8). Under such circumstances, the theme of tragic love in the seventeenth century is rife with passionate rebellion against such marital arrangements. Moreover, Arnolphe's view of wifedom is base: "And there are four things only she must know: to say her prayers, love me, spin, and sew" (I.1). Women are to remain austere peasants, obedient to their masters, and kept free from emulating flirtations wives upon threat of Hell (III.2). With such a view of women, it is not surprising he is afraid of their challenge and seeks to inoculate himself through rational schemes.
Arnolphe's tyrannical grip is broken through fate. As with all forms of tyrannical insulation, it could not last. The plight of Agnes is softened in two ways: by chance and through her own skillful rebellion against ignorance. By chance, first, and despite Arnolphe's best efforts to keep Agnes ignorant and secluded from worldly corruption, fate brings her into contact with love. A passing bow leads to full-blown love-sickness (II.5). Through the wiles of an old woman, Horace gains passage to Agnes, where she cures him in the bloom of love (II.5). There, Agnes receives an education beyond the ignorance imposed on her. Moliere's point seems to be that chance will find a way to sneak in and disrupt rational planning. Arnolphe, of course, blames himself for their meeting. His recent trip gave room for such events. In other words, he maintains his belief in free will, not realizing it as chance. Fate plays the trickster against plans.
By rebellion as well Agnes shows herself to be clever, not simple. Using obedience to Arnolphe as a pretext, she throws a brick at Horace when he returns, but attached to it is a love letter (III.4). From this point on, Agnes proves herself superior to Arnolphe. Her "education" has failed. She subverts his value system and becomes everything that the old man fears. It is chance love that awakens Agnes to knowledge. It is fateful love that transforms her against Arnolphe's plans into the sly woman he fears (V.2).
So after all his grooming of her for a wife, the play ends with her release from subjection...
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