Birgit Cullberg’s The School For Wives (Hustruskolan) is a comedic ballet based freely on Molières The School For Wives (1662). The work centers around the middle-aged bourgeois man Arnolphe and a young loving couple, Agnes and Horace. Arnolphe has raised Agnes in isolation in hopes of marrying her when she comes of age. He regards her as a simple and foolish young woman, unable to grasp the complexities of the world, and attempts to keep it that way in order that she marry and remain faithful to him.
But Agnes, strengthened by her new found love for Horace and her will to live, outsmarts her guardian and continues to meet Horace. A number of twists ensue, including two cases of mistaken identity. Finally, through a final plot turn, Arnolphe’s schemes are rendered ineffective and young Agnes continues her relationship with Horace.
As in a much of Cullberg’s work, a central theme of the ballet revolves around an old man’s vain attempt to win a young girl’s heart. Furthermore, themes of loneliness and longing for unattainable love are present in the work. Additionally, a complicating factor in the work is that Arnolphe is truly in love with Agnes, shading the humorous elements with more complexity and lending the comedic a human, if not tragic, touch. The School For Wives is an example of Cullberg’s ability to deploy humor with subtlety and grace.
The School For Wives was first recorded for television in the United States by the same production company at the University of Wisconsin that also filmed The Dreamer. The School For Wives was moved to the stage in 1974.