These three scenes were inspired from a comedy in four acts of the same name by Edmond Audran, performed for the first time at the Théâtre de la Gaieté in Paris on 21 October 1896. A novice, from a very poor convent, is forced to marry to be entitled to an inheritance from his rich uncle. The prior, wanting to take advantage of this opportunity, finds a solution. The novice will marry an automaton and return to the convent. But a real young woman decides to take the place of the doll.
