Ring around the Moon

Ring around the Moon Summary | Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

Ring Around the Moon is Jean Anouilh's three-act play about the power of money and the relationships forged and broken in the name of love, or lack of it. This charade takes place in one evening at a French chateau in the late 1940s.

The play is set in a French estate in a Winter Garden on a spring morning. Although the exact date is not noted, the play was written in 1947, and it is assumed that the play's action is current. The action takes place in a large conservatory filled with hothouse flowers and plants. It is important to note that the characters of Hugo and Frederic are twins and are played by the same actor, accounting for some of the rapid stage directions.

As the play begins, a butler named Joshua and a young aristocrat named Hugo are discussing Hugo's twin brother Frederic's strange behavior of sleeping in the rhododendron bushes outside the window of Frederic's fiancye, Diana Messerschmann. Diana and her father, a multimillionaire, are guests at the estate belonging to Madame Desmortes, aunt to Hugo, Frederic and a young woman named Lady India.

Joshua and Hugo continue to discuss Frederic's strange behavior, which the men attribute to Frederic's emotional temperament combined with the rapture of love. Joshua reminds Hugo that he is ten minutes older than his twin, Frederic, which must account for Hugo's more mature demeanor. Hugo resolves to speak to Frederic about his erratic behavior and leaves Joshua.

Frederic appears in the conservatory and asks Joshua if Diana has come down from her room yet this morning. Joshua assures Frederic that he has not yet seen Diana and proceeds to question Frederic on his odd sleeping patterns lately. The gardener intends to set wolf traps in the shrubbery because he thinks it is a four-legged creature ruining the rhododendrons.

Diana enters the conservatory making some joke about confusing Frederic with Hugo, and Frederic's mood is temporarily daunted. Frederic claims to be like Hugo in appearance only, as the hearts of the two brothers are completely different. Diana continues to taunt Frederic about the possibility of confusing the two brothers, and Frederic frantically attempts to secure Diana's affections.

Frederic and Diana kiss and then leave the conservatory just as Lady India and a man named Patrice Bombelles enter. Patrice is Mr. Messerschmann's secretary, and Miss India is Messerschmann's mistress. In spite of the complications, Lady India and Patrice have been engaged in an affair, and Patrice is worried that Messerschmann may learn about the indiscretion at any time, a fact which could negatively impact the financial situation they both enjoy.

Patrice is especially wary of Hugo, who is known for his unorthodox behavior and love of confusing people by copying everything of Frederic's, even down to wearing the same type of clothes. Lady India assures Patrice that Messerschmann will never catch on to Hugo's subtle clues and actually seems to enjoy the bit of intrigue that her affair with Patrice has created in her life. Lady India feels that Messerschmann should feel fortunate that she entertains him at all and is not about to challenge the status quo.

Patrice and Lady India exit as Madame Desmortes' companion, Capulet, followed closely by Hugo, wheels her into the conservatory. Madame Desmortes and Hugo are discussing Mr. Messerschmann, who in spite of his immense wealth insists upon eating noodles devoid of butter or salt for every meal. Hugo also shares the fact that Lady India is engaging in an affair with Messerschmann, but Madame Desmortes, Lady India's aunt, finds that information difficult to believe.

Madame Desmortes is now afraid that people will assume that she asked Messerschmann to visit the chateau so that he and Lady India can further their relationship. Hugo reminds his aunt that the Messerschmanns are visiting by Frederic's request so that Frederic may announce his engagement to Diana.

This union is not blessed by Madame Desmortes because she feels that Diana is too aggressive for the mild-mannered Frederic and will completely ruin Frederic's life. Hugo implies that the marriage may between Frederic and Diana may not occur, but Madame Desmortes is not so sure. Mr. Messerschmann and an arts patron named Romainville enter the conservatory and exchange pleasantries with Madame Desmortes, who tires of the situation and orders Capulet to wheel her away with Messerschmann following.

Hugo approaches Romainville to discuss a young lady named Isabelle arriving on the noon train along with her mother. Romainville has arranged for Isabelle to stay in a local inn so that he may visit her several times a week. Romainville claims that the act is purely one of supporting the arts, as Isabelle is a dancer and needs a holiday.

Hugo threatens to tell Madame Desmortes that Romainville is having an affair with Isabelle unless Romainville agrees to introduce Isabelle as his niece and let Isabelle stay at the chateau instead of the inn. She must take part in one of Hugo's schemes. Romainville reluctantly agrees, and the two men go in to lunch at the sound of the luncheon gong.

Joshua soon appears with Isabelle and her mother, but Joshua leaves for a moment to retrieve Hugo to greet the women. Isabelle's mother is in awe at the luxury of the estate and feels that her dreams of Isabelle marrying a rich man may come true soon. Isabelle assures her mother that she, Isabelle, has been invited to dance for an event and that romance is not on the agenda.

Hugo enters and greets Isabelle and her mother. He shares the fact that Isabelle is not to dance tonight but must merely attend a ball at the estate and be the most beautiful woman there. Isabelle is skeptical, but Hugo assures her that she will be paid for her time and that the beautiful ball gown she will wear will be hers to keep. Hugo impresses the importance of secrecy on Isabelle and her mother and returns to the dining room. Joshua escorts the ladies to their rooms, as Isabelle and her mother speak of Hugo's high potential for marriage.