We have read all the plays in which Molière satirised doctors and we know why. In 17th century Europe, medicine was not sufficiently advanced for doctors to help patients. However, there were doctors. The sick sought their assistance believing they could be cured. They could not be cured and doctors knew. Yet, doctors collected fees that made many of them wealthy. As well, there were charlatans. I omitted a short scene in which L’Amour médecin’s Sganarelle goes to buy orviétan[1] from a charlatan.
(seul) Me voilà justement un peu plus incertain que je n’étais auparavant. Morbleu, il me vient une fantaisie. Il faut que j’aille acheter de l’orviétan, et que je lui en fasse prendre. L’orviétan est un remède dont beaucoup de gens se sont bien trouvés. Sganarelle (II. vi, p. 13)
[(the two doctors leave) Here I am now a little more uncertain than I was before. The devil! A fantasy has come to me. I have to go buy some snake oil and make her take it — snake oil is a remedy which many people are very fond of.] Sganarelle (II. 6, pp. 16-17)
Thibaut and his son Perrin consult Sganarelle, who has been made into a doctor. Thibaut tells Sganarelle that Perrin’s mother suffers from hypocrisie (hypocrisy).
Alle est malade d’hypocrisie, Monsieu. Thibaut to Sganarelle (III. ii, p. 24)
[She’s got the hypocrisy, Sir.] Thibaut to Sganarelle (III. 2, p. 24)
The use of the word hypocrisie instead of hydropisie is ironic, but consistent with Molière’s satirical portrayal of doctors. Moreover, Sganarelle is not hearing anything because he has yet to be paid. After he is paid deux écus, Sganarelle can hear, which is another satirical element:
Voilà un garçon qui parle clairement, qui s’explique comme il faut. Vous dites que votre mère est malade d’hydropisie, qu’elle est enflée par tout le corps, qu’elle a la fièvre, avec des douleurs dans les jambes : et qu’il lui prend, parfois, des syncopes, et des convulsions, c’est-à-dire des évanouissements ? Sganarelle to Perrin (III. ii, p. 24)
[Now I understand! Here’s a boy who speaks clearly and explains things as he should. You say your mother is suffering from hydropsia, is swollen everywhere, and has a fever, with pains in the legs, and sometime she is taken with fits and convulsions, that is to say, with fainting?] Sganarelle to Perrin (III. 2, p. 39)
Sganarelle has learned that doctors collect first. However, he can hear hydropisie, dropsy, instead of hypocrisie and his diagnostic could be accurate.
I will insert these omissions in their appropriate posts.
I wrote one chapter of my thesis on George Dandin. I re-read it during the week-end and I had the feeling I was reading a text written by an author other than myself. I have also written a post on George Dandin. He is an agroikós, a rustic character, featured in Middle Greek comedy. The comedy of Ancient Greece, Attic comedy, is usually divided into three periods and I will associate at least one writer which each period. Greece’s best-known comic playwrights are:
Aristophanes (c. 446 – c. 386 BCE) is associated with Old Comedy,
Antiphanes (c. 408 to 334 BCE), with Middle Comedy (the agroikos), and
Menander (c. 342/41 – c. 290 BCE) with New Comedy.
I should also mention Philemon (c. 362 BCE– c. 262 BCE). He is associated with New Comedy.
Molière was also familiar with Rome’s Atellanfarce and with the comedies of Rome’s Plautus (c. 254 – 184 BCE) and Terence (c. 195/185 – c. 159? BC). As well, he knew the commedia dell’arte‘s stock characters. These may be archetypes and are discussed in Northrop Frye‘s Anatomy of Criticism(1959), which, I believe, is essential reading. We have seen the alazṓn, the blocking character of comedy, and the eirôn, the alazṓn’s opponent. The alazṓn has many names. I have also mentioned the pharmakós. The pharmakós is the scapegoat.
George Dandin is an agroikos. This play was discussed in a post, but the pastorals were not. They are:
____________________ [1]L’orviétan était un remède miracle, une sorte de panacée qu’un charlatan italien, Jeronimo Ferranti, prétendait avoir apporté d’Orvieto et qui fut vendu avec beaucoup de succès par lui-même et ses descendants jusqu’au XVIIIe siècle. [Orvietan was a miracle cure, a sort of panacea that an Italian charlatan, Jeronimo Ferranti, claimed he brought from Orvieto, and which he and his descendants sold successfully until the 18th century.] toutmolière.net
[2]I have used the wordagôn. It means struggle and appears in several contexts. (See Agôn, Wiki2.org.)
Géronte, père (father)de Lucinde. Lucinde, fille (daughter)de Géronte. Léandre, amant (lover) de Lucinde. Sganarelle, mari (husband)de Martine. Martine, femme (wife) de Sganarelle. M. Robert, voisin (neighbour) de Sganarelle. Valère, domestique (servant)de Géronte. Lucas, mari (husband) de Jacqueline. Jacqueline, nourrice (wet-nurse) chez Géronte, et femme de Lucas. Thibaud, père(father)de Perrin. (peasant) Perrin, fils(son)de Perrin.
it was performed during the years Molière spent outside Paris, under different titles, and, before 1666, in Paris, under different titles;
it premièred in Paris, as Le Médecin malgré lui, on 6 August 1666, at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal;
according to Maurice Rat[1], it was preceded by, or played along a version of La Médecin malgré lui written by Donneau de Visé, entitled La Mère coquette (1665);
in the Vilain Mire, the king’s daughter can no longer speak because she has swallowed a fishbone;
other antecedents are Italian stories and El Acero de Madrid (Lope de Vega) and Tirso de Molina‘s La Fingida Arcadia;
Molière’s Médecin malgré lui (The Doctor in spite of himself) differs from Le Médecin volant (The Flying Doctor) and L’Amour médecin. Yes, mere clothes will transform Martine’s abusive husband into a doctor and will turn Léandre, our young lover, into an apothicary. But we have left the houses of well-to-do bourgeois to enter the dilapidated home Sganarelle shares with Martine and their children. He drinks away the money he earns as a woodcutter, while his wife takes care of four children.
J’ai quatre pauvres petits enfants sur les bras. Martine à Sganarelle (I. I, p. 2)
[I have four little children on my hands.] Martine to Sganarelle (I. 1, p. 4)
So he tells her to put them down:
Met-les à terre. Martine à Sganarelle (I. I, p. 2)
[Try putting them down.] Sganarelle à Martine (I. 1, p. 4)
A neighbour, who has heard screams, tries to rescue Martine, but she and Sganarelle push him away, which may indicate fear on the part of Martine:
Mêlez-vous de vos affaires. Martine à Monsieur Robert (I. ii, p. 4) [Mind your own business.] Martine à Monsieur Robert (I. 2, p. 4)
Yet, Martine resents being married to Sganarelle and says so in I. iii, p. 5: I. 3, p. 9. Cocuage, cuckolding is used in mis-marriages. But Martine has a harsher revenge in mind and is mulling the question.
At this point, she bumps into Valère and Lucas who are employees of Géronte, an older man, as the word suggests, and a well-to-do bourgeois. They are looking for a doctor who would cure Lucinde, Géronte’s daughter. She know longer speaks. Martine claims her husband is the man they need, but that he will resist and may have to be beaten.
La folie de celui-ci est plus grande qu’on ne peut croire: car elle va, parfois, jusqu’à vouloir être battu, pour demeurer d’accord de sa capacité: et je vous donne avis que vous n’en viendrez pas à bout, qu’il n’avouera jamais, qu’il est médecin, s’il se le met en fantaisie, que vous ne preniez, chacun, un bâton, et ne le réduisiez à force de coups, à vous confesser à la fin, ce qu’il vous cachera d’abord. C’est ainsi que nous en usons, quand nous avons besoin de lui. Martine à Valère et Lucas (I. iv, p. 7)
[This one’s even crazier than you might think, because he will even let himself be beaten while denying who he is, and I advise you not to ask him point blank, because he will never admit he is a doctor, so great is his eccentricity, unless you take a stick and reduce him by repeated blows to admit to you at last what he denied before. That’s how we go about it when we need his services.] Martine to Valère and Lucas (I. 4, p. 11)
So beating Sganarelle is what Valère and Lucas must do to convince him that he is a doctor.
V. Puisque vous le voulez, il faut s’y résoudre. Ils prennent un bâton, et le frappent.
Sg. Ah! ah! ah! Messieurs, je suis tout ce qu’il vous plaira. Valère à Sganarelle (I. v. p. 11)
[V. Since you insist on having it this way, then, we must convince you.
(They each take a stick and beat him.)] Valère to Sganarelle (I. 5, pp. 17-18)
Valère and Lucas threaten more blows, so Sganarelle ends up accepting to be a doctor.
Sganarelle is about to be introduced to Géronte, but Jacqueline protests. All Lucinde needs is:
… un biau et bon mari, pour qui elle eût de l’amiquié Jacqueline à Géronte(II. i, p. 13) [a fine, handsome husband, one that she even likes.] Jacqueline to Géronte (II. 1, p. 22)
Géronte insists that Léandre is not what Lucinde needs. Léandre has no money.
Ja. Que ne preniais-vous ce Monsieu Liandre, qui li touchait au cœur? Alle aurait été fort obéissante: et je m’en vas gager qu’il la prendrait li, comme alle est, si vous la li vouillais donner.
Gé. Ce Léandre n’est pas ce qu’il lui faut: il n’a pas du bien comme l’autre. Jacqueline à Géronte (II. i, pp. 13-14)
[Ja. Why could you not contract with Mister Leandre, who touches her heart? She would have been very obedient; and I’d bet that he’d take her – even as is – if you arranged to give her to him.
Gé. This Leandre does not have what it takes. He lacks the means of the other.] Jacqueline to Géronte (II. 1, p. 22)
When Sganarelle meets Géronte, he hits him with a bat (un bâton), which turns him into a doctor. They make up. He notices Jacqueline, the wet-nurse, and would like to be the baby she is looking after. Lucas, Jacqueline’s husband, objects:
Avec moi, tant qu’il vous plaira: mais avec ma femme, trêve de sarimonie. Lucas à Sganarelle (II. ii, p.16)
[With me, share as much as you like. But with my wife, drop the ceremony.] Lucas to Sganarelle (II. 2, p. 27)
Sganarelle meets Lucinde and says:
Voilà une malade qui n’est pas tant dégoûtante: et je tiens qu’un homme bien sain s’en accommoderait assez. Sganarelle à tous(II. iv, p. 17) [This patient’s not too terribly repulsive, and I think a good healthy man might well improve her condition.] Sganarelle to all (II. 4, p. 28)
Sganarelle speaks Latin, states that the liver is on the left side and the heart, on the right side. He uses a Hebrew word. Everyone is impressed. But Géronte tells him that one thing shocks him. The heart is on the left side and the liver on the right side. Sganarelle explains that doctors are using a new method.
He then suggests that Lucinde be served bread dipped in wine. However, he would like to examine Jacqueline who says she is just fine. He suggests a little blood-letting and a clyster, an enema. People who look very healthy may be sick. Géronte gives him money which he refuses as he takes it.
Léandre walks in to ask for Sganarelle’s assistance. Sganarelle is as uncouth as ever, but having learned that Lucinde is feigning illness to avoid marrying a man she does not love, Sganarelle accepts to assist in bringing the lovers together.
ACT THREE
clothes make the man (doctor, apothicary)
Sganarelle will be a doctor
Lucinde speaks
Léandre takes Lucinde away
Sganarelle to be hanged
Martine returns
Lovers return, Léandre’s inheritance
Géronte will allow the lovers to marry
Léandre is dressed as an apothecary. He hopes he will not be recognized and would appreciate knowing a few medical terms.
Il me semble que je ne suis pas mal ainsi, pour un apothicaire: et comme le père ne m’a guère vu, ce changement d’habit, et de perruque, est assez capable, je crois, de me déguiser à ses yeux. Léandre à Sganarelle (III. i, p. 23)
[It seems to me that I wouldn’t make a bad apothecary; and as her father has barely ever seen me, these clothes and this wig should be enough, I think, to disguise me.] Léandre to Sganarelle (III. 1, p. 37)
Sganarelle tells him that he was made into a doctor, putting the clothes on, and will remain a doctor because it pays. Léandre pays him and everyone believes he is “a gifted man.”
Je ne sais point sur quoi cette imagination leur est venue: mais quand j’ai vu qu’à toute force, ils voulaient que je fusse médecin, je me suis résolu de l’être, aux dépens de qui il appartiendra. Cependant, vous ne sauriez croire comment l’erreur s’est répandue: et de quelle façon, chacun est endiablé à me croire habile homme. Sganarelle à Léandre (III. ii, p. 23) [I don’t know how this idea came to them; but when I saw that they would stop at nothing to have me be a doctor, I resolved to become one, at no matter whose expense. You wouldn’t believe how the error spread, and in what way each person was bound and determined to believe that I was a gifted man.] Sganarelle to Léandre (III. 2, p. 38)
Thibaut and his son Perrin visit Sganarelle. Thibaut says that Perrin’s mother suffers from “hypocrisie,” (hypocrisy). Sganarelle will not hear Perrin until he is given deux écus. He then diagnoses hydropisie (dropsy). It could be that Perrin’s mother suffers from dropsy. (III. ii, p. 23-24; III. 2, p.
Géronte cannot find his daugther, nor Jacqueline, her husband. (Sc. 4.) But Géronte finds Sganarelle. The remedy prescribed by Sganarelle has not worked. He then sees the apothecary, whom Sganarelle needs. (Sc. 5.)
Jacqueline notices that Lucinde is walking. Géronte believes this will do her good. Meanwhile Sganarelle pulls Géronte away and holds him preventing him from seeing what the apothecary and his daughter are doing.
Cela lui fera du bien. Allez-vous-en, Monsieur l’Apothicaire, tâter un peu son pouls, afin que je raisonne tantôt, avec vous, de sa maladie. (En cet endroit, il tire Géronte à un bout du théâtre, et lui passant un bras sur les épaules, lui rabat la main sous le menton, avec laquelle il le fait retourner vers lui, lorsqu’il veut regarder ce que sa fille et l’apothicaire font ensemble, lui tenant, cependant, le discours suivant pour l’amuser.) Sganarelle à l’apothicaire (III. vi, p. 27)
[That will do her good. (To Leandre.) Go on then, Mister Apothecary, take her pulse, so that I can confer with you about her illness. (At this point, he pulls Géronte to one end of the stage, and putting an arm on his shoulders, he puts his free hand under his chin, which he directs towards himself, as Géronte would rather gain a glimpse of what his daughter and the apothecary are doing. In so doing, Sganarelle delivers the following distracting discourse.)] Sganarelle to the apothecary (III. 6, p. 43)
Sganarelle has just liberated Lucinde. Her lover is leading her out of the house.
Géronte says he will make sure his daughter does not see Léandre and Sganarelle agrees. But Lucinde reappears and tells her father:
Non, je ne suis point du tout capable de changer de sentiment. Lucinde à Géronte (III. vi, p. 27) [No, I am not at all capable of changing my feelings.] Lucinde to Géronte (III. 6, p. 44)
Géronte’s first reaction is one of joy. His daughter can speak.
Voilà ma fille qui parle. Ô grande vertu du remède! Ô admirable médecin! Que je vous suis obligé, Monsieur, de cette guérison merveilleuse: et que puis-je faire pour vous après un tel service? Géronte à Sganarelle (III. vi, p. 27)
[Look! My daughter’s talking! O great glorious remedy! O admirable doctor! How can I ever thank you for this amazing cure! And what could I ever do for you after such a service!] Géronte to Sganarelle (III. 6, p. 44)
But now that she can speak, Lucinde speaks her mind. She will marry Léandre, not Horace.
Oui, mon père, j’ai recouvré la parole: mais je l’ai recouvrée pour vous dire, que je n’aurai jamais d’autre époux que Léandre, et que c’est inutilement que vous voulez me donner Horace. Lucinde à Géronte (III. vi, p. 27) [Yes, father, I’ve recovered my speech; but I have recovered it in order to tell you that I will have no other husband than Leandre, and that it is useless for you to force Horace on me.] Lucinde to Géronte (III. 6, p. 44) Et je me jetterai plutôt dans un couvent que d’épouser un homme que je n’aime point. Lucinde à Géronte (III. vi, p. 28)
[And I would rather throw myself into a nunnery than marry a man I do not love at all.] Lucinde to Géronte (III. 6, p. 45) J’épouserai plutôt la mort. Lucinde to Géronte (III. vi, p. 28)
[I would rather marry death.] Lucinde to Géronte (III. 6, p. 45)[2]
Sganarelle calls the apothecary and suggests “a purgative flight” and matrimonium (marriage).
Pour moi, je n’y en vois qu’un seul [remède], qui est une prise de fuite purgative, que vous mêlerez comme il faut, avec deux drachmes de matrimonium en pilules. Sganarelle à l’apothicaire (III. vi, p. 29)
For myself, I only see one way to do it, which is the taking of a purgative flight, that you will mix as you must with two grams of matrimonium and administer in pills. Sganarelle to the apothecary (III. 6, p. 46)
Lucas reports that Lucinde has gone away with the apothecary. Sganarelle will be hanged.
Comment, m’assassiner de la façon. Allons, un commissaire, et qu’on empêche qu’il ne sorte. Ah traître, je vous ferai punir par la justice. Géronte à Lucas et Sganarelle (III. viii, p. 30) Ah par ma fi, Monsieu le Médecin, vous serez pendu, ne bougez de là seulement. Lucas à Sganarelle (III. viii, p. 30) [What! Kill me in this way! Immediately, get me a Commissioner! And bar him from leaving! Traitor! I will have you punished by the letter of the law.] Géronte to Sganarelle (III. 8, p. 48)
[Yes! Sir Doctor, you will hang. Don’t budge from the spot.] Lucas to Sganarelle (III. 8, p. 48)
Martine, Sganarelle’s wife, has been looking for her husband and hears that he will be hanged. But Lucinde and Léandre return and Léandre asks for Lucinde’s hand saying that he has just come into a substantial inheritance. Hearing that Léandre has money convinces Géronte. His daughter may marry Léandre. All’s well that ends well.
Molière has used a deus ex machina and kairos so Sganarelle is not hanged. The young couple learns about Léandre’s inheritance and come to tell Géronte at exactly the right or opportune moment. Sganarelle is about to be hanged. Kairos is a device found in fairy tales, mainly. In ancient Greece, time had two dimensions: chronosand kairos. Moreover, it so happens that Martine, Sganarelle’s wife is looking for her husband. The Sganarelle Martine finds is not altogether the same as the husband who was tricked into blows. In fact, he has facilitated the young lovers’ marriage. He prescribed a quick flight and marriage, when Léandre was still an apothicary or disguised. Sganarelle is younger than Géronte, but Géronte is raising a baby. So, there also been a doubling of the father figure.
The conversation among doctors in L’Amour médecin is exemplary, but what Sganarelle has learned and told Léandre is also a good description of doctors. Doctors lack the means to cure most illnesses, but know that when a person is sick, he or she will seek the help of a doctor. Doctors get rich preying on the fear of death. They are parasites and impostors, or, simply put, hypocrites. They can only make believe they can help the sick.
My colleague Ralph Albanese Jr has written about the dynamism of fear in Molière. Lucinde would rather be dead than married to Horace. Sganarelle beats his wife; he is beaten by Valère and Lucas and he hits Géronte. Géronte fears Lucinde will not recover. This is genuine fear.
In short, Le Médecin malgrélui is a comedy, but it is farcical in that it includes physical humour: blows. But at the end of the play, the sticks have disappeared and Martine will be the wife of a respected doctor. The clothes fit and they make the man. They bring him patients and money. Most importantly, Léandre and Lucinde will marry, as comedy dictates.
____________________ [1]Maurice Rat, ed., Œuvres complètes de Molière (Paris: Éditions Gallimard, coll. La Pléiade, 1956), p. 945. [2] Cf. Rabelais, Tiers Livre, chap. XXXIV, où la femme qui a retrouvé l’usage de sa langue parle tant et tant « que le mari retourna au médicin pour remède de la faire taire. Le médicin répondit […] remède unique estre surdité du mary contre cesty interminable parlement de femme. » (toutmoliere.net)
“where a husband returns to the doctor for a remedy that will shut up his wife. The doctor responds […] that the only remedy is deafness on the part of the husband against this endless chatting of women.”
Love to everyone 💕
Charles Gounod – LE MÉDECIN MALGRÉ LUI – Sextet: “Eh bien! charmante demoiselle” Han, hi, hon, han, han, hi, hon is Lucinde’s language.
Sganarelle (father of Lucinda) (Moliere)
Lucinda
Clitandre (lover to Lucinda)
Lucrece (cousin of Sganarelle)
Lisette (Lucinda’s servant)
Aminte (neighbor of Sganarelle)
Mr. Guillame (a seller of tapestry)
Mr. Josse
Dr. Tomes
Dr. Des Fernandes
Dr. Macroton
Dr. Bahays
Mr. Filerin
A Notary
Champagne (Sganarelle’s valet)
LE BALLET
Frontispice [cover] de l’édition de 1682 drawn and engraved by François Chauveau (BnF)
As a farce, L’Amour médecin was written in prose and contains three acts. Farces allow some physical comedy. As a comedy of manners, it is Molière’s second satire on medicine, the first is Le Médecin volant (The Flying Doctor), written in 1645 and played in 1659. The third and fourth are Le Médecin malgré lui (1666) and Le Malade imaginaire imaginaire(1673). L’Amour médecin is rooted in Le Médecin volant, in Charles Sorel’s Olynthie, a short story, and in earlier farces.
Venue
L’Amour médecinwas first performed at Versailles on 15 September 1665. Molière’s troupe was la troupe du Roi and Louis was demanding. L’Amour médecin was written, and roles learned and rehearsed, in five days. After it premièred at Versailles, L’Amour médecin was performed at the théâtre du Palais-Royal,la troupe du Roi‘s main venue.
Sganarelle
In L’Amour médecin, the role of Sganarelle, created in Le Médecin volant, is that of heavy father. Sganarelle was played by Molière during Molière’s life time. In Dom Juan, he is a valet.
Four Doctors
It should be noted that L’Amour médecin‘s doctors were given the names of real doctors. They were not simple miroirs publics. They have identifiable names and are known doctors, but all reflect Molière’s and many of his contemporaries’ view of doctors. Doctors killed, but did so officially, according to established covenants, and wearing the clothes that match the job. In the case of doctors, Molière had Guy Patin in mind, and Les Femmes savantesTrissotin, a pedant, is modeled after l’abbé Charles Cotin, a learned gentleman, but …
At any rate, L’Amour médecinwas a very successful comedy and, despite a cast of several doctors, the plot was simple, a characteristic of Molière’s plays.
In L’Amour médecin, Lucinde is feigning illness, but her father believes she is very sick. Neighbours and relatives have their opinion to give. Monsieur Guillaume, who sells tapestries, thinks a tapestry showing a forest should adorn her room. Monsieur Josse thinks the gift of “finery and fancy dress,” as well as jewels may save Lucinde’s life. Aminte believes that Lucinde should marry, but Lucrèce objects. Pregnancies would kill Lucinde, given her humeur, the four temperaments.
Et moi, je tiens que votre fille n’est point du tout propre pour le mariage. Elle est d’une complexion [humeur] trop délicate et trop peu saine, et c’est la vouloir envoyer bientôt en l’autre monde, que de l’exposer comme elle est à faire des enfants. Le monde n’est point du tout son fait, et je vous conseille de la mettre dans un couvent, où elle trouvera des divertissements qui seront mieux de son humeur. Lucrèce à tous (I. i, p. 3)
[And as for me, I hold that your daughter is not at all fit for marriage. She has a very delicate complexion [humor] and not very healthy and it would be a determination to send her soon to the other world by exposing her, the way she is — to having children. The world is not at all her thing — and I advise you to put her in a convent — where she will find diversions more in accord with her humor.] Lucrèce to all (I, 1, p.7)
Sganarelle feels that, the remedies they propose show that his niece, neighbours and friends have something to gain by following Sganarelle’s advice. He uses the word intéressé.[1]
Tous ces conseils sont admirables assurément: mais je les tiens un peu intéressés … (.) Sganarelle à tous
[… you advise me quite well for yourselves …(.)] (I. 1, p.7) Sganarelle to all
Sganarelle dismisses them all saying that his plan is to keep his daughter. He and Lucinde have a conversation.
However, after asking Lucinde what could cure her, Lucinda nods when Sganarelle asks:
Aimerais-tu quelqu’un et souhaiterais-tu d’être mariée? Sganarelle à Lucinde (I. ii, p. 3)
[Might you be in love and wish to be married?]
(my translation)
In 17th-century France and in Molière’s comedies, jealousy transforms a lover’s discourse into imprecations that alienate a young woman, the ingénue. Incestual love is out of the question. Sganarelle loves his daughter as fathers do. So, let us suggest a twist on the reversal all comedies feature. Comedies promotes the marriage of the young lovers. Le blondin berne le barbon. (The young man fools the old man.) In L’Amour médecin, the young man is Clitandre. Lucinde has not told Lisette about Clitandre, which may reveal hopelessness. In comedy, maids, servants, valets, and, at times, siblings are the brilliant minds who ensure that a young woman is not handed over to a man she does not love.
I re-read a few chapters (préciosité) of one of Georges Mongrédien’s books on the 17th century in France. According to Mongrédien,[2] Molière did not oppose préciosité, despite his Précieuses ridicules. These were affected ladies whom he simply humiliated. Although comedy is rooted in ancient fertility riduals, Molière, does not allow young women to be forced into marrying men they find repulsive. At that time in history, women often died in childbirth or were pregnant year after year, which could lead to a premature death. However, we are alive. So, many women have survived pregnancies and many, if not most have never been subjected to yearly pregnancies.
In short, L’Amour médecin is comedy as usual, which the title of the play suggests. In fact, L’Amour médecin is Molière’s only comedy the contents of which are revealed in the title. Lucinde wishes to live a normal life and, for many women, life has long been considered improbable without the company of a man.L’honnête homme was born in the salons and salons also shaped galanterie. Mademoiselle de Scudéry‘s Carte de Tendre is a product of the salons. However, although our pater familias is thealazṓn of Greek old comedy, he wishes to keep his daughter for himself, which is absurd.
A-t-on jamais rien vu de plus tyrannique que cette coutume où l’on veut assujettir les pères? Rien de plus impertinent, et de plus ridicule, que d’amasser du bien avec de grands travaux, et élever une fille avec beaucoup de soin et de tendresse, pour se dépouiller de l’un et de l’autre entre les mains d’un homme qui ne nous touche de rien? Non, non, je me moque de cet usage, et je veux garder mon bien et ma fille pour moi.
Sganarelle à Lisette et Lucinde (I. v, p. 6)
[Has there ever been seen a greater tyranny than this custom they want to impose on fathers, nothing more impertinent and more ridiculous than to amass wealth with great work and to raise a daughter with great care and tenderness to be despoiled of both by the hands of a man who pays us nothing? No, no — I mock that custom and I intend to keep my wealth and my daughter for myself.]
Sganarelle to Lisette and Lucinde (I. p. 10)
ACT TWO
The Doctors
blood-letting
an emitic
enemas & broths
In Act 2, Lisette fumes when she hears that Sganarelle is calling in a team of doctors.
Ma foi, Monsieur, notre chat est réchappé depuis peu, d’un saut qu’il fit du haut de la maison dans la rue, et il fut trois jours sans manger, et sans pouvoir remuer ni pied ni patte; mais il est bien heureux de ce qu’il n’y a point de chats médecins: car ses affaires étaient faites, et ils n’auraient pas manqué de le purger, et de le saigner. Lisette à Sganarelle (II. i, p. 8) [My word, sir, our cat survived a jump from the roof of a house to a street, and it went 3 days without eating and it couldn’t move foot or paw — but it was really lucky there were no cat doctors, for her affair would have been done — and they wouldn’t have failed to purge and bleed her.] Lisette to Sganarelle (II.1, p.3)
The cure is blood-letting according to Monsieur Tomés. An emetic is required, claims Monsieur De Fonandrés. As for Monsieur Macroton, the remedy at hand are enemas and broths
Il vaut mieux mourir selon les règles, que de réchapper [to recover] contre les règles. Monsieur Bahys aux médecins et à Sganarelle (II. v, p. 13) [It’s better to die according to the rules than to escape despite the rules.] Monsieur Bahys to colleagues (II. 5, p. 16)
As the scene ends, Sganarelle goes to see a charlatan. He doubts the doctors attending to his daughter and goes to purchase Orviétan[3] from a charlatan.
ACT THREE
the doctors
Clitandre as doctor
Sganarelle is fooled
During Act 2, the doctors disagree. So, at the beginning of Act 3, they reflect upon their quarrel and conclude that they are endangering their profession. They could not cure, not in the 17th century, but human beings who fell ill consulted and this is how doctors made a comfortable living. So, to a large extent, doctors preyed on vulnerable human beings and thus constituted a group of impostors, a dramatist’s target. They worked for the money.
Je n’en parle pas pour mon intérêt. Car, Dieu merci, j’ai déjà établi mes petites affaires. Qu’il vente, qu’il pleuve, qu’il grêle, ceux qui sont morts sont morts, et j’ai de quoi me passer des vivants. Mais enfin, toutes ces disputes ne valent rien pour la médecine. Monsieur Filerin aux autres médecins (III. i, p. 15)
[I’m not speaking only for my interest, for thank God, I’m very well off — let it snow, let it pour, let it hail. Those who are dead are dead and I have somewhat to spend with the livery — but in the end all these disputes are not good for medicine.] Doctor Filerin other to colleagues (III. 1, p. 19)
Yet, a new doctor is introduced. Lisette and Clitandre have organized a stratagem. Clitandre will make believe he is a doctor and he will be a doctor who has already cured Lucinde. Lisette introduces him and Sganarelle notices that there is not much beard to this doctor. Clitandre tells Sganarelle that he treats both the mind and the body. He has succeeded in curing Lucinde by learning that she wanted to marry. What a silly thought! Sganarelle agrees. A very astute Clitandre takes Sganarelle’s pulse and tells him that his daughter is very sick. Sganarelle is surprised, but Clitandre explains that there is sympathy between a father and a daughter.
Sg. Vous connaissez cela ici?
Cl. Oui, par la sympathie qu’il y a entre le père et la fille. Sganarelle et la réponse de Clitandre (III. v, p. 18)
[Cl. (taking Sganarelle’s pulse) Your daughter is really sick] Clitandre to Sganarelle (III. 5, p. 21)
The plan is to make Lucinde believe she is getting married. As you know, in Molière, one plays along with a patient’s fancy, which is what Toinette and Béralde will do inLe Malade imaginaire(The Imaginary Invalid),to help the young lovers and Argan. She will enable Clitandre to speak with Lucinde, Lisette tells Sganarelle that Clitandre must speak to his patient alone.
The cure is a marriage. It will not be a real marriage, in Sganarelle’s eyes, but he will be made to sign the documents, as will Lucinde. Clitandre has arrived, ring in hand and a notary waiting outside. Sganarelle is going: “folle,folle, folle” as he himself marries off his daughter, endowing her generously.
Sg. Oh! la folle! Oh! la folle! Oh! la folle! (III. vi, p. 20)
[Sg. Oh — madwoman — madwoman!] (III. 5, p. 23)
The spectator can hear Lisette’s “un mari, un mari, un mari.” L’Amour médecin is a comédie-ballet so Clitandre invites Sganarelle to be entertained.
Li. Un mari, un mari, un mari. (I. iii, p. 5)
[Li. A husband, a husband, a husband.] (I. 3, p. 9)
Sganarelle has been fooled into allowing his daughter to marry. Illusion was reality. A play rescued Lucinde.
Sg. Voilà une plaisante façon de guérir. Où est donc ma fille et le médecin?
Li. Ils sont allés achever le reste du mariage. Sganarette et Lisette (III. Scène dernière, pp. 21-22)
[Sg. Here’s a pleasant way of curing! Where are the doctor and my daughter? Li. They want to consummate the marriage.] Sganarelle and Lisette (III. Last scene, p. 24)
Conclusion
Molière’s L’Amour médecin is one of the finest illustrations of the comic scenario. The blocking-character is “hoisted by his own petard.” A maid helps the young lovers. Clitandre is a psychologist. The father is fooled, but he will no doubt recover. So, basically, “all’s well that ends well.”
Among friends and colleagues, La Mothe Le Vayer, in particular, Molière accepted that nature was both good and bad, but that it couldn’t be changed. La Mothe le Vayer wrote a letter defending Molière’s Tartuffe.
____________________ [1]In 17th-century France,La Rochefoucauldis associated with the discourse on self-interest (intérêt). [2] Georges Mongrédien, La Vie littéraire au XVIIe Siècle (Paris : Taillandier, 1956), pp. 187-253. [3]L’orviétan était un remède miracle, une sorte de panacée qu’un charlatan italien, Jeronimo Ferranti, prétendait avoir apporté d’Orvieto et qui fut vendu avec beaucoup de succès par lui-même et ses descendants jusqu’au XVIIIe siècle. [Orvietan was a miracle cure, a sort of panacea that an Italian charlatan, Jeronimo Ferranti, claimed he brought from Orvieto, and which he and his descendants sold successfully until the 18th century.] toutmolière.net
Under Premier François Legault and several members his Coalition Avenir Quebec, Quebec is again trying to secularise its already secularised society. All faces are bare in Quebec. Muslim women wear a discreet veil. However, if Bill 21 is enacted, they would be required to remove their discreet veil or, perhaps, if not certainly, lose their position.
People gesture during a demonstration in Montreal, Sunday, April 7, 2019, in opposition to the Quebec government’s newly tabled Bill 21. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)
Given its rigidity and Quebec’s preexisting official laïcité, Premier Legault’s, Bill 21 is unacceptable. Were there a genuine threat of terrorism, which there isn’t, a society could forbid the niqāb to make faces visible. It would be a matter of security. But, if enacted, Bill 21 could be interpreted not only as Islamophobia, but as an expression of religious intolerance across-the-board.
Some employees wear uniforms in order for the public to recognize that they are policemen, bus drivers, firemen, etc. So did school children when I was a child: navy blue and white. We looked like the young girl depicted by Jean-Paul Lemieux, including the hairdo. So there are uniforms. Men will not be affected, but Muslim women will be.
Alexandre Bissonnette
sentence
Premier Philippe Couillard
He will appeal his sentence, but as things stand, Alexandre Bissonnette, who killed 6 Muslims worshipping at a Quebec City Mosque, will not be eligible for parole for the next 40 years.
When Alexandre Bissonnette killed, he was not affiliated with a terrorist group and, to my knowledge, he has not joined such a group since he has been detained.
At the time, Quebec Premier Dr Philippe Couillard reassured Quebecers and Canadians.
The Consequences
As for my Muslim ladies, their daughters may wish to remove their veil. They may find it cumbersome. However, if their mother was forced to remove her veil or be unemployed, her children may insist on wearing a veil, if they have not left Quebec.
Under Bills 22, enacted in 1974, and 101 enacted in 1977, Quebec declared itself unilingual and would not allow immigrants to enrol their children in English-language schools. Therefore, Quebec’s best immigrants were North Africans who spoke French fluently. However, to a very large extent, they were Muslims. French-speaking Muslim immigrants to Quebec did Quebec a service. Has Quebec forgotten?
Religious Intolerance Across-the-Board
Bill 21 smacks of religious intolerance. All display of adherence to a religion would be forbidden. Some of us are atheists, but others believe in God, and many find a refuge in spirituality. We are a diverse society and will grow more diverse. If Bill 21 is enacted, Quebec could be divided along religious lines.
Students and staff at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School in Montreal’s West Island, held a protest against Bill 21 over their lunch break on Friday. (Valeria Cori-Manocchio/CBC)
Conclusion
I will close by suggesting, boldly, that Bill 21 may not be entirely what it seems. I suspect that it is and that it isn’t about religious affiliation. Quebec’s two referendums (1980; 1995) have not given the government of Quebec a mandate to negotiate sovereignty. But the province is drifting away using all means it can dig out. For instance, Quebec has yet to sign the Constitution Act of 1982.
Could it be that, once again, Quebec wants to differ, Bill in hand … ? If Quebec wants to differ, let it not be at the expense of its law-abiding and French-speaking Muslim women. Immigrants from everywhere, first generation immigrants in particular, mourn their country. Many have lost everything. Let us not think that we have done them a favour. Such an attitude would be insensitive and, in fact, arrogant.
Our duty is to respect everyone, despite colour, faith, language and other differences. These are superficial differences. Let our immigrants belong. All of us are human beings and merely passing …
Love to everyone 💕
We are returning to Molière. But laïcité weighed on my mind. I have friends who are supporters of Bill 21. I hope they will forgive me. They know that Quebec is a lay society.
There had been progress. Ambroise Paré, a barber-surgeon who lived in the 16th century had advanced medicine, especially surgery. He is considered the father of surgery. One should also mentioned Guy Patin, who was doyen (dean) of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (1650–1652) and professor in the Collège de France starting in 1655. He died one year before Molière’s Le Malade imaginaire (1673) was first performed. Although he was a rather poor doctor, he wrote a body of letters that are “an important document for historians of medicine.” (See Guy Patin, Wiki2.org.) It is believed Molière mocked Patin.
The Greeks investigated medicine. Hippocrates is considered the father of medicine. He coined the term Hippocratic Oath. In particular, Græco-Arabic medicine was based on humourism, or the idea that humans belonged to one of four temperaments: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. (See Psychologia.co)
Molière ridiculed blood-letting, the use of emitics, as well as the use of enemas. The use of enemas is now considered sexual assault, if the “patient” does not consent. Enemas are also used as a means of torture and humiliation.
Molière as Sganarelle, Gravure de Simonin (Larousse)
Molière
Molière wrote four comedies in which he mocked doctors.
I have removed L’Impromptu de Versailles from an earlier list. In the Imaginary Invalid, Béralde explains Molière. But characters in our first three plays do not refer to Molière. L’Impromptu de Versaillesis an example of théâtre dans le théâtre.
It should be noted however that Sganarelle was played by Molière and would always be played by Molière until the dramatist’s death. The Flying Doctor originates in Italian comedy.
In the first three plays mentioned above, love is the cure to a young woman’s feigned or real illness triggered by a heavy father who wishes to marry his daughter to a person the daughter does not love. Villebrequin is an older gentleman who may have fine qualities. However, Lucile wants to marry Valère. The dreaded marriage is approaching
Since Gorgibus, the father, believes his daughter is truly sick, he must find a doctor. Lucile’s cousin, Sabine, tells her story to Valère, the young lover (jeune premier) who asks Sganarelle (a role performed by Molière) to make believe he is a doctor. Gros-René, Gorgibus’ valet, is looking for a doctor. Sganarelle will be the suitable candidate. He need only wear the disguise. He hesitates, but money, dix pistoles, convinces him that he can play the role. The doctor is to advise Lucile to go outdoors to a little pavilion. She needs fresh air. Valère would go to the pavilion and take her away. InLe Médecin volant, the plan is as follows:
SABINE.— Vraiment, il y a bien des nouvelles. Mon oncle veut résolument que ma cousine épouse Villebrequin, et les affaires sont tellement avancées, que je crois qu’ils eussent été mariés dès aujourd’hui, si vous n’étiez aimé; mais comme ma cousine m’a confié le secret de l’amour qu’elle vous porte, et que nous nous sommes vues à l’extrémité par l’avaricede mon vilain oncle, nous nous sommes avisées d’une bonne invention pour différer le mariage. C’est que ma cousine, dès l’heure que je vous parle, contrefait la malade; et le bon vieillard, qui est assez crédule, m’envoie quérir un médecin. Si vous en pouviez envoyer quelqu’un qui fût de vos bons amis et qui fût de notre intelligence, il conseillerait à la malade de prendre l’air à la campagne. Le bonhomme ne manquera pas de faire loger ma cousine à ce pavillon qui est au bout de notre jardin, et par ce moyen vous pourriez l’entretenir à l’insu de notre vieillard, l’épouser, et le laisser pester tout son soûl avec Villebrequin. Sabine à Valère (Sc I, p. 1)
[I have really much to tell you. My uncle is bent upon marrying my cousin to Villebrequin, and things have gone so far, that I believe the wedding would have taken place to-day if you were not loved by her. However, as my cousin told me the secret of all the love she feels for you, and as we were almost driven to desperation through the avarice of our niggardly uncle, we thought of a capital device to prevent the marriage: at the present moment my cousin affects to be ill, and the foolish old man, who is easily deceived, has just sent me to fetch a doctor. Could you not find one, some friend of yours, who would be on our side, and order the invalid to go into the country for a change of air? The old man will be sure to send my cousin to live in the pavilion, which is at the bottom of our garden. In that way you will be able to see her, unknown to our uncle, and marry her; then let him and Villebrequin curse as much as they please.] Sabine to Valère (Sc. 1)
The above ploy is successful. Sganarelle accepts to play doctor after being given ten pistoles. Gros-René is sent to look for a doctor, but meanwhile Sabine, Lucile’s cousin, has managed to lead Sganarelle to Gorgibus’ home. Sganarelle meets a lawyer whose opinion of doctors is consistent with the views expressed by Molière’s characters. If one gets better, it has nothing to do with the remedies or knowledge of a doctor.
Ce n’est pas qu’on doive mépriser un médecin qui n’aurait pas rendu la santé à son malade, parce qu’elle ne dépend pas absolument de ses remèdes, ni de son savoir[.] L’avocat à Sganarelle (Sc. 8, p. 7)[1]
[Not that any one should despise a doctor who has not given back health to his patient, since health does not altogether depend on his remedies or his knowledge: interdum docta plus valet arte malum.] The lawyer to Sganarelle (Sc. 8)
However, a problem arises when Gorgibus meets Sganarelle wearing his valet clothes. Suddenly Sganarelle must play two roles: a doctor and a valet. Sganarelle tells Gorgibus that he has an identical twin and that they are not on good terms. Could Gorgibus help? Sganarelle goes in and out of a window, dressed as valet and then as a doctor. However, Gros-René picks up the doctor’s costume. There is but one Sganarelle: the valet.
Sganarelle fears being hanged[2] and tells Gorgibus that Valère is definitely “sortable,” a suitable husband.
In the final scene of the play, Gorgibus forgives Lucile and Valère and allows them to marry.
____________________ [1]Interdum docta plus valet arte malum: parfois le mal est plus fort que l’art
et que la science. (Ovide, Ovid, Pontiques, livre Ier, chant III, v. 18). [2] Cf. Le Médecin malgré lui.
NETHERLANDS – CIRCA 2002: Angelica and Cleanthes’ duet, scene from the second act of The Imaginary Invalid by Moliere (1622-1673), 1673, by Cornelis Troost (1696-1750) oil. The Netherlands, 18th century. Berlin, Bauhaus-Archiv, Museum Für Gestaltung (Bauhaus Museum) (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)
During the weekend, I reread parts of W. G. Moore’s Molière, a New Criticism and I added this sentence to my article: “[t]he plot of Le Malade Imaginaire is … little more than the various gullibilities of a hypochondriac.”[1] This sentence and the image at the top of this post simplify Le Malade Imaginaire. Argan needs help and finds a doctor in the young man his daughter wishes to marry, not to mention that he may help himself …
Early in the play, I. i & ii, Argan is counting his money and then rings for help. He is alone and he is gullible and vulnerable. When Toinette enters his room, she says to Argan that he is being milked, which explains why he needs a doctor as a relative.
In the image placed above, Angélique and Cléante are singing in order to communicate their feelings. This is is not a play-within-a-play. It is a ploy, but Argan and the doctors are watching. Argan does not want a young man, including a singing teacher, to be alone with Angélique. Argan wants Angélique to marry a doctor. Idée fixe.
An Anagnorisis
Therefore, we could look at the third and final act as a form of anagnorisis, effected through a play-within-a-play and serving Argan’s needs first, and, second, the young couple’s needs.
First, the doctors leave because they have been insulted. Argan is desperate, but in comes Toinette playing doctor. These scenes are theatrical, but Argan’s fancy will not go away. He is a hypochondriac, which is a real illness, so he needs a doctor (V. viii). By helping her master, Toinette also helps Angélique and Cléante.
Toinette as doctor leaves and re-enters as Toinette.
Second, Argan agrees to feign death twice, although it scares him.
Argan’s wife is seen as a fortune hunter
Argan recognizes his own blood in Angélique’s grief.
Argan lifts obstacles to the marriage of the young lovers. Cléante may marry Angélique, if he agrees to become a doctor, which he does.
But Béralde also suggests that Argan could be his own doctor. Brilliant! The inference is that problems can be solved from within:
Mais, mon frère, il me vient une pensée. Faites-vous médecin vous-même. La commodité sera encore plus grande, d’avoir en vous tout ce qu’il vous faut. Béralde à Argan (V. scène dernière, p. 68)
[But, brother, it just strikes me; why don’t you turn doctor yourself? It would be much more convenient to have all you want within yourself.] Béralde to Argan (V. last scene)
However, Argan needs doctors, and Cléante says he is ready to do anything.
En tout cas, je suis prêt à tout. Cléante à tous (V. scène dernière, p. 68)
[Anyhow, I am ready for everything.] Cléante to all (V. 5. Last scene)
The rest is an interlude during which Argan is turned into a doctor. So, all’s well that ends well.
—ooo—
Viewed as an agnanorisis, the spectacles of the final act boil down to
delivering Argan of parasites (not doctors), and
ensuring the young couple marries.
But most importantly, it is suggested that we can find help within ourselves, or within our household. Toinette and Béralde do not mistreat Argan. He is a beloved father and although comedy leads to the marriage of young lovers, which means overcoming a father’s, the pater familias, resistance, the final society of the play includes the father. Everyone accepts Argan’s fancy. We all have petites lubies, whims.
When I was a student, professors used the terms play-within-a-play and théâtre dans le théâtre interchangeably. The main example was Pierre Corneille‘s L’Illusion comique (1636), which was also considered a mise en abyme. Additionally we read Jean Rotrou‘s Le Véritable Saint-Genest (1647).In fact, Rotrou wrote a play entitled L’Hypochondriaque (1631), but it is not a forerunner of Le Malade imaginaire.
Antecedents to The Imaginary Invalid are Molière’s plays on doctors:
However, Le Médecin malgré luiis rooted in a thirteenth-centuryfabliau entitled Le Vilain Mire (Wikisource FR). Mire meant médecin in medieval French. Le Médecin malgré luiwill be discussed in my next post which will also include a few words on Le Médecin volant and L’Amour médecin. These are very short farces.
I did not mention Élomire hypocondre ou les Médecins vengés (1670, according to Maurice Rat [2]). It is a comedy published by Le Boulanger de Chalussay. The text is available through Amazon and other booksellers. Élomire is an anagram of Molière. Molière was not a hypochondriac. He suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis. The comedy was never performed.
____________________ [1]Will G. Moore, Molière a New Criticism(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1949), p. 72. [2] Maurice Rat, ed., Les Œuvres complètes de Molière (Gallimard: Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1956). p. 998.
—ooo—
I thank you most sincerely for helping me write my book.
Long posts cause earlier drafts to surface. In fact, putting in images causes earlier drafts to surface. Therefore, as first published, my post was a draft …
I am getting older, but matters are not too severe. I make spelling errors and get confused looking for the English translation of the original French text. Wikisource publishes fine translations.
—ooo—
However, I did take my post away and wrote a conclusion I had hesitated to publish. The many spectacles point to a rather dark world vision on the part of Molière. Was/is society this powerless and humanity, so frail? Molière is a very complex author.
Ironically, Molière had started to die when he played the Imaginary Invalid, on 17 February 1673. That was reality.
It could be that an editor removed a few lines or a paragraph or two from the draft. It was very long. Although a paragraph or quotation may have been removed, the post is complete, and its conclusion, entirely mine.
I thank you for your kindness and apologize for not having read as many of your posts as I normally do during the last few days. Weeks have started to go by so quickly.
ARGAN, an imaginary invalid.
BÉLINE, second wife to ARGAN.
ANGÉLIQUE, daughter to ARGAN, in love with CLÉANTE.
LOUISON; ARGAN’S young daughter, sister to ANGÉLIQUE.
BÉRALDE, brother to ARGAN.
CLÉANTE, lover to ANGÉLIQUE.
MR. DIAFOIRUS, a physician.
THOMAS DIAFOIRUS, his son, in love with ANGÉLIQUE.
MR. PURGON, physician to ARGAN.
MR. FLEURANT, an apothecary.
MR. DE BONNEFOI, a notary.
TOINETTE, maid-servant to ARGAN.
The Imaginary Invalid is a comédie-ballet, but Molière having fallen out with Lully, the music for Le Malade imaginaire was composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Pierre Beauchamp choreographed the comédie-ballet. It was performed for the first time on 10th February 1673 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. On 17th February, during the fourth performance of his play, Molière collapsed. He finished playing his role and was taken home where he hemorrhaged and died. He was 51. Molière, born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673), suffered from tuberculosis.
Le Malade imaginaire is the fourth play in which Molière mocked doctors. There had been relatively recent progress in medicine. In the 16th century, Ambroise Paré, a French barber surgeon made advances in surgery and other areas of medicine. Other scientists were also studying the human body. However, during Molière’s life time, most doctors did more harm than good. Many of Louis XIV’s legitimate children died due to poor treatment at the hands of doctors. When Louis died, only one of his legitimate children had survived. A woman protected Louis XIV’s only heir by keeping him away from doctors.
The play is rooted in various plays that featuring a theatre in the theatre, a play-within-a-play, on Molière’s own plays and farces on doctors and medieval farces and fabliaux.In fact, Béralde, Argan’s brother, defends Molière himself, which I would call “nouveau théâtre.”The play is also rooted in Molière’s own L’Impromptu de VersaillesFR (1663), a defence of Molière within Molière.
Hypochondria is considered a medical diagnosis, but the society of the play does not view Argan as sick. His brother Béralde tells Argan that he is not sick. Toinette also suggests that Argan is not sick. When the curtain lifts, Argan is counting how much his treatments are costing him. Money is always important in comedies and plays a role in Argan’s choice of a husband for his daughter Angélique. She is to marry a doctor, as Argan needs an in-house doctor.
Toinette & her Master
Toinette, the maid, walks in and says, unrestrained by her position, that Argan’s doctors have found a “milk-cow:”
Ce Monsieur Fleurant-là, et ce Monsieur Purgon s’égayent bien sur votre corps; ils ont en vous une bonne vache à lait; et je voudrais bien leur demander quel mal vous avez, pour vous faire tant de remèdes. Toinette à Argan (I. ii, p. 9)
[This Mr. Fleurant and Mr. Purgon amuse themselves finely with your body. They have a rare milk-cow in you, I must say; and I should like them to tell me what disease it is you have for them to physic you so.] Toinette to Argan (I. 2)
Où est-ce donc que nous sommes? et quelle audace est-ce là à une coquine de servante de parler de la sorte devant son maître? Argan à Toinette (I. V, p. 16)
[What have we come to? And what boldness is this for a scrub of a servant to speak in such a way before her master?] Argan à Toinette (I. 5)
Quand un maître ne songe pas à ce qu’il fait, une servante bien sensée est en droit de le redresser. Toinette à Argan (I. V, p. 16)
[When a master does not consider what he is doing, a sensible servant should set him right.] Toinette to Argan (I. 5)
The Doctors
However, Angélique wishes to marry Cléante, and, in a quiproquo (I. v), she agrees to marry Thomas Diafoirus, a doctor who fares poorly as a suitor:
Nous lisons, des anciens, Mademoiselle, que leur coutume était d’enlever par force de la maison des pères les filles qu’on menait marier, afin qu’il ne semblât pas que ce fût de leur consentement, qu’elles convolaient dans les bras d’un homme. Thomas Diafoirus à Angélique (II. vi, p. 42) Les anciens, Monsieur, sont les anciens, et nous sommes les gens de maintenant. Les grimaces ne sont point nécessaires dans notre siècle, et quand un mariage nous plaît, nous savons fort bien y aller, sans qu’on nous y traîne. Donnez-vous patience; si vous m’aimez, Monsieur, vous devez vouloir tout ce que je veux. Angélique à Thomas Diafoirus (II. vi, p. 42)
[We read in the ancients, Madam, that it was their custom to carry off by main force from their father’s house the maiden they wished to marry, so that the latter might not seem to fly of her own accord into the arms of a man. Thomas Diafoirus to Angélique (II. 6)
The ancients, Sir, are the ancients; but we are the moderns. Pretences are not necessary in our age; and when a marriage pleases us, we know very well how to go to it without being dragged by force. Have a little patience; if you love me, Sir, you ought to do what I wish.] Angélique to Thomas Diafoirus (II. 6)
Fortunately, we have doublings, particularly in the case of Argan. Béralde is Argan’s brother and a benevolent uncle, which may explain why Angélique mistakenly agreed to marry Thomas Diafoirus. She probably thought her uncle had spoken to Argan.
The New Wife: Béline
Argan has remarried. Béline flatters Argan as much as possible, but as comedy would have it, a second wife may be a fortune hunter. She is, in fact, the archetypal and often derided belle-mère (mother-in-law):
Chacun a son but en se mariant. Pour moi, qui ne veux un mari que pour l’aimer véritablement, et qui prétends en faire tout l’attachement de ma vie, je vous avoue que j’y cherche quelque précaution. Il y en a d’aucunes qui prennent des maris seulement pour se tirer de la contrainte de leurs parents, et se mettre en état de faire tout ce qu’elles voudront. Il y en a d’autres, Madame, qui font du mariage un commerce de pur intérêt; qui ne se marient que pour gagner des douaires; que pour s’enrichir par la mort de ceux qu’elles épousent, et courent sans scrupule de mari en mari, pour s’approprier leurs dépouilles. Ces personnes-là à la vérité n’y cherchent pas tant de façons, et regardent peu la personne. Angélique à Béline (II. vi, p. 43)
[We all have our own end in marrying. For my part, as I only want a husband that I can love sincerely, and as I intend to consecrate my whole life to him, I feel bound, I confess, to be cautious. There are some who marry simply to free themselves from the yoke of their parents, and to be at liberty to do all they like. There are others, Madam, who see in marriage only a matter of mere interest; who marry only to get a settlement, and to enrich themselves by the death of those they marry. They pass without scruple from husband to husband, with an eye to their possessions. These, no doubt, Madam, are not so difficult to satisfy, and care little what the husband is like.] Angélique to Béline (II. 7)
Béline would not force Angélique to marry Thomas Diafoirus, but she would have her locked up in a convent.
Écoute, il n’y a point de milieu à cela. Choisis d’épouser dans quatre jours, ou Monsieur, ou un couvent. Ne vous mettez pas en peine, je la rangerai bien. Argan à Angélique (II. vi, p. 44)
[Listen to me! Of two things, one. Either you will marry this gentleman or you will go into a convent. I give you four days to consider. (TO BÉLINE) Don’t be anxious; I will bring her to reason.] Argan to Angélique (II. 8)
Doublings
Toinette
Béralde
Early in the comedy, we learn that Angélique and her younger sister Louison have lost their mother. Angélique discusses her “lover” with Toinette (I.iii and iv, pp. 9-10). Therefore, one assumes that, in the eyes of Angélique and her younger sister Louison, Toinette is more than a servant. She may not be a surrogate mother, but she is also a doubling, un dédoublement. Were she not, Béline, Argan’s second wife, would be too powerful. For instance, Argan wants to make a Will and Béline herself brings in the notary (I. vi, p. 79; I. 8).
The real threat, however, is Argan’s wish to have a doctor as his son-in-law. Argan is marrying his daughter to Thomas Diafoirus, so his needs are satisfied. That is his reason:
Ma raison est, que me voyant infirme, et malade comme je suis, je veux me faire un gendre, et des alliés médecins, afin de m’appuyer de bons secours contre ma maladie, d’avoir dans ma famille les sources des remèdes qui me sont nécessaires, et d’être à même des consultations, et des ordonnances. Argan à Toinette (I. V, pp. 13- 14)
[My reason is, that seeing myself infirm and sick, I wish to have a son-in-law and relatives who are doctors, in order to secure their kind assistance in my illness, to have in my family the fountain-head of those remedies which are necessary to me, and to be within reach of consultations and prescriptions.] Argan à Toinette (I. 5)
Comedy as a genre seldom creates fathers so objectionable that, as the curtain falls, they cannot re-enter the society of the play. L’Avare‘s Harpagon is happy to have found his precious cassette and his children are marrying at no cost to him. In the Imaginary Invalid, Toinettes says to Argan:
Vous n’aurez pas ce cœur-là. (I. v, p. 15) [You will never have the heart to do it.] (1. 5)
Moreover, not only does Angélique have a surrogate mother, but, as mentioned above, Molière has also created a surrogate father. Béralde, Argan’s brother, is an uncle and an avuncular figure. He visits Argan to propose a husband for Angélique:
J’étais venu ici, mon frère, vous proposer un parti pour ma nièce Angélique. Béralde à Argan (II. ix, p. 49)
I came here, brother, to propose a match for my niece, Angélique. Béralde to Argan (II. 12)
Argan gets angry, revealing a degree of strength he claimed he did not possess when his brother arrived. He also shows his total dependence on doctors. He needs to put a doctor in his household.
Béralde on Doctors and Molière
At this point, a long discussion takes place regarding Argan’s medical needs, medicine, doctors and Molière (III. iii, p. 51-58). In Béralde’s eyes, his brother Argan is perfectly healthy, which could be, but hypochondria is an illness in itself. In Molière’s comedies, characters are as they are. No one can change fancies and obsessions, or chimères. L’Avare‘s Harpagon is a miser and will remain a miser. Monsieur Jourdain is made into a mamamouchi and, in the end, although all his doctors leave, Argan allows Cléante to marry Angélique, provided he becomes a doctor. Clothes suffice. They make you into what you appear.
Béralde explains Molière to his besotted brother. Molière was very sick. His sickness was all he could bear. The doctors of the day knowing little about medicine could have incapacitated him:
Il [Molière] a ses raisons pour n’en point vouloir, et il soutient que cela n’est permis qu’aux gens vigoureux et robustes, et qui ont des forces de reste pour porter les remèdes avec la maladie; mais que pour lui il n’a justement de la force, que pour porter son mal. Béralde à Argan (III. iii, p. 55)
[He has his reasons for not wishing to have anything to do; he is certain that only strong and robust constitutions can bear their remedies in addition to the illness, and he has only just enough strength for his sickness.] Béralde to Argan (III. 3)
Béralde criticizes doctors, but reasonably so. Who could have cured Molière of turberculosis? He at least did not lose time seeking the help of doctors and losing energy through blood-letting, une saignée, a favourite remedy in 17th-century medicine.
But in come the doctors ready to give Argan his enema. There were all kinds of enemas, not just water. But Béralde gets after the doctors who end up leaving, which is a tragedy for Argan who is convinced he needs the care of a physician, even if it means forcing his daughter to marry Thomas Diafoirus. Thomas Diafoirus believes that forcing a woman into a marriage is acceptable.
Le Théâtre dans le Théâtre
The doctors having left Toinette, a servant and caregiver to Angélique and Louison, decides to play doctor. She diagnoses a lung problem, which was Molière’s disease. She also suggests treatments that Argan cannot accept: the removal of an eye and an arm. This is a play.
The doctors having left, the time has also come to discuss Angélique’s marriage. Argan wishes to do as his new wife has suggested, which is to throw Angélique into a convent. But Béline should be coming home soon. So, Toinette asks Argan to make believe he is dead. Feigning death is also theatrical. When Béline is informed of his death, she thanks heaven:
Le Ciel en soit loué. Me voilà délivrée d’un grand fardeau. Que tu es sotte, Toinette, de t’affliger de cette mort! Béline à Toinette (III. xii, p. 65)
[Heaven be praised. I am delivered. How silly of you, Toinette, to be so afflicted at his death.] Béline to Toinette (III. 16) Va, va, cela n’en vaut pas la peine. Quelle perte est-ce que la sienne, et de quoi servait-il sur la terre? Un homme incommode à tout le monde, malpropre, dégoûtant, sans cesse un lavement, ou une médecine dans le ventre, mouchant, toussant, crachant toujours, sans esprit, ennuyeux, de mauvaise humeur, fatiguant sans cesse les gens, et grondant jour et nuit servantes, et valets. Béline à Toinette (III. xii, p. 65) [Pooh! it is not worth the trouble. What loss is it to anybody, and what good did he do in this world? A wretch, unpleasant to everybody; of nauseous, dirty habits; always a clyster or a dose of physic in his body. Always snivelling, coughing, spitting; a stupid,
tedious, ill-natured fellow, who was for ever fatiguing people and scolding night and day at his maids and servants.]
Béline to Toinette ((III. 16)
Béline quickly asks Toinette to help her get to the money.
Argan feigns death a second time, another theater. When Angélique hears that her father has died, she is devastated.
Ô Ciel! quelle infortune! quelle atteinte cruelle! Hélas! faut-il que je perde mon père, la seule chose qui me restait au monde; et qu’encore pour un surcroît de désespoir, je le perde dans un moment où il était irrité contre moi? Que deviendrai-je, malheureuse, et quelle consolation trouver après une si grande perte? Angélique à Toinette (III. viii, p. 67)
O heavens! what a misfortune! What a cruel grief! Alas why must I lose my father, the only being left me in the world? and why should I lose him, too, at a time when he was angry with me? What will become of me, unhappy girl that I am? What consolation can I find after so great a loss? Angélique to Toinette (III, 20)
—ooo—
Doublings play an important role in The Imaginary Invalid. Toinette and Béralde do help the comedy’s young lovers. We find in Toinette and Béralde such ruse and determination, that Argan allows Angélique and Cléante to marry. However, Argan makes the marriage conditional on Cléante becoming a doctor. The young lovers may marry, which is the goal of comedy, but our heavy father succeeds in having a son-in-law who is a doctor. His needs are satisfied.
A post is a post, so I cannot discuss the Interludes. Yet, one performance should be noted. Cléante arrives at Argan’s house. Antoinette hesitates, but allows him to enter Orgon’s room. He and Angélique must speak before entering a life-long relationship. Marriage follows courtship. In order to speak to Angélique, Cléante makes Orgon believe that he is replacing Angélique’s singing teacher. Another performance is required. Once the singing lesson is over, Cléante is reassured that both lovers share the same feelings. The lovers in this play are therefore active and earn the support of Béralde and Toinette.
Doublings occur in Le Malade imaginaire, but spectacles follow spectacles, including the singing lesson. The ultimate among these performances is Argan feigning death, is théâtre dans le théâtre. He discovers his second wife isn’t what he thought she was. He feigns death a second time, and realizes he has a loving daughter. The ceremony during which Cléante will be transformed into a doctor is also theatrical.
Angélique tells her uncle: Mais, mon oncle, il me semble que vous vous jouez un peu beaucoup de mon père. Angélique à Béralde (III. xiv, p. 69) Mais, ma nièce, ce n’est pas tant le jouer, que s’accommoder à ses fantaisies. Tout ceci n’est qu’entre nous. Nous y pouvons aussi prendre chacun un personnage, et nous donner ainsi la comédie les uns aux autres. Le carnaval autorise cela. Allons vite préparer toutes choses. Angélique à Béralde (III. xiv, p. 69)
[But, uncle, it seems to me that you are making fun of my father.] Angélique to Béralde (III. last scene)
[But, niece, it is not making too much fun of him to fall in with
his fancies. We may each of us take part in it ourselves, and thus
perform the comedy for each other’s amusement. Carnival time
authorises it. Let us go quickly and get everything ready.] Béralde to Angélique (III. last scene)
Ruses (trickery) are perfectly acceptable in comedy, farce, in particular. However, The Imaginary Invalidis a series of spectacles. “Carnival time authorises it,” but recourse to so many ploys mocks reality to a barely acceptable degree. It seems too audacious a redemptive mechanism. All the world’s stage.
Yet, as Will More puts it, “[t]he plot of Le Malade Imaginaire is … little more than the various gullibilities of a hypochondriac.”[1]
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Will G. Moore, Molière a New Criticism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1949), p. 72.
