Mirandolina runs an inn in Florence and is constantly courted in marriage by all her clients, particularly the Marchese of Forlipopoli and the Conte of Albafiorita, who represent the two extremes of contemporary Venetian society, since the former is a born aristocrat who has fallen on hard times and sold his title whereas the latter is a young newly-rich merchant who has bought a title and become part of the new nobility.[4] With only his honour to fall back on, the Marchese is convinced that offering his protection to Mirandolina will be enough to win her heart, whilst the Conte gives her many expensive gifts, believing he can buy her love just as he has bought his title. This reiterates the differences between the 'Nobles of the Sword' descended from the medieval nobility and 'Nobles of the Robe' who had bought their title. Mirandolina wisely does not accept either of the two men's attentions, leaving both of them still under the illusion that they can win her over.
The fragile equilibrium in the inn is broken by the arrival of the Cavaliere of Ripafratta, a haughty and inveterately woman-hating aristocrat inspired by the Florentine patricianGiulio Rucellai, to whom the play is dedicated. Anchored to his noble origins and lamenting the poor service at the inn, Ripafratta gives orders to Mirandolina and mocks Forlipopoli and Albafiorita for courting a woman.[5] Not used to being treated as a servant and with her pride hurt, Mirandolina promises to make Ripafrata fall in love.[6]
Act 2
To make Ripafratta fall in love, Mirandolina appears more and more polite and attentive to him as time goes on, until he first seems to yield.[7] He also claims to hate women who aim solely at marriage, gaining him a certain amount of genuine admiration from Mirandolina. He is unable to defend himself as he would like, as Mirandolina uses his own misogyny in her own favour, falsely making out that she thinks just like a man and despises women just as much as Ripafratta does.
Mirandolina also makes a great show of not wanting to give false compliments to the Marchese, who in one scene boasts of how good a Cypriot wine is when it actually tastes disgusting - Ripafratta cannot tell the truth to his adversary's face, but Mirandolina does not hesitate to do so, thus advancing her malicious strategy of seduction.[8] This begins Ripafratta's fall - knowing that Mirandolina's talents are all ranged against him, he decides to leave the inn to save himself. However, it is too late for - as he goes - she makes her final assault and pretends to faint, making Ripafratta decide to stay on after all.[9]
Act 3
Fabrizio, a waiter at the inn, is very jealous of Mirandolina's affections. She even receives a golden bottle as a gift from Ripafratta, but she throws it into a basket in contempt and then openly shows her hostility towards Ripafratta, telling him not to believe her previous protestations of love.[10] Torn apart by conflicting emotions and unwilling to reveal he has been deceived by a woman, Ripafratta still hopes he can win her over. When Albafiorita and Forlipopoli accuse Ripafratta of being in love with Mirandolina, Ripafratta's wounded pride explodes into an argument which threatens to end in tragedy, but Mirandolina intervenes and prevents it degenerating into a duel.[11]
Noticing the golden bottle in the basket and thinking it to be of little value, Forlipopoli takes it and gives it to Dejanira, one of two actresses who have just arrived at the inn pretending to be noblewomen. Since Ripafratta's love has finally become public,[12] Mirandolina's revenge is finally complete, but this brings the resentment of Albafiorita and Forlipopoli. Ripafratta then falls into a rage and begins to appear dangerous, at which point Mirandolina recognises that she may have gone too far. She decides instead to marry Fabrizio, as her father had advised on his deathbed[13] - she does not love him but she decides to take advantage of the situation as she knows the marriage won't be a real obstacle to her freedom. She regains possession of the bottle given to her by Ripafratta and the last scene ends as she turns to the male audience and urges them not to be deceived.
The play was one of those produced by the world-famous Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) in its first season.[15] This production opened in a double-bill with Greta's Happiness by Emilia Matthai on 2 December 1898.[15] It was directed by Constantin Stanislavski, who also played the misogynist Ripafratta.[16] Stanislavski directed the play in a second production at the MAT, which opened on 3 February 1914 after 112 rehearsals.[17] He played the role of Ripafratta once more.[18] The artist Alexandre Benois provided the scenic design for this production, which was conceived as a showcase for the actress Olga Gzovskaya.[19]
