By way of arranged marriage, young Silvia has been promised to a man named Dorante, whom she has never even met. Understandable, she is nervous about the arrangement, and when Dorante comes to visit her to formalize their engagement, she makes a request of her father and he obliges. Instead of letting Dorante know which one is Silvia, Silvia will dress like a servant so that she can deduce Dorante's true character. If he mistreats a servant, he will likely make a bad spouse, but if he treats Silvia with consideration, then maybe he has the makings of a good man.
However, Dorante is also planning to dress as a servant, for literally the same reasons. So when the two are finally introduced, Silvia believes that Dorante is himself, but Arlequin is pretending to be Dorante and Dorante is really the person Silvia thinks is Bourguignon the servant. Likewise, the person Dorante thinks is Lisette the servant is actually his fiancée in disguise. When the two false fiancés are dramatic and over the top, no one catches on.
But then the real Dorante and Silvia fall in love, unimpressed by the lavish exaggerations of the people they think are their fiancés. They believe they have done something seriously wrong, because now they think they're engaged to the wrong person. Dorante can't keep up the act for long, and he confesses that he's the real fiancé. Silvia is thrilled, but she decides to play it out to see how far Dorante will go in his love for the servant girl. Ultimately, they all figure out that both sides pulled the same trick on the other, but by this time, love has had its way, and the two couples marry: Dorante to Silvia, and Arlequin to Lisette.
