her determination, Silvia finds herself fascinated by Dorante, and certainly finds herself “going into a frenzy” whenever she is around him (340). Later, after Dorante reveals his identity and Silvia is still disguised as a maid, Silvia recognizes that similar forces are present in Dorante, stating: "He thinks that if he marries me he will betray his birth and his wealth... These are not obstacles light... I can almost feel the conflict in him. I want a battle between Love and Reason” (356). Mario responds by precisely predicting the winner of this battle, exclaiming: “And death to Reason, I suppose!” (356).When Dorante proceeds to ask for his love from Silvia in disguise despite their apparent social class differences and the rules of convention, it becomes clear that love truly surpasses what reason may dictate for an individual. It often happens that giving up one's reason and embracing the love that luck has brought generally produces positive results, for example, when Mario realizes that both Silvia and Dorante have decided to meet in disguise, he says to Orgon: “Well. , sir, since things have taken this course I should leave them alone” (323) At the end of the show it is clear that this decision allows Dorante and Silvia to interact, laying the foundations of their relationship love and chance allows one to align with what these forces have decreed. For example, after both Silvia and Dorante reveal their true identities, Silvia tells Dorante, “we both used the same masquerade to get to know each other better. Having said that there is nothing else to say. You love me and I will never be able to doubt it” (365). It is clear that Silvia has finally stopped thinking about Dorante, and has recognized that the existence of her love is the only thing to take into consideration. Therefore, it is implied that happiness is often achieved when one lets go of one's reason and aligns oneself with what natural forces have caused. The relationship between Harlequin and Lisette often humorously encourages this approach. When Lisette asks Arlequin if he should be reasonable about their relationship, Arlequin states, “Reasonable? Oh, alas, I have lost my mind. Your beautiful eyes are the scoundrels who took it away from you” (335). It thus seems once again that reason is overwhelmed by the natural force of love. For Marivaux, this idea may have served as a commentary on the Enlightenment rationalism that was popular in the period in which the play was first performed. Although love and chance have many similar characteristics, there is an interesting relationship between the two individual forces: they are linked by social structure. Chance decides which social class a particular person belongs to, since people born into a certain class become another member of it. This is mentioned quite often by many of the characters in the play. For example, when Lisette reminds Harlequin that they "are not masters of [their own] destiny," Harlequin agrees by stating, "This is in the hands of our mothers and fathers" (337). Since the social status of one's parents was similarly due to one's parents' fortune, it is implied that all social roles are formulated by chance. More indirectly, it.