Chemin de Fer

Overview

Chemin de Fer refers to a game of chance in which the roles of dealer and other players are ever changing. Feydeau’s plot opens on a married couple, Francine and Chanal. But when Francine’s lover, Hubertin, comes to rent a suite in the house, he turns out to be an old classmate of Chanal himself. Later, when Chanal catches his wife and ex-classmate in the act, the result is Chemin de Fer: a husband passes his wife to her lover who in turn marries her. But then Hubertin, the lover-now-husband, finds himself cuckolded by Francine and the game goes on. Love is chancy, love is luck, love is Chemin de Fer enlivened by Feydeau touches of comical mix ups, lunacy, and laughter.