"Enon rahat" by Théodore Barrière is a comedic play written in the mid-19th century. It centers on the softhearted, newly retired furrier Plumet, beset by calculating relatives who angle for his money while two earnest youths try to steer him toward a marriage that would secure their own future. Key players include Plumet’s jovial but spendthrift cousin Philip, the scheming Robineau, Henriette, and Martel, plus Lucien and Pauline, who hope Plumet will back Lucien’s law career by pairing him with the gentle Clémence. The comedy turns on money, manipulation, and matchmaking between Paris and a Burgundy estate.The opening of the play presents Plumet’s home before a family dinner, where flattery and bickering reveal how Robineau, Henriette, and Martel exploit Plumet’s generosity and blame Philip for his excesses. Lucien asks Plumet to guarantee funds for a law practice; Pauline hatches a plan to win support by marrying Plumet to Clémence. Plumet, fickle and guilt-prone after selling his shop, quarrels with Lucien over a slight to the boy’s late mother, then is soothed by Pauline. In quick succession he promises money to Martel and Robineau, is talked out of it by each in turn, and—after Philip dramatically vows to leave for Algeria out of pride—insists Philip stay and secretly gives him cash. The manipulators pivot, praising Philip to regain favor, and herd Plumet toward a “healthful” move to the country and the purchase of Pauline’s father’s Meursault estate, abetted by the blus…
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