Gabriel 1928 Sheridan

Two Contemporary Sources of Sheridan's the RivalsAuthor(s): Miriam Gabriel and Paul MueschkeSource: PMLA, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Mar., 1928), pp. 237-250Published by: Modern Language AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/457698 .

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XII

TWO CONTEMPORARY SOURCES OF SHERIDAN'S THE RIVALS

IN SEARCHING for the source of Sheridan's Rivals, a critic ventures upon literary quicksand. Professor Nettleton in his

edition of the comedies is inclined to minimize the persistent charges of plagiarism made against Sheridan by his biographers.

An idea of the supposed borrowings, great and small, in plot and character, may be gained by grouping together a few of the authors from whom it is alleged Sheridan drew-Smollett, Garrick, Shakespeare, Moliere, Fielding, Colman, Prior, Steele, Mrs. Sheridan, Theodore Hooker. So far, moreover, do doctors disagree that while one suggests Mrs. Sheridan's novel, The Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph, others insist on her play, A Journey to Bath. Most ingenuous is the theory of indebtedness to Theodore Hooker, who was born thirteen years after the first performance of The Rivals.'

Percy Fitzgerald believes that Sheridan's originality consisted only in his transformation of traditional material:

Sheridan was gifted with a sort of mental alchemy, which gave all the characters of the drama on which he exercised its power a golden hue. He was a most inveterate plagiarist, and yet to the casual observer, he scarcely ever appears to have borrowed an idea.2

Sanders is of like opinion:

The plain fact of the matter is that Mrs. Malaprop, Acres, and Lydia Languish, were all more or less stock characters, in the same way as several incidents in The Rivals have undoubtedly been used before.3

Other critics suggest that The Rivals reflects Sheridan's own experience. According to this view, Captain Absolute's pursuit of Lydia Languish was suggested by Sheridan's courtship of Miss Linley, and the duel scene by his own combats with Matthews. While it is true that there are close parallels between the facts of Sheridan's own experience and events as they now stand recorded in The Rivals; it is equally true that to write successful comedy, a dramatist must assume a disinterested attitude toward his own experience. In the absence of conclusive proof, it is hazardous

1 G. H. Nettleton, The Major Dramas of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1906, p. lii. 2 Percy Fitzgerald, The Lives of the Sheridans, 1886, I, 126-27. a L. C. Sanders, Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1890, p. 34.

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Two Sources of "The Rivals"

to reconstruct autobiography from comedy! Rivals, duels, elope- ments, and languishing heroines were as prevalent in the literature as in the life of the 70's. Personal experience, it seems, was a less potent factor in the genesis of The Rivals than were eighteenth century comic conventions.

The comic theory and practice of his contemporaries must be

thoroughly examined if we are ever to separate what is original from what is conventional in Sheridan's plays. Loose generaliza- tions of the kind made by Sanders, in his discussion of The Rivals should no longer pass unchallenged: ".... the originality of the

plot as a whole, and of the dramatis personae as a whole can hardly be disputed by the most determined of criticasters."4 As a matter of fact, neither the plot as a whole, nor the dramatis personae is

original. The outlines of the main plot of The Rivals Sheridan derived from Garrick's Miss in her Teens (1747) and the motivation of the sub-plot from Colman's Deuce Is in Him (1763).

For every character in the main plot of The Rivals, a counterpart may be found in Miss in her Teens, as the following list will indi- cate:

Garrick-Miss in Her Teens 1. Sir Simeon Loveit (father of

Captain Loveit). 2. Captain Loveit-nom de guerre

-Ensign Rhodophil. 3. Puff (a rogue, servant to Cap-

tain Loveit). 4. Biddy Bellair (the miss in her

teens, a coquettish, play-reading heroine).

5. Aunt (a virgin of sixty, guardian of Biddy B.).

6. Tag (an artful maid servant implicated in furthering Biddy's romance).

7. Fribble and Flash (cowardly suitors of Biddy).

8. Jasper (a man servant to Sir Simeon, a gay dog when on the scent of women).5

Sheridan-The Rivals 1. Sir Anthony Absolute (father of

Captain Absolute). 2. Captain Absolute-nom de

guerre-Ensign Beverley. 3. Fag (a rogue, servant to Captain

Absolute). 4. Lydia Languish (a miss in her

teens, a sentimental, novel- reading heroine).

5. Mrs. Malaprop (a widowed, middle-aged aunt, guardian of Lydia L.).

6. Lucy (an artful maid servant, implicated in furthering Lydia's romance).

7. Bob Acres (cowardly suitor of Lydia).

8. Sir Lucius O'Trigger (a gay dog when on the scent of women).

Cf. Sanders, op. cit., p. 34. s The descriptions of the dramatis personae were originated and applied to

the characters in both plays by the present writers.

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M. Gabriel and P. Mueschke

In the above list it will be noted that although all the Dramatis Personae of Miss in her Teens are included, three characters of The Rivals are omitted: David,6 Faulkland, and Julia.

The extent to which Sheridan was indebted to Colman for the lovers of the sub-plot will be discussed after the similarities of AMliss in her Teens and The Rivals have been examined.

Parallels of incident are no less close than parallels of character. The leading farcical situation in Miss in her Teens arises from the determination of Captain Loveit to wed Biddy Bellair, despite all opposition. Unfortunately, Biddy's aunt has already promised the hand of her niece to Sir Simeon Loveit, who is at once father and rival of the Captain. Annoyed by the tedious addresses of the aged suitor approved by the Aunt, and depressed by the absence of her true love, Biddy, floundering in a morass of self-commiseration, coquets with dandies, Flash and Fribble.

The foremost comic situation in The Rivals arises from the determination of Captain Absolute to wed Lydia Languish despite all opposition. Mrs. Malaprop, aunt of Lydia, combats what she considers the romantic attachment of Lydia to Ensign Beverley, and connives with Sir Anthony Absolute to unite the fortune and future of Lydia with those of Captain Absolute. Neither Lydia, Mrs. Malaprop, nor Sir Anthony is aware that Ensign Beverley is the nom de guerre of Captain Absolute. Sir Anthony, meanwhile, suggests a marriage of convenience to his son. Enraged by the Captain's instant refusal to substitute lucre for love, he withholds the name of the proposed bride. Through Fag, his man servant, Captain Absolute learns that Lydia Languish is the miss selected by the father. Complications seem to be unravelling; then along swaggers the coxcomb Bob Acres, who confides in the Captain that he, Bob, would be more successful in his wooing of Lydia were it not for his rival, Ensign Beverley. Acres also is unaware of the dual identity of the Captain. The complications are in- creased by a hoax foisted on Sir Lucius O'Trigger by the maid- servant, Lucy. Sir Lucius, though actually corresponding with Mrs. Malaprop, is led to believe that he is pelting the heart of Lydia with billets doux.

The numerous similarities that occur in the development of the plots of these two plays are too striking to be dismissed as a mere literary accident. In each play, four rivals contend for the favor of

tDavid, servant to Bob Acres, had become a traditional type a century before Sheridan's day.

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an heiress: Ensign Rhodophil, Sir Simeon Loveit, Fribble, and Flash, in Miss in her Teens; Ensign Beverley, Captain Absolute, Bob Acres, and Sir Lucius O'Trigger in The Rivals. In both plays, it is the Ensign who is the favored wooer. Ensign Rhodophil is convinced that, though Biddy has diverted herself with the pre- tenders, Fribble and Flash, she has been ever constant to him at heart; while Captain Absolute is confident that Lydia would elope with him as the Ensign Beverley. Bob Acres like Fribble and Flash is a "blustering man .... always talking of fighting" but when the test of his mettle comes, he whines, .... if I can't get a wife without fighting for her, by my valour! I'll live a bachelor." Sir Simeon is imposed upon by the miss herself; Sir Lucius O'Trigger is misled by the saucy Lucy.

In Miss in her Teens, an Ensign is promoted to the rank of Captain; in The Rivals, a Captain poses as an Ensign. Neither the promotion, in the one case, nor the pose, in the other, is known to either the father or the sweetheart of the hero. Besides being ignorant of the military rank of her favored suitor, Biddy, like Lydia, is unapprized of his true name. Biddy knows Captain Loveit as Ensign Rhodophil; Lydia knows Captain Absolute as Ensign Beverley. The explanation of the Captain's masquerading as an Ensign occurs in Miss in her Teens at the very end, as part of the denouement; but as introductory exposition in The Rivals, (Act I, scene 1):

Sir Simeon. Come, come Bob, you are but an ensign, don't impose on the girl neither.

Captain. I had the good fortune, sir, to please my royal general by my behaviour in a small action with the enemy, and he gave me a com- pany.

Fag. I do not serve Captain Absolute now ..... At present I am employed by Ensign Beverley.

Coach. .... but pray, why does your master pass only for an ensign? Fag .... my master is in love with a lady of very singular taste;

.... who likes him better as a half-pay ensign than if she knew he was the son and heir to Sir Anthony Absolute, a baronet of three thousand a year.

The hero in each play is compelled to explain his identity in the presence of both father and sweetheart. In Miss in her Teens, Ensign Rhodophil has no sooner disposed of the first two rivals than Sir Simeon is heard entering the house. Flustered by the appearance of her prospective husband, Biddy directs the Ensign

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to hide in her bedroom. Sir Simeon enters and chides his Biddy for entertaining coxcombs in his absence. Biddy retorts that though two defeated rivals have been ejected from the house, a victorious third is still present. She commands that Sir Simeon match blades with the conqueror of the other two rivals. The Ensign is summoned, and thus father and son are unexpectedly brought face to face. Young Loveit is forced to explain to his father why he claims the title of Captain, and in so doing, inad- vertently makes known to Biddy that he is Sir Simeon's son.

Captain Absolute insists upon going alone to the dwelling of Lydia, arguing that she would respond cooly to a courtship in the presence of a third party. The audience, however, is aware that were Sir Anthony to accompany the Captain, Lydia would discover and resent the fact that her own beloved Beverley is no other than the loathed Captain Absolute, the choice of her aunt. When, despite the protests of his son, Sir Anthony not only ac- companies the Captain, but remains in the room where the lovers have been thrust together by Mrs. Malaprop, the farcical complications multiply. Old Absolute not only discourages Mrs. Malaprop when she suggests departing and leaving the lovers alone; but also remains to expedite the courtship. The gallant Captain wearing a double disguise is unmasked in the presence of all.

Extravagant duel scenes heighten the farce in each play. The combat is precipitated in Miss in her Teens by physical force; and in The Rivals by moral suasion. Flash and Fribble are literally propelled into the duel; "they stand in fighting postures, while Biddy and Tag push 'em forward." The fire displayed by Sir Lucius as he discusses the course which should be pursued by a gallant when unfairly supplanted by a rival, so inspirits the faint- hearted Bob Acres that he agrees to send a challenge to Ensign Beverley. So, in Miss in her Teens, though no formal challenge is sent, the weapons are determined by chance, the women substitute for seconds, the home of Biddy serves as the field of honor, and the agreed number of paces is a safe distance apart; in The Rivals the conventional duelling etiquette is observed in the sending of the challenge, in the choosing of the weapons, in the selection of the seconds, in the naming of the place of combat, and in the pacing of the field. In either play, circumstances prevent the Captain from measuring blades with his opponent in the presence of his mistress. Ensign Rhodophil enters Biddy's house, and is

241




surprised to discover Flash and Fribble standing in fencing posture, but instead of drawing a sword, he boots Flash, and with thrusts of wit routs Fribble. Captain Absolute appears at King's Mead Field expecting to fence first with O'Trigger, and then, unless incapacitated by wounds, with Bob Acres; but an infinitely amicable settlement of the misunderstandings renders sword-play superfluous. Again, Sheridan, following Garrick, has the Captain unmask the coward in the presence of father, servants, and miss.

The cowards of Garrick and Sheridan are of a pattern. Fribble resembles Bob Acres in three ways: both ape the mannerisms of Fopdom; both, despite their fear, are enticed into entering upon the preliminaries of a duel; and both are weaklings who prop up flimsy courage with bloated oaths. Flash and Bob Acres are alike in three ways: both indulge in futile boasting, both attempt to squirm out of coming to blows with an antagonist, and both furnish a Captain with verbal and ocular proof of their cowardice.

The age of the heroine in Miss in her Teens compares closely with that of the heroine in The Rivals; both have lived less than a score of years. The Aunt speaks of Biddy Bellair as "just turn'd of sixteen," while Sir Anthony describes the age of Lydia Languish as "blooming, love-breathing seventeen."

Comparing Act I of Miss in her Teens with Act I, Scene 1, of The Rivals, one observes that in each the Captain's man- servant informs the audience of the first meeting between Ensign and miss, that the initial rendezvous is arranged in a spot distant from the town wherein most of the action of the play takes place, and that the Aunt is responsible for the miss being unable to continue to meet her lover.

Biddy reads plays, Lydia reads novels, both are patrons of the circulating library, and are censured on that score by older and less imaginative minds:

Sir Simeon. I must have you burn your plays and romances now you are mine; they corrupt your innocence; and what can you learn from 'em? (Miss in her Teens, II, p. 84).

Sir Anthony. A circulating library in a town is an evergreen tree of diabolical knowledge (The Rivals, I, 2, p. 22).

Each miss carries on a clandestine love affair, but their motives differ. Biddy indulges a flair for romance because she is a spirited wench; Lydia does so merely to revel in sentimental ecstacy. Biddy deliberately stoops to conquer the four rivals who are clamouring

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for her favor, while Lydia is the passive object of the adoration of four suitors. Biddy centers her attention upon Ensign Rhodo- phil, but in the fringes of her consciousness, she toys with Sir Simeon Loveit, Flash and Fribble. Lydia fixes what mind she has upon Ensign Beverley; to her the attentions of Bob Acres, Sir Lucius, and Captain Absolute are unwelcome.7

To facilitate the progress of their romance, the lovers, in each comedy require the aid of their servants. Tag is interested in furthering the intrigues of Biddy almost as keenly as is Fag, those of Captain Absolute. Puff, man-servant of Captain Loveit, considers his own welfare of equal, if not of greater, consequence than that of his master:

Puff. The Devil's in these fiery young fellows! .... He does not con- sider that I am flesh and blood as well as himself. (Act I, Scene 1, p. 67).

Lucy, spiritually akin to Puff, soliloquizes, "commend me to a mask of silliness and pair of sharp eyes for my own interest under it." Tag, like Fag, never scruples a lie to serve her master.

From Garrick's Miss in her Teens, Sheridan gleaned hints for the major episodes of his main plot; the four rivals, the duel, and the mistaken identity of the Captain lead to the same comic entangle- ments in the one case as in the other. His borrowings from Colman are slighter and somewhat less evident. The literary kinship existing between Colman's Polly and Sheridan's Lydia is common

knowledge to students of this period. An even more conspicuous, though more subtle, indebtedness to Colman appears in the peculiar metaphysics of sentiment which Julia and Faulkland have in common with similar characters called Emily and Tamper in The Deuce is in Him.

Five supposed sources of the Julia-Faulkland sub-plot have been discovered. Boaden8 maintains that Sheridan is indebted to his

7 The similarities between Biddy and Lydia, it must be admitted, are not so close as those between Lydia and other heroines of contemporary plays and novels. "Since the ultra-romantic heroine is a stock comedy character it is not surprising that critics have found originals for Lydia Languish almost as readily as for Mrs.

Malaprop. Among the most frequently suggested prototypes of Lydia Languish are Smollett's Lydia Melford in Humphrey Clinker, Colman's Polly Honeycombe in the comedy of the same name, and Steele's Biddy Tipkin in The Tender Hus- band." (Cf. Nettleton, op. cit., liv.) Nettleton has developed in detail the like- nesses between Lydia and her sentimental prototypes.

8 Cf. Nettleton, op. cit., pp. Ivi, lvii.

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mother's novel, The Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph. Bernbaum9 is disposed to believe Sheridan owes more to Murphy's play, All in the Wrong. Sichel'? finds a prototype for Faulkland in Valentine of Wycherley's Love in a Wood. Moore" cites both Prior's Nut-Browne Maid and Smollett's Peregrine Pickle. Nettleton comments:

Sincecritics with equal positiveness trace the sourceof Sheridan's under- plot to such different fountain heads .... the fair presumption is, again, that Sheridan's borrowings, if any, were trivial.

With the positiveness that seems almost a mania with many who in- vestigate literary antecedents, Boaden asserts . . . ."There is absolute proof that he [Sheridan] found some aid in the genius of his own family. In The Rivals, Faulkland rushes into Julia's dressing room, tells her that he has killed his adversary, that his life is forfeited, that he wishes first to call her his, and then that, without preparation, she would fly the country with him (The Rivals, V, I). In the Memoirs of Sidney Bidulph, written by his excellent mother,-the hero, a Faulkland, too, observe,-enters to the heroine in the same perturbed state,-tells the same distracted story, and urges the same sacrifice from the lady. In the romance the story is true; in the play, it is merely feigned to try the constancy of Julia." The radical difference in situation which Boaden himself shows in this last sentence mars the alleged absoluteness of the proof. Moore ascribed the origin of this same incident to Prior and Smollett, by maintaining that the imposture which Faulkland practices upon Julia is "perhaps weakened in its effect by our recollection of the same device in the Nut-Browne Maid and Peregrine Pickle."l2

The supposed source of the under plot which has received most serious consideration is Murphy's All in the Wrong. Bernbaum avers:

The same kind of courtship as that of Faulkland and Julia has been depicted in Arthur Murphy's All in the Wrong (1761). Murphy's Belinda like Sheridan's Julia, has a lover of such "extreme sensibility," that on the most trivialoccasions he troubles her with jealous suspicions. Murphy, dwelling wholly on the absurd aspects of the situation, plunged the lover into ridiculous embarrassments and endowed the mistress with gaiety. .... His (Sheridan's) Faulkland's hypersensitiveness is excused, as originating in the admirable delicacy and warmth of his affection."3

9 Cf. Ernest Bernbaum, The Drama of Sensibility 1915, p. 352. 10 Cf. Walter Sichel, Sheridan, 1909, I, 490. 11 Cf. Thomas Moore, Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honourable Richard

Brinsley Sheridan, 2 vols. 1825, I, 142. 12 Cf. Nettleton, op. cit., pp. lvi, lvii. " Cf. Bernbaum, op. cit., p. 352.

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Percy Fitzgerald conjectures that Faulkland and Julia, with the agonizing doubts of the former, are also copied, in part from Bever- ley and Belinda:

"It is your character," says his friend Bellmont, "instead of enjoying the object before you, to be ever looking back to something past, or conjecturing about something to come, and are your own self tormented."

In a conversation with Belinda, upon reproaching her with being at a party in his absence Beverley says:

"I could learn, since, the spirits you were in the whole evening, though I enjoyed nothing in your absence. I could hear the sallies of your wit, the sprightliness of your conversation."

She answers: "You alarm me with these fancies, and you know I have often told you

you are of too refining a temper; you create for yourself imaginings, misunderstandings. 14

Sichel points out:

Murphy was himself a notorious plagiarist known as the author of "potted plays." Moreover, when the play is examined, there is little likeness but the common outlines of a tyrannical father and a self-torment- ing son. The "Beverley" of All in the Wrong is not "the captious sceptic in love" that specialises Faulkland; he merely presents jealousy in its accepted forms. Were an apter prototype wanted, the moods of "Valen- tine" in Wycherley's Love in a Wood might be nearer the mark, for though Sheridan is said to have denied any knowledge of Wycherley's plays, he must have seen them acted at Bath. But here again the shape of the "fantastic goblin" as Wycherley styles jealousy is purely typical. Faulk- land's alternations of perverted pride and humility are missing.5'

From the foregoing citations, it is evident that critics have explained the motivation of the sub-plot either in terms of jealousy, extreme sensibility, too refining a temper, or as alternations of perverted pride and humility. Close parallels of incident and circumstance unquestionably exist between the sub-plot and the various sources cited above. Critics without exception have noted that Sheridan introduces a motivation which has no exact parallel in any of the sources from which he is thought to have borrowed. A source in which the motivation is precisely parallel to that of the sub-plot of The Rivals does exist. The source in question is Col- man's The Deuce is in Him.

14 Cf. Fitzgerald, op. cit., I pp. 125, 126. 1s Cf. Sichel, op. cit., I p. 490.

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From Colman's Polly Honeycombe, as we have already seen, Sheridan took hints for the character of Lydia Languish. To determine the full extent of Sheridan's indebtedness to Colman, one must examine the nature and motive of the test to which the metaphysical lover of the sub-plot subjects his mistress. In The Deuce is in Him, the test is worked out in reference to physical debility; while in The Rivals, the test turns on the pivot of civic disgrace.

Tamper, the lover of The Deuce is in Him, pretends to have lost an eye and a leg in a military engagement at "the Havannah," in order to test whether Emily loves him for himself alone. Tamper justifies his conduct by declaiming, "Before I bind myself to abide by a woman, at all events, and in all circumstances, I must be assured that she will, at all events and in all circumstances, retain her affection for me" (Act I, p. 129). An expression of a wish to be deformed in order to test Julia's love is all that remains in The Rivals of the foremost comic complication in Colman's The Deuce is in Him. In reply to Julia's question, "For what quality must I love you?" Faulkland retorts, "For no quality ..... And for person, I have often wished myself deformed, to be convinced that I owe no obligations there for any part of your affections."

The restive desire to test a lover's fidelity is as old as man. Tamper feigns physical debility, Faulkland pretends to be threat- ened with civic disgrace. But in each instance the specific formula which is employed in the testing process is of considerably less

importance than is the motive which precipitates the test. In The Deuce is in Him, as in The Rivals, the lover is not satisfied

with the traditional protestations of love, but restlessly probes into the motives from which the affection proceeds. The question of motive is not only implied, it is raised and developed in each case by the doubt-tortured lover who tests his mistress to determine whether she loves him for himself alone, or for any gift of fortune or of nature. The concept of self disassociated from all personal attributes grows into a metaphysical confusion which enmeshes the lover's sense of values, not to say his sense of humour:

Belfast. ....Have you not reason .... to rest assured, that Emily entertains a most sincere passion for you?

Tamper. Perhaps so; but then I am not equally assured of the basis on which that passion is founded ... ; I must be convinced that she loves me for my own sake, for myself alone; and that were I divested of

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every desirable gift of fortune, and of nature .... she would still.... prefer me (Act I, p. 130).

Faulkland. .... How shall I be sure, had you remained unbound in thought and promise, that I should still have been the object of your persevering love? ....If I loved you less I should never give you an uneasy moment..... All my fretful doubts arise from this.-Women are not used to weigh and separate the motives of their affections .... when Love receives .... countenance from Prudence, nice minds will be suspicious (III, 3, p. 50).

The resemblances of Miss in her Teens to The Rivals have been indicated; the differences between these two plays must now be studied as an index of Sheridan's originality.

One striking difference is that while the Aunt in Miss in her Teens is the least interesting character in the play, Mrs. Malaprop "abides the queen of solecism undethroned by time. Her pedigree is long and the family runs with many side-branches from Shake- speare's Dogberry and Verges and a word or so of Bottom's to Lady Plyant in Congreve's 'Double Dealer' .... from her again to Fielding's Mrs. Slipslop, and Smollett's Clarinda and Tabitha Bramble."16 In short, iMrs. Malaprop may be described as a synthetic product constructed of fragments from diverse sources, skilfully welded together, and white-washed with solecisms to smooth over the joinings.

The dual identity of the Captain contributes three comic situations to The Rivals which do not appear in the older play. The first is where, wholly hookwinked by the ingratiating manner of Captain Absolute, Mrs. Malaprop shows him a letter addressed to Lydia which she has intercepted and read. She calls Absolute's attention to the insolence with which Beverley refers to the Aunt's preten- sions to learning. The second is where, forced by O'Trigger to resent the rivalry of Beverley, Acres flings down the gauntlet, and requests Captain Absolute not only to deliver the challenge, but also to act as his second during the duel. The scene in which Cap- tain Absolute, when confronted by Lydia who knows him as Beverley, convinces her that he has bullied the Aunt into be- lieving him to be the son of Sir Anthony, is the third.

16 Cf. Sichel, op. cit., I, 249. The most complete treatment of the extent to which Sheridan is indebted to his mother's unfinished play, A Journey to Bath, for the character of Mrs. Malaprop, may be found in Sichel (I, 491-493). For purposes of this article, it should suffice to assert that Sheridan made comparatively slight use of his mother's handiwork.

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The duel scene is thoroughly exploited by Sheridan, who squeezes out of it every possible drop of farce. Into the major plot, Sheridan weaves new and droll complications preceding and following the duel scene: the conference which prompts Acres to solicit assistance from O'Trigger in the formulation of a challenge to Beverley; the dialogue during the composition of the letter to Beverley; the scene wherein Acres not only suggests that Absolute deliver the challenge to Beverley, but also invites the Captain to become his second in the anticipated duel; David's expression of his concept of honor; the bold advance and craven retreat of Acres which awakens the scorn of O'Trigger; the Captain's brilliant fabrication which blinds Sir Anthony to the true mission of the sword.

In Garrick's play, Sir Simeon is actually the rival of his son; while in Sheridan's play, the concept of the father being the son's rival is only suggested in jest. Sir Simeon is pained when he dis- covers that Biddy finds his son more attractive than himself. The only remaining trace in The Rivals of the idea of a father rivalling his own son appears in the speech: "You're a walking block .... Odds life! I've a great mind to marry the girl myself!"(Act III, Scene 2, p. 47).

Sheridan has seen fit to dispense with the love triangle of the servant's quarter which provides some of the spiciest farce in Miss in her Teens. This episode Garrick has pitched in the ethical key of Restoration Comedy. Jasper relates his amorous adventures to Puff, confiding how great is his desire to possess an abigail who has been deserted by her husband, insisting that even now he is eager to marry the woman, but fears to urge her to commit bigamy. Puff suggests that as the wench's husband might be alive, it would be foolish to marry her. After listening to a recital of the advan- tages of wenching, Jasper quits the scene. No sooner does Jasper leave, than in dashes Tag. Puff, recognizing his deserted wife, rails at fortune, and pretends not to notice the "fretful porcupine, my wife," Tag upbraids the deserter uproariously, and when she sallies forth, behind her remains a browbeaten rogue. When Puff sees his wife enter a house previously visited by Jasper, he surmises that Jasper's Circe is no other than Tag. Puff charges his wife with duplicity, flays her because of her indecorous mesalliance; and demands that she co-operate with him to further the intrigue of the Captain and Biddy. Puff, much like a Restoration spark, felt

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"that in affairs of sex, men and women met equally equipped for the encounter on a basis of intellectual equality."17

More out of policy than preference, Sheridan banished all but the more unostentatious traces of the Restoration spirit. The levity of Restoration Comedy had been strained through the sieve of Eighteenth Century decorum and by 1775, comedy was under the subjection of conscience. Even Sheridan found it expedient to make concessions to the popular mania for sensibility. Both conjugal infidelity and rivalry between father and son for the same mate were motifs which came too near the moral abandon of the Restoration to be countenanced by the Sentimental Morality of the 70's. Though Garrick treats these two themes with the sophis- ticated swagger of the Comic Dramatists, Sheridan omits them out of deference to popular taste.

There is a particular significance in these hitherto undiscovered sources. Obviously of but relatively little importance, they sub- stantiate the argument that Sheridan was an "inveterate plagiarist." In the preface to The Rivals, he admits "pleasant images, faded ideas, float in the fancy, and the imagination often becomes suspicious of its own offspring, and doubts whether it was created or adopted." Regardless of whether these lapses of memory were accidental or intentional, it is undeniable that Sheridan gleaned phrases, situations and hints for characters from the sources cited by various critics. Plagiarism, however, was an accepted part of the dramatic procedure of his day. Murphy, Cumberland, Foote, Garrick, and Colman borrowed every bit as extensively as Sheridan himself; the only difference being that they were less adroit in concealing their indebtedness, and in exploiting the possibilities of their pilfered material.

The value of ferreting out these heretofore unnoticed sources is that they focus attention on Sheridan's relations to his contemporaries. As we have already pointed out, Sheridan adopted the broad outline of his main plot for The Rivals from Garrick, and that of his sub-plot from Colman. To one familiar with Sheridan's habits of composition, it is significant that he appropriated most from Garrick, the more celebrated of the two managers. On the date of the initial performance of The Rivals, 1775, Garrick was

17 Cf. John Palmer, The Comedy of Manners, Chapter III. Although no bonds of affection yoke David, Tag, and Lucy, the three servants in The Rivals, we recall the relationship existing between Jasper, Puff, and Tag, as we listen to Sir Lucius O'Trigger trifle with Lucy. (Sheridan, The Rivals, Act II, Scene 2.)

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250 Two Sources of "The Rivals"

manager of Drury Lane, Colman of Covent Garden; the two theatres most frequented by the Londoners of the 70's. Garrick and Colman were not only skilled producers, but were also favorite playwrights. They knew from experience what popular taste demanded of the stage. It is futile, therefore, to ransack Shake- speare or the Restoration Dramatists for sources of The Rivals. The more natural approach to a study of Sheridan's plays would be to take first into account his indebtedness to those of his contemporaries who were playwrights as well as managers. Garrick and Colman sensed the type of character and situation which were relished by the diverse, and sometimes contradictory interests of their audiences; they were also in a position to reject or stage the offerings of a young dramatist struggling for recognition.

MIRIAM GABRIEL

PAUL MUESCHKE

University of Michigan



Gabriel 1928 Sheridan

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