Mendacity and the Figure of the Liar in Seventeenth-Century French Comedy

In this study Emilia Wilton-Godberfforde unmasks the process whereby characters in seventeenth-century French comedy construct narratives designed to trick, misdirect, dazzle, confuse or exploit their interlocutors. Analyzing different incarnations of seducer, parasite, cross-dresser, duplicitous narrator/messenger and deluded mythomaniac, the author underscores the way in which the figure of the liar both entertains and troubles, making it a fascinating subject worthy of detailed investigation.