The play Le Petit-fils de M. Prudhomme (M. Prudhomme’s Grandson) is part of the volume Paris-Pantin : deuxième série des “Pupazzi” (Paris-Puppet: second instalment of the “Pupazzi”) published in 1868. In this book, the plays are preceded by several prologues, often improvised by Lemercier de Neuville before his performances.

As was the case in the two instalments of the first Pupazzi series (1866), the author creates his texts from contemplations of his time, portraits of personalities and accounts of recent events; for instance, one of the main character is named Benoiton as a nod to Victorien Sardou and to his comedy in five acts La Famille Benoîton (The Benoîton Family) performed for the first time in Paris at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in 1865. Later, the proper noun “Benoîton” gave the adjective “benoîton” used in French to refer to wealthy people who exchanged their values for material wealth.

Monsieur Prudhomme is an emblematic character created by Henry Monnier (1799-1877), a French illustrator, caricaturist, and playwright. This character is a satire of the bourgeois man of Monnier’s time, symbolising the pretentiousness, rigid morality and conservative mind of the bourgeoisie during the first half of the 19th century.

M. Prudhomme and Madame Benoiton are impatiently expecting the birth of their first grandson. As soon as he is born, they start arguing about his future career: will he be a Zouave, a liberal writer, a manufacturer, a magistrate, a musician, a farmer or a poet? Every suggestion leads to criticism, showing their different opinions and prejudices about each job. However, the lively discussion does not come to a conclusion, and the issue of the grandson’s future remains open.