This expression doesn’t only mean that you come from the French city of Arles in Provence.
Why do I need to know jouer l’Arlésienne?
This French expression comes from a French literary classic.
What does it mean?
The expression jouer l’Arlésienne, roughly pronounced zway lar-lay-zyen (listen here), means to be constantly talked about but never actually appear.
The word Arlésienne is used to describe a person originally from the French city of Arles, famous for being the place that inspired the painter Vincent Van Gogh.
In 1866, French writer Alphonse Daudet published a short story in which he introduced the character of l’Arlésienne. Six years later, it was adapted into an opera, telling the story of a man who fell in love with an Arlésienne (girl from Arles) that he met. As they were about to get married, he realised that his fiancée was unfaithful.
He calls off the wedding and takes his own life. But at no point does the Arlésienne in question, around whom the plot revolves, appear on stage.
Gradually, the term found its way into every day French language. Today, when one says jouer l’Arlésienne, it means someone everyone talks about or is waiting for, but who keeps a low profile or remains absent.
A similar English equivalent is the play Waiting for Godot, in which the title character of Godot also never appears, although this is used more as a reference, rather than a phrase in itself, in English.
Use it like this
Il joue l’Arlésienne, on l’attend depuis trop longtemps ! – He’s never going to show up; we’ve been waiting for him for too long.
Arrête de jouer l’Arlésienne et sors avec nous. – Stop being a no-show and come out with us.
Jan ne parla plus de l’Arlésienne. Il l’aimait toujours cependant, et même plus que jamais, depuis qu’on la lui avait montrée dans les bras d’un autre. Seulement il était trop fier pour rien dire ; c’est ce qui le tua, le pauvre enfant ! (Alphonse Daudet, Les Lettres de mon moulin, L’Arlésienne) – Jan never spoke of the girl from Arles again. He still loved her, however, and even more than ever since he had seen her in another man’s arms. But he was too proud to say anything; that was what killed him, the poor lad! (extract from Alphonse Daudet’s short story L’Arlésienne)
