The Marriage of Figaro (1778), also known as The Madness of a Day, is a comedy play by Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais, first performed in 1784 after a protracted battle with political censors. The play is a sequel to The Barber of Seville and inverts the friendly dynamic between Figaro and Count Almaviva from the first play by turning them into romantic rivals. The play’s themes include The Problem of Deceit and the Power of Truth, Patriarchal Double Standards in Love and Marriage, and The Instability of Class Hierarchies. Like The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro was adapted as an opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1786. 

This guide uses the 2008 Oxford World’s Classics edition of The Marriage of Figaro, translated from French by David Coward.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide include depictions of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual content.

Plot Summary

As depicted in The Barber of Seville before the events of this play, Count Almaviva had won the hand of Rosine with the help of his resourceful servant, Figaro, outwitting her guardian, Dr. Bartholo. Figaro’s ingenuity had secured the marriage and bound him to the Count’s household, setting the stage for the conflicts that arise in The Marriage of Figaro.

The Marriage of Figaro takes place at the Count’s estate near Seville and unfolds over the course of a single day. Figaro and Suzanne prepare for their wedding and evaluate the room the Count has assigned them. Suzanne reveals that the Count, who once renounced an old feudal privilege over the brides of his servants, now hopes to seduce her. Figaro resolves to outmaneuver his master and protect his marriage.

Marceline, the housekeeper, reminds Figaro that he owes her money and that he signed a contract promising to marry her if he fails to repay the debt. She conspires with Dr. Bartholo, who still resents Figaro for his earlier interference in Rosine’s marriage, to compel Figaro to honor the agreement. Meanwhile, the Count instructs his page, Cherubin, to depart for military service after discovering him hiding in Suzanne’s room. Cherubin, infatuated with women and particularly devoted to the Countess, sings of love and is repeatedly concealed to avoid detection.

The Countess laments her husband’s repeated infidelities. Suzanne and Figaro enlist her assistance in exposing the Count’s intentions. They devise a plan in which Suzanne will agree to meet the Count secretly, while Cherubin, disguised in women’s clothing, will take her place to embarrass the Count. As they prepare the disguise, the Count arrives unexpectedly. Cherubin hides in a closet. The Count, suspicious, hears noises and demands entry. Suzanne slips out, freeing Cherubin, and takes his place in the closet. When the door is opened, Suzanne emerges, confounding the Count’s suspicions. Cherubin escapes by leaping from a window. When Antonio the gardener claims that a pot was broken and his flowers trampled, Figaro claims that it was he who leapt from the window. The Count remains suspicious.

The Count, frustrated, continues to pursue Suzanne. Figaro receives an anonymous letter warning the Count that the Countess plans a secret meeting. The Count becomes jealous and demands to know its source. Figaro deflects suspicion. 

Meanwhile, Marceline presses her legal claim before a magistrate, Don Gusman. During the trial, Figaro argues that he cannot marry Marceline because he does not know his parents. Marceline recognizes a birthmark on Figaro and reveals that he is her long-lost son, abducted in infancy. Bartholo is identified as his father. The marriage contract is nullified, and Marceline and Bartholo decide to marry each other, thereby legitimizing Figaro and allowing him to marry Suzanne.

Antonio, the gardener and Suzanne’s uncle, complains again that someone has trampled his flowers by jumping from the Countess’s window. Figaro repeats that he is responsible, stating he leapt to avoid being seen with Suzanne. The Count produces a commission proving that Cherubin was ordered to join the regiment and points out that the page lacks the official seal. Suzanne produces the missing seal, which she had taken earlier, further confusing the Count.

As evening approaches, the Countess dictates a letter to the Count, proposing a secret meeting in the garden. Suzanne writes it out, and they seal it with a pin. The count receives the letter and agrees to the rendezvous. During the wedding festivities of Figaro and Suzanne, Cherubin reappears disguised as a girl among the peasants, presenting flowers to the Countess. Antonio exposes him, and the Count prepares to send him away again as others plead for him to be allowed to stay.

In the garden at night, the final confusions unfold. The Countess and Suzanne exchange clothes so that the Count will mistake the Countess for Suzanne. Figaro overhears part of the plan and believes Suzanne intends to meet the Count. He resolves to thwart the encounter and hides to observe. In the darkness, characters mistake one another. The Count courts the Countess, believing her to be Suzanne, and gives her a ring. Figaro encounters Suzanne, disguised as the Countess, and speaks to her as if she were the noblewoman, declaring his loyalty. Suzanne, thinking he is unfaithful, strikes him, but he reveals that he recognized her voice.

The Count attempts to seduce the disguised Countess and arranges to meet her in the pavilion. Figaro teases the Count by addressing the disguised Countess as though she were the Count’s wife. The Count, enraged, calls for witnesses and accuses his wife of impropriety. He demands punishment. The true Countess steps forward and reveals the deception. The Count realizes he has been exposed and begs his wife’s forgiveness before the assembled company. She grants it.

The play concludes with reconciliations and celebrations. Figaro and Suzanne’s marriage proceeds, Marceline and Bartholo are united, and Cherubin’s fate remains uncertain as he prepares to depart. The intrigues of the day resolve in forgiveness and restored order within the household.