 He parodied Homer to serve the cause of Antoine Houdar de La Motte, (1672–1731) an ingenious paradoxer; Marivaux had already done something similar for François Fénelon, whose "Telemachus" he parodied and updated as "Le Telemaque travesti" (written in 1714 but not published until 1736).His friendship with Antoine Houdar de La Motte introduced him to the "Mercure", the chief newspaper of France, and he started writing articles for it in 1717.His work was noted for its keen observation and literary skill.