Scapin the Schemer

; Scapin : Léandre's valet and "fourbe" (a rough translation of "fourbe" is "a deceitful person") ; Léandre : Son of Géronte and lover of Zerbinette ; Octave : Son of Argante and lover of Hyacinthe ; Géronte : Father of Léandre and of Hyacinthe ; Argante : Father of Octave and of Zerbinette ; Hyacinthe : Daughter of Géronte and lover of Octave ; Zerbinette : Daughter of Argante and lover of Léandre, believed to be a gypsy girl ; Silvestre : Octave's valet ; Carle : "Fourbe" ; Nérine : Hyacinthe's wet nurse ; Two porters == Plot ==

Scapin constantly lies and tricks people to get ahead. He is an arrogant, pompous man who acts as if nothing were impossible for him. However, he is also a diplomatic genius. He manages to play the other characters off of each other very easily, and yet manages to keep his overall goal — to help the young couples — in sight. In their fathers' absence, Octave has secretly married Hyacinthe, while Léandre has secretly fallen in love with Zerbinette. But the fathers return from a trip with marriage plans for their respective sons. Scapin, after hearing many pleas for help, comes to their rescue. Thanks to many tricks and lies, Scapin manages to come up with enough money from the parents to make sure that the young couples get to stay married. But, no one knows who Hyacinthe and Zerbinette really are. It ends in the classic happy ending, and Scapin is even brought to the head of the table at the ending feast (even though he has to fake a fatal wound to make it happen ). == Quotations ==