Boston: The Writer,
Inc Publishers 1944; Nachdrucke 1954, 1968, 1977 and 1986
Original: Les trente-six situations dramatiques 1895; first translation
into English 1916;
frz. Nachdruck Plan-de-la-Tour/ Paris: Editions d’Aujourd’hui 1980
frz. Nachdruck Plan-de-la-Tour/ Paris: Editions d’Aujourd’hui 1980
1.
Supplication
(The dynamic elements
technically necessary are: a Persecutor, a Suppliant and a Power in
authority, whose decision is doubtful)
A (1) Fugitives
Imploring the Powerful for Help Against Their Enemies
(2) Assistance
Implored for the Performance of a Pious Duty Which has Been
Forbidden
(3) Appeals for a
Refuge in Which to Die
B (1) Hospitality
Besought by the Shipwrecked
(2) Charity Entreated
by Those Cast Off by Their Own People, Whom They Have
Disgraced
(3) Expiation: The
Seeking of Pardon, Healing or Deliverance
(4) The Surrender of a
Corpse, or of a Relic, Solicited
C (1) Supplication of
the Powerful for Those Dear to the Suppliant
(2) Supplication to a
Relative in Behalf of Another Relative
(3) Supplication to a
Mother's Lover, in Her Behalf
2.
Deliverance
(Elements: an
Unfortunate, a Threatener, a Rescuer)
A Appearance of a
Rescuer to the Condemned
B (1) A Parent
Replaced Upon a throne by His Children
(2) Rescue by Friends,
or by Strangers Grateful for Benefits or Hospitality
3. Crime pursued by
Vengeance
(Elements: an Avenger
and a Criminal)
A (1) The Avenging of
a Slain Parent or Ancestor
(2) The Avenging of a
Slain Child or Descendant
(3) Vengeance for a
Child Dishonored
(4)The Avenging of a
Slain Wife or Husband
(5) Vengeance for the
Dishonor, or Attempted Dishonoring, of a Wife
(6) Vengeance for a
Mistress Slain
(7) Vengeance for a
Slain or Injured Friend
(8) Vengeance for a
Sister Seduced
B (1) Vengeance for
Intentional Injury or Spoliation
(2) Vengeance for
having Been Despoiled During Absence
(3) Revenge for an
Attempted Slaying
(4) Revenge for a
False Accusation
(5) Vengeance for
Violation
(6) Vengeance for
having Been Robbed of One's Own
(7) Revenge Upon a
Whole Sex for a Deception by One
C Professional Pursuit
of Criminals (the counterpart of which will be found in the Fifth
Situation Class A)
4. Vengeance taken for
kindred upon kindred
(Elements: Avenging
Kinsman; Guilty Kinsman; Remembrance of the Victim, a Relative of
Both)
A (1) A Father's Death
Avenged Upon a Mother
(2) A Mother Avenged
Upon a Father
B A Brother's Death
Avenged Upon a Son
C A Father's Death
Avenged Upon a Husband
D A Husband's Death
Avenged Upon a Father
5. Pursuit
(Elements : Punishment
and Fugitive)
A Fugitives from
Justice Pursued for Brigandage, Political Offences, Etc
B Pursued for a Fault
of Love
C A Hero struggling
Against Power
D A Pseudo-Madman
Struggling Against an Lago-Like Alienist
6. Disaster
(Elements: a
Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger)
A (1) Defeat
Suffered
(2) A Fatherland
Destroyed
(3) The Fall of
Humanity
(4) A Natural
Catastrophe
B A Monarch Overthrown
(the converse of Eight)
C (19) Ingratitude
Suffered
(2) The Suffering of
Unjust Punishment or Enmity
(39 An Outraged
Suffered
D (1) Abandonment by a
Lover or a Husband
(2) Children Lost by
Their Parents
7. Falling prey to
cruelty or misfortune
(Elements: an
Unfortunate; a Master or a Misfortune)
A The Innocent Made
the Victim of Ambitious Intrigue
B The Innocent
Despoiled by Those Who Should Protect
C (1) The Powerful
Dispossessed and Wretched
(2) A Favorite or an
Intimate Finds Himself Forgotten
D The Unfortunate
Robbed of their Only Hope
8. Revolt
(Elements: Tyrant and
Conspirator)
A (1) A Conspiracy
Chiefly of One Individual
(2) A Conspiracy of
Several
B (1) Revolt of One
Individual, Who Influences and Involves Others
(2) A Revolt of
Many
9. Daring
Enterprise
(A Bold Leader; an
Object; an Adversary)
A Preparations For
War
B (1) War
(2) A
Combat
C (19) Carrying Off a
Desired Person or object
(2) Recapture of a
Desired Object
D (1) Adventurous
Expeditions
(2) Adventure
Undertaken for the Purpose of Obtaining a Beloved Woman
10.
Abduction
(The Abductor; the
Abducted; the Guardian)
A Abduction of an
Unwilling Woman
B Abduction of a
Consenting woman
C (1) Recapture of the
Woman Without the Slaying of the Abductor
(2) the Same Case,
with Slaying of the Ravisher
D (1) Rescue of a
Captive Friend
(2) Of a
Child
(3) Of a Soul in
Captivity to Error.
11. The
Enigma
(Interrogator, Seeker
and Problem)
A Search for a Person
Who Must Be Found on Pain of Death
B (1) A Riddle to Be
Solved on Pain of Death
(2) The Same Case, in
Which the Riddle is Proposed by the Coveted Woman
C (1) Temptations
Offered With the Object of Discovering His Name
(2) Temptations
Offered With the Object of Ascertaining the Sex
(3) Tests for the
Purpose of Ascertaining the Mental Condition
12.
Obtaining
(A Solicitor and an
Adversary Who is Refusing, or an Arbitrator and opposing
Parties)
A Efforts to Obtain an
Object by Ruse or Force
B Endeavor by Means of
Persuasive Eloquence Alone
C Eloquence With an
Arbitrator
13 Enmity of
Kinsmen
(Elements: a
Malevolent Kinsman; a Hated or Reciprocally Hating
Kinsman)
A Hatred of
Brothers
(1) One Brother Hated
by Several
(2) Reciprocal
Hatred
(3) Hatred Between
Relatives for Reasons of Self-Interest
B Hatred of Father and
Son
(1) Of the Son for the
Father
(2) Mutual
Hatred
(3) Hatred of Daughter
for Father
C Hatred of
Grandfather for Grandson
D Hatred of
Father-in-law for Son-in-law
E Hatred of
Mother-in-law for Daughter-in-law
F
Infanticide
14. Rivalry of
Kinsmen
(The Preferred
Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object)
A (19) Malicious
Rivalry of a Brother
(2) Malicious Rivalry
of Two Brothers
(3) Rivalry of two
Brothers, With Adultery on the Part of One
(4) Rivalry of
Sisters
B (1) Rivalry of
Father and Son, for an Unmarried Woman
(2) Rivalry of Father
and Son, for a Married Woman
(3) Case Similar to
the Two Foregoing, But in Which the Object is Already the Wife of
the Father
(4) Rivalry of Mother
and Daughter
D Rivalry of
Friends
15. Murderous
Adultery
(Elements: Two
Adulterers; a Betrayed Husband or Wife)
A (1) The Slaying of a
Husband by, or for, a Paramour
(2) the Slaying of a
Trusting Lover
B Slaying of a Wife
for a Paramour, an in Self-Interest
16. Madness
(Elements: Madman and
Victim)
A (1) Kinsmen Slain in
Madness
(2) A Lover Slain in
Madness
(3) Slaying or
Injuring of a Person not Hated
B Disgrace Brought
Upon Oneself Through Madness
C Loss of Loved Ones
Brought About by Madness
D madness Brought on
by Fear of hereditary Insanity
17. Fatal
Imprudence
(The Imprudent; the
Victim or the Object Lost)
A (1) Imprudence the
Cause of One's Own Misfortune
(2) Imprudence the
Cause of One's Own Dishonor
B (1) Curiosity the
Cause of One's Own Misfortune
(2) Loss of the
Possession of a Loved One, Through Curiosity
C (1) Curiosity the
Cause of Death or Misfortune
(2) Imprudence the
Cause of a Relative's Death
(3) Imprudence the
Cause of a Lover's Death
(4) Credulity the
Cause of a Kinsmen's Death
18. Involuntary Crimes
of Love
(The Lover; the
Beloved; the Revealer)
A (1) Discovery That
One Has married One's Mother
(2) Discovery That One
Has Had a Sister as Mistress
B (1) Discovery That
One Has Married One's Sister
(2) The Same Case, in
Which the Crime Has Been Villainously Planned by a Third
Person
(3) Being Upon the
Point of Taking a Sister, Unknowingly, as Mistress
C Being Upon the Point
of Violating, Unknowingly, a Daughter
D (1) Being upon the
Point of Committing an Adultery Unknowingly
(2) Adultery Committed
Unknowingly
19. Slaying of a
kinsman unrecognized
(The Slayer; the
Unrecognized Victim)
A (1) Being Upon the
Point of Slaying a Daughter Unknowingly, by Command of a Divinity
or an Oracle
(2) Through Political
Necessity
(3) Through a Rivalry
in Love
(4) Through Hatred of
the Lover of the Unrecognized Daughter
B (1) Being Upon the
Point of Killing a Son Unknowingly A Son Slain Without Being
Recognized
(2) The Same Case as B
(1), Strengthened by Machiavellian Instigations
(3) The Same Case as B
(2), Intermixed With Hatred of Kinsmen (that of grandfather for
grandson)
C - Being Upon the
Point of Slaying a Brother Unknowingly
(1) Brothers Slaying
in Anger
(2) A Sister Slaying
Through Professional Duty
D Slaying of a Mother
Unrecognized
E A Father Slain
Unknowingly, Through Machiavellian Advice (see XVII)
The Simple Slaying of
a Father Unrecognized
The Same Case Reduced
From Murder to Simple Insult
Being Upon the Point
of Slaying a Father Unknowingly
F A Grandfather Slain
Unknowingly, in Vengeance of Through Investigation
(2) Slain
Involuntarily
(3) A Father- in-law
Killed Involuntarily
G (1) Involuntarily
Killing a Loved Woman
(2) Being Upon the
Point of Killing a Lover Unrecognized
(3) Failure to Rescue
an Unrecognized Son
20 Self-sacrificing of
an ideal
(The Hero; the Ideal;
the "Creditor" or the Person or Thing Sacrificed)
A (1) Sacrifice of
Life for the Sake of One's Word
(2) Life Sacrificed
for the Success or One's People
For the Happiness of
One's People
(3) Life Sacrificed in
Filial Piety
(4) Life Sacrificed
for the Sake of One's Faith
For the Sake of One's
King
B (19) Both Love and
Life Sacrificed for One's Faith
(2) Both Love and Life
Sacrificed to a Cause
(39) Life Sacrificed
to Interests of State
C Sacrifice of
Well-Being to Duty
D The Ideal of "Honor"
Sacrificed to the Ideal of "Faith"
21. Self-sacrifice for
kindred
(The Hero; the
Kinsman; the "Creditor" or the Person or Thing
Sacrificed)
A (1) Life Sacrificed
for that of a Relative or a Loved One
(2) Life Sacrificed
for the Happiness of a Relative or a Loved One
B (1) Ambition
Sacrificed for the Happiness of a Parent
(2) Ambition
Sacrificed for the Life of a Parent
C (1) Love Sacrificed
for the Sake of a Parent's Life
(2) For the Happiness
of One's Child
For the Happiness of a
Loved One
(3) The Same Sacrifice
as 2, But Caused by Unjust Laws
D (1) Life and Honor
Sacrificed for the Life of a Parent or Loved
The Same Sacrifice
Made for the Honor of a Loved One
(2) Modesty Sacrificed
for the Life of a Relative or a Loved One
22. All sacrificed for
a passion
(The Lover; the object
of the Fatal Passion; the Person or Thing Sacrificed)
A (1) Religious Vows
of Chastity Broken for a Passion
(2) A Vow of Purity
Broken
Respect for a Priest
Destroyed
(3) A Future Ruined by
a Passion
(4) Power Ruined by
Passion
(5) Ruin of Mind,
Health and Life
Passion Gratified at
the Price of Life
(6) Ruin of Fortunes,
Lives and Honors
B Temptations (see
XII) Destroying the Sense of Duty, of Pity, etc.
C (1) Destruction of
Honor, Fortune and Life by Erotic Vice
(2) The Same Effect
Produced by Another Vice
23. Necessity of
sacrificing loved ones
(The Hero; the Beloved
Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice)
A (1) Necessity for
Sacrificing a Daughter in the Public Interest
(2) Duty of
Sacrificing Her in Fulfillment of a Vow to God
(3) Duty of
Sacrificing Benefactors or Loved Ones to One's Faith
B (1) Duty of
Sacrificing One's Child, Unknown to Others, Under the Pressure of
Necessity
(2) Duty of
Sacrificing, Under the Same Circumstances, One's Father
(3) Duty of
Sacrificing, Under the Same Circumstances, One's Husband
(4) Duty of
Sacrificing a Son-in-Law for the Public Good
For the Sake of
Reputation
(5) Duty of Contending
with a Brother-in-Law for the Public Good
(6) Duty of Contending
with a Friend
24. Rivalry of
superior and inferior
(The Superior Rival;
the Inferior Rival; the Object)
A Masculine
Rivalries
(1) Of a Mortal and an
Immortal
Of Two Divinities of
Unequal Power
(2) Of a Magician and
an Ordinary man
(3) Of Conqueror and
Conquered
Of Victor and
Vanquished
Of a Master and a
Banished Man
Of Usurper and
Subject
(4) Of Suzerain King
and Vassal Kings
(5) Of a King and a
Noble
(6) Of a Powerful
Person and an Upstart
(7) Of Rich and
Poor
(8) Of an Honored man
and a Suspected One
(9) Rivalry of Two Who
Are Almost Equal
(10) Rivalry of
Equals, One of Whom Has in the past Been Guilty of
Adultery
(11) Of a Man Who is
Loved and One Who Has Not the Right to Love
(12) Of the Two
Successive Husbands of a Divorcée
B Feminine
Rivalries
(1) Of a Sorceress and
an Ordinary Woman
(2) Of Victor and
Prisoner
(3) Of Queen and
Subject
(4) Of a Queen and a
Slave
(5) Of Lady and
Servant
(6) Of a Lady and a
woman of Humbler Position
Of a Lady and Two
Women of Humbler Class
(7) Rivalry of Two Who
Are Almost Equals, Complicated by the Abandonment of One
(8) Rivalry Between a
Memory or an Ideal (That of a Superior Woman) and a Vassal of
her Own
(9) Rivalry of Mortal
and immortal
C Double Rivalry (A
loves B, who loves C, who loves D)
D Oriental
Rivalries
(1) Rivalry of Two
Immortals
(2) Of Two
Mortals
(3) Of Two Lawful
Wives
25.
Adultery
(A Deceived Husband of
Wife; Two Adulterers)
A A Mistress
Betrayed
(1) For a Young
Woman
(2) For a Young Wife
(the marriage preceding the opening of the play
(3) - For a
Girl
B A Wife
Betrayed
(1) For a Slave, Who
Does Not Love in Return
(2) For
Debauchery
(3) For a Married
Woman (a double" adultery
(4) With the Intention
of Bigamy
(5) For a Young Girl,
Who Does Not Love in Return
(6) A Wife Envied by a
Young Girl Who is in Love with Her Husband
(7) By a
Courtesan
(8) Rivalry Between a
Lawful Wife Who is Antipathetic and a Mistress Who is
Congenial
(9) Between a Generous
Wife and an Impassioned Girl
C (1) An Antagonistic
Husband Sacrificed for a Congenial Lover
(2) A Husband,
Believed to be Lost, Forgotten for a Rival
(3) A Commonplace
Husband Sacrificed for a Sympathetic Lover
(4) A Good Husband
Betrayed for an Inferior Rival
(5) For a Grotesque
Rival
(6) For a Odious
Rival
(7) For a Commonplace
Rival, By a Perverse Wife
(8) For a Rival Less
Handsome, but useful (with comic false suspicions; tat is,
suspicions afterward thought to have been false)
D (1) Vengeance of a
Deceived Husband (dramas built upon a crescendo of
suspicion)
(2) Jealousy
Sacrificed for the Sake of a Cause (tending toward "Sacrifices for
an Ideal")
E A Husband Persecuted
by a Rejected Rival
26. Crimes of
Love
(The Lover; the
Beloved)
A (1) A Mother in Love
with Her Son
(2) A Daughter in Love
with Her Father
(3) Violation of a
Daughter by a Father
B (1) A Woman Enamored
of Her Stepson
(2) A Woman and Her
Stepson Enamored of Each Other
(3) A Woman Being the
Mistress, at the Same Time, of a Father and Son, Both of Whom
Accept the Situation
C (1) A Man Becomes
the Lover of His Sister-in-Law
The Man Alone
Enamored
(2) A Brother and
Sister in Love with Each Other
D (1) A Man Enamored
of Another Man, Who Yields
E A Woman Enamored of
a Bull
27. Discovery of the
dishonor of al loved one
(The Discoverer; the
Guilty One)
A (1) Discovery of a
Mother's Shame
(2) Discovery of a
Father's Shame
(3) Discovery of a
Daughter's Dishonor
B (1) Discovery of a
Dishonor in the Family of One's Fiancee
(2) Discovery that
One's Wife Has Been Violated Before Marriage
(3) That She Has
Previously Committed a Fault
(4) Discovery that
One's Wife Has Formerly Been a Prostitute
(5) Discovery of
Dishonor an the Part of a Lover (this also borders upon
XXXIV)
(6) Discovery that
One's Mistress, Formerly a Prostitute, Has Returned to Her Old Life
(with extenuating circumstances)
(7) Discovery that
One's Lover is a Scoundrel, or that One s Mistress is a Woman of
Bad Character
Same Discovery
Concerning a So-Called King
(8) The Same Discovery
Concerning One's Wife
C Discovery that One's
Son is an Assassin : -
D Might constitute a
distinct Situation ; there is not only the discovery, but the duty
of imposing punishment as well
(1) Duty of Punishing
a Son Who is a Traitor to Country
A Brother Who is a
Traitor to His Party
(2) Duty of Punishing
a Son Condemned Under a Law Which the Father Has Made
(3) Duty of Punishing
a Son Believed to be Guilty
(4) Duty of
Sacrificing, to Fulfill a Vow of Tyrannicide, a Father Until Then
Unknown
(5) Duty of Punishing
Brother Who is an Assassin
(6) Duty of Punishing
One's Mother to Avenge One's Father (Situation IV arrested
prematurely)
28. Obstacles to
love
(Two Lovers; an
Obstacle)
A (1) Marriage
Prevented by Inequality of Rank
(2) Inequality of
Fortune an Impediment to Marriage
B Marriage Prevented
by Enemies and Contingent Obstacles
C (1) Marriage
Forbidden on Account of the Young Woman's Previous Betrothal to
Another
(2) The Same Case,
Complicated by an Imaginary Marriage of the Beloved
Object
D (1) A Free Union
Impeded by the Opposition of Relatives
(2) Family Affection
Disturbed by the Parents-in-Law
E By the
Incompatibility of Temper of the Lovers
F Love
29. An enemy
beloved
(The Beloved Enemy;
the Lover; the Hater)
A The Loved One Hated
by Kinsmen of the Lover
(1)The Lover Pursued
by the Brothers of His Beloved
(2) The Lover Hated by
the Family of His Beloved
(3) The Lover is the
Son of a Man Hated by the Kinsmen of His Beloved
(4) The Beloved is an
Enemy of the Party of the Woman Who Loves Him:
B (1) The Lover is the
Slayer of the Father of His Beloved
(2) The Beloved is the
Slayer of the Father of Her Lover
(3) The Beloved is the
Slayer of the Brother of Her Lover
(4) The Beloved is the
Slayer of the Husband of the Woman Who Loves Him, But Who Has
Previously Sworn to Avenge that Husband
(5) The Same Case,
Except that a Lover, Instead of a Husband, Has Been
Slain
(6) The Beloved is the
Slayer of a Kinsman of the Woman Who Loves Him
(7) The Beloved is the
Daughter of the Slayer of Her Lover's Father
30.
Ambition
(An Ambitious Person;
a Thing Coveted ; an Adversary)
A Ambition Watched and
Guarded Against by a Kinsman or a Patriot Friend
(1) By a
Brother
(2) By a Relative or
Person Under Obligation
(3) By
Partisans
B Rebellious Ambition
(akin to V III, A 1)
C (1) Ambition and
Covetousness Heaping Crime Upon Crime
(2) Parricidal
Ambition
31. Conflict with a
God
(A Mortal; an
Immortal)
A (1) Struggle Against
a Deity
(2) Strife with the
Believers in a God
B (1) Controversy with
a Deity
(2) Punishment for
Contempt of a God
(3) Punishment for
Pride Before a God
(4) Presumptuous
Rivalry with a God
(5) Imprudent Rivalry
with a Deity
32. Mistaken
Jealousy
(The Jealous One ; the
Object of Whose Possession He is Jealous; the Supposed Accomplice;
the Cause or the Author of the Mistake)
A (1) The Mistake
Originates in the Suspicious Mind of the Jealous One
(2) Mistaken Jealousy
Aroused by a Fatal Chance
(3) Mistaken Jealousy
of a Love Which is Purely Platonic
Of a Flirt
(4) Baseless Jealousy
Aroused by Malicious Rumors
B (1) Jealousy
Suggested by a Traitor Who is Moved by Hatred
(2) The Same Case, in
Which the Traitor is Moved by Self-Interest
(3) The Same Case, in
Which the Traitor is Moved by Jealousy and Self-Interest
C (1) Reciprocal
Jealousy Suggested to Husband and Wife by a Rival
(2) Jealousy Suggested
to the Husband by a Dismissed Suitor
(3) Jealousy Suggested
to the Husband by a Woman Who is in Love with Him
(4) Jealousy Suggested
to the Wife by a Scorned Rival
(5) Jealousy Suggested
to a Happy Lover by the Deceived Husband
33. Erroneous
judgment
(The Mistaken One; the
Victim of the Mistake; the Cause or Author of the Mistake; the
Guilty Person.)
(Any sort of mistaken
judgment may here be understood, even though committed only in the
thought of one person to the detriment of another.)
A (1) False Suspicion
Where Faith is Necessary
(2) False Suspicion
(in which the jealousy is not without reason) of a
Mistress
(3) False Suspicions
Aroused by a Misunderstood Attitude of a Loved One
(4) By
Indifference
B (1) False Suspicions
Drawn Upon Oneself to Save a Friend
(2) They Fall Upon the
Innocent
Upon the Innocent
Husband of the Guilty One
(3) The Same Case as
2, but in Which the Innocent had a Guilty Intention
In Which the Innocent
Believes Himself Guilty
(4) A Witness to the
Crime, in the Interest of a Loved One, Lets Accusation Fall Upon
the Innocent
C (1) The Accusation
is Allowed to Fall Upon an Enemy
(2) The Error is
Provoked by an Enemy
(3) The Mistake is
Directed Against the Victim by Her Brother
D (1) False Suspicion
Thrown by the Real Culprit Upon One of His Enemies
(2) Thrown by the Real
Culprit Upon the Second Victim Against Whom He has Plotted from the
Beginning
(3) False Suspicion
Thrown Upon a Rival
(4) Thrown Upon One
Innocent, Because He Has Refused to be an Accomplice
(5) Thrown by a
Deserted Mistress Upon a Lover Who Left Her Because He Would Not
Deceive Her Husband
(6) Struggle to
Rehabilitate Oneself and to Avenge a Judicial Error Purposely
Caused
34. Remorse
(The Culprit ; the
Victim or the Sin ; the Interrogator)
A (1) Remorse for an
Unknown Crime
(2) Remorse for a
Parricide
(3) Remorse for an
Assassination
(4) Remorse for the
Murder of Husband or Wife
B (1) Remorse for a
Fault of Love
(2) Remorse for an
Adultery
With B (1) there are
connected, in one respect, the plays classed in A (1) of Situation
XXVII.
35. Recovery of a lost
one
(The Seeker; the One
Found)
Classes A and C of
Situation XI move toward the same end.
36. Loss of loved
ones
(A Kinsman Slain; a
Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner)
A (1) Witnessing the
Slaying of Kinsmen, While Powerless to Prevent It
(2) Helping to Bring
Misfortune Upon One's People Through Professional
Secrecy
B Divining the Death
of a Loved One
C Learning of the
Death of a Kinsman or Ally
D Relapse into
Primitive Baseness, through Despair on Learning of the Death of a
Loved One.
