Œuvres de P. Corneille, Tome 02

The play stages comic intrigues among lovers and city folk in a vividly drawn Parisian arcade where booksellers, a mercer, and a linen-seller intersect; a lively maidservant supplants the old nurse figure, sparking new comic roles. Scenes mix mistaken intentions, witty shopfront banter, and commentary on changing literary tastes and fashions, with satirical sketches of publishers, courting rituals, and theatrical self-awareness. Period details about costume and public reading habits punctuate the dialogue, and the action resolves in reconciliations and paired marriages that close the comedy.