Recommendations

Books Like Il ne faut jurer de rien

Best books to read after Il ne faut jurer de rien by Alfred de Musset

Musset's 1836 Proverbe dramatique — the most perfectly executed of the form — in which a confirmed bachelor is sent to expose a virtuous young woman as seducible and falls in love with her. A delightfully light comedy that proves its moral through its plot: 'One should never swear.'

  1. 1

    Fantasio

    by Alfred de Musset

    The companion comedy that established Musset's tone for the Proverbes — lighter than On ne badine pas, sharing Il ne faut jurer de rien's preference for wit and charm over tragedy.

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  2. 2

    On ne badine pas avec l'amour

    by Alfred de Musset

    The darker companion — what the constancy-test comedy looks like when the wit stops protecting people from their feelings and the consequences become genuinely tragic.

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  3. 3

    Les Proverbes

    by Alfred de Musset

    The collection that contains Il ne faut jurer de rien along with Il faut qu'une porte and other shorter Proverbes — the complete context for understanding what Musset does with the form.

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  4. 4

    The Way of the World

    by William Congreve

    The English Restoration comedy that is the closest predecessor to Musset's Proverbes — Millamant and Mirabell's courtship through wit is the model for Musset's bachelor-turned-lover.

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  5. 5

    Much Ado About Nothing

    by William Shakespeare

    The Shakespearean comedy of the confirmed bachelor who swears he will never love — Benedick's oath is exactly the one Valentin takes, with the same result.

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  6. 6

    Pride and Prejudice

    by Jane Austen

    Austen's comedy of the man whose pride prevents him from seeing clearly — Darcy's arc is structurally similar to Valentin's, though the social stakes are very different.

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  7. 7

    Le Misanthrope

    by Molière

    Molière's comedy of the man who refuses social compromise until he can no longer refuse — the direct ancestor of Musset's confirmed bachelor type.

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  8. 8

    Il faut qu'une porte soit ouverte ou fermée

    by Alfred de Musset

    The companion Proverbe — even shorter than Il ne faut jurer de rien, and the purest expression of Musset's form: a two-person debate in which love is confessed through argument.

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