Le mariage de Chiffon

In this lively turn‑of‑the‑century French comedy, a sixteen‑year‑old girl known as Chiffon—though her family insists on calling her Coryse—finds herself thrust into the absurdities of aristocratic matchmaking. When her mother, the sharp‑tongued Marquise de Bray, announces that the colonel‑duke of Aubières has formally proposed, the teen erupts with disbelief, railing against titles, age gaps and the notion of marrying for convenience. Through rapid, witty dialogue the novel paints a vivid portrait of a household where honor, debts and ego clash with a youthful yearning for freedom.

The narrator balances affectionate observation with a gentle mockery of the aristocracy’s preoccupations, inviting listeners to savor the sparkling repartee and the tender, if conflicted, bond between father and daughter. By the end of the first act, the story leaves the listener eager to follow Chiffon’s next steps in a world that promises both wit and heartfelt discovery.