A once highly applauded performance, Les Sincères involves two couples, a master and his mistress, and a valet and a maid. The Marquise wants to love sincerely, but she does this through negative comments towards others and wishes to receive only positive ones. Although words of praise bother her, she wants others to acknowledge the grief that they cause her. She is vain, but she does not want her chambermaid to think so. Ergaste, her alter ego, claims that he has the ability to be sincere and insists that others believe him. If he had to lie to seem frank, he would do it. He prides himself on his ability to amaze and to be unique. He once realised himself guilty, just because it was his right. After having her heart dulled by Dorante’s gentleness, the Marquise seeks refuge in Ergaste. The world is filled with nothing but flattery; in all her life, he was the only man she found to be sincere.
