The Mistress of the Inn (the original italian title is La Locandiera, which may be translated as The Innkeeper Woman or Mirandolina, the name of the titular mistress) is a 1753 three-act comedy by Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni, which is often regarded as his masterpiece and his best known play.
The story follows Mirandolina, a beautiful innkeeper who irresistibly charms every man that stays at the inn. Among her amorous conquests, there are the Marquis of Forlimpopoli, an Impoverished Patrician, and the Count of Albafiorita, a rich bourgeois who bought his title and who routinely showers her with gifts.
Mirandolina, however, is completely uninterested in either of them: the only thing she desires is the attention of others, and she is bored by the men who fall for her too easily.
However the inn also accomodates the Knight of Ripafratta, a staunch misogynist who hates all women, including, of course, the protagonist. Piqued by this behaviour, Mirandolina decides to win the affection of the Knight just because of the challenge it poses, starting the main plot of the play.
This work provides examples of the following tropes:
- Arbitrarily Large Bank Account: The Count is perfectly fine with giving away any sum of money for the most futile of reasons, and he also keeps gifting Mirandolina with expensive objects without ever demanding concrete obligations to marry him on her part. He seems to be so rich that every expense in the play amounts to pocket money for him.
- Character Catchphrase: '"Son chi sono [e mi si deve portar rispetto]'" (Ing: "I am who I am [and I am to be respected]"), said by the Marquis. It serves to show his elitist mentality, which attributes to him a special status only because of his origins.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Marquis, the Count and the Knight are always referred to by their titles, by both the script and the characters. The Servant of the Count and the Servant of the Knight also get the same treatment.
- Female Misogynist: In Act Two Mirandolina pretends to consider all women liars and untrustworthy in order to obtain the trust of the Knight, who thinks this way. The sublime Irony of the whole situation is certainly not lost on the spectator.
- He-Man Woman Hater: The Knight of Ripafratta holds all women in contempt, and considers them a plague upon mankind. How the Knight came to have this worldview is never explained, and is explicitly pointed out by other characters that prior to falling in love with Mirandolina and being rejected by her in the last act he never had any cases of tormented or negated love. This trait is the reason why Mirandolina wants to conquer his heart above all else.
- Impoverished Patrician: The Marquis of Forlimpopoli has nothing of value besides his title, apparently because he and his father have dilapitated their fortune. He still tries to woo Mirandolina with gifts, but he can only give her cheap presents that he tries to pass as beautiful gifts and which, moreover, were purchased with money lent to them by another.
- Miser Advisor: Due to his poverty, the Marquis is quick to moonch things from his friends, sometimes even resorting to made-up excuses in order to get money from them.
- Nouveau Riche: The Count of Albafiorita, unlike the Marquis, was a rich bourgeois who bought a title of nobility. He showers Mirandolina with ludicrously expensive gifts, such as a diamond ring, in the hope of buying her love. While his tactic is indeed more successfull than that of the Marquis, Mirandolina is still uninterested in him, as she values her freedom and the attention she receives from her clients more important than the riches promised by the Count.
- Posthumous Character: Mirandolina's father died six months before the start of the play, but his last will was for Mirandolina to marry Fabrizio, the waiter, which is what ends up happening, in no small part thanks to said last will.
- Small Name, Big Ego: The Marquis, despite being absolutely broke, is the most self-important of all the characters, and considers himself superior to every other person just because of his ancient (and now empty) title.
