Talk:Philomèle
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Vanity Fair
[edit]Section cut from article pending substantiation: "The play is alluded to in William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair, where Becky Sharp's role as Philomela in the charades scene is done up entirely in its style, with the effect of simultaneously alluding to the Sun King's governess-cum-mistress-cum-wife the Marquis de Maintenon.[clarification needed Charles d'Angennes was Louis XIV's governess/mistress /wife? Or is Madame de Maintenon meant?]"
Comment: I see no evidence that Vanity Fair alludes to this work (BTW it's an opera not a play). I think it's vanishingly unlikely Thackeray would even know of the existence of this obscure Baroque opera. I've looked up the novel and I presume the "charades" referred to are those in Chapter 51. My Penguin Classics edition makes absolutely no mention of Lacoste's Philomèle. The name "Philomèle" crops up in reference to Lebrun's opéra comique Le rossignol of 1816, which makes perfect sense given the era of the novel's setting.--Folantin (talk) 11:19, 2 October 2016 (UTC)