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The Art of Being Bored
(Le monde où l'on s'ennuie)
Édouard Pailleron (1881)
Sub prefect Raymond and his bride are guests in the home of the pretentious and socially powerful Countess de Céran. Dominating this household is Professor Bellac, whose pedantic, pseudo-intellectual profundities keep the countess and her bluestocking friends in a constant state of swoon. The only dissenting voice is that of the countess's aunt, the old Duchess of Réville, who mocks this spawning ground of political and literary reputations.
Despite the fact that they find their surroundings ridiculous, Raymond and his wife manage to feign sufficient admiration for the countess and her circle to assure the sub-prefect's promotion.
Woven into this main plot is the romance of Roger de Céran, the countess's son, and Suzanne de Villiers, a relative and protégée of the countess. The two young lovers are finally united in spite of the fact that Suzanne has a temporary crush on Professor Bellac and that the countess is determined to marry her son to a lady of her own choosing.