Three Plays by Brieux

by Eugène Brieux, George Bernard Shaw (Preface), Charlotte Frances Payne-Townshend Shaw (Translator)

1907. With preface by Bernard Shaw. English versions by Mrs. Bernard Shaw, St. John Hankin and John Pollock. Shaw considered Eugene Brieux of France the greatest playwright in Europe after Ibsen; and Brieux's rather shocking studies of social problems certainly suggest Ibsen, especially Brieux's Les avaries (Damaged Goods), which discussed sexually transmitted disease. Maternity; The Three Daughters of M. Dupont; Damaged Goods; and Maternity (new version).

Genres: Plays

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Eugène Brieux (1858-1932) was a French dramatist, one of the leading exponents of the realist drama, whose somewhat didactic works attacked the social evils of his day.

Reviews

[lucy snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

i have read Maternity and Damaged Goods from this little collection and both were very interesting and will definitely be useful for my diss!

Maternity details a girl's pregnancy out of wedlock and subsequent abortion, raising questions about the birth rate, the moralities of terminating a pregnancy and birth control. the courtroom scene at the end, compared to that in our ostriches, has a much more revolutionary tone, declaring 'all the men' the guilty ones, not the abortionists or unmarried mothers.

On the other hand, Damaged Goods is a cautionary tale of the brutal repercussions of untreated syphilis on a family and a marriage. this one felt much more like a propaganda play - it was essentially a lecture from the doctor character. the scene between husband and wife, discussing their love for their child, was a lovely addition however.

both were censored when first written - deemed too 'uncivilised' for the audiences of the time. such an interesting topic