The Miser
Sign in to save17th century French comedy by Molière
AI overview
"The Miser" is a 17th-century French comedy by Molière that satirizes extreme greed through the story of a wealthy man obsessed with money. The play remains significant as a masterpiece of comic drama that explores human folly and has influenced comedic theater for centuries.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Written by
- Molière
- Characters
- Harpagon Cléante Élise Valère Mariane Anselme Frosine Master Simon Master Jacques La Flèche Mistress Claude Brindavoine La Merluche A magistrate A clerk
- Date premiered
- September 9, 1668 ( 1668-09-09 )
- Place premiered
- Paris
- Original language
- French
- Subject
- Avarice
- Genre
- Comedy
- Setting
- Paris, in Harpagon's house
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
The Miser (French: L'Avare; pronounced [lavaʁ]) is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed on September 9, 1668, in the theatre of the Palais-Royal in Paris.
This is a character comedy whose main character, Harpagon, is characterised by his caricatured avarice. Harpagon is an elderly widower who wishes to have an arranged marriage to the impoverished young woman Mariane, while securing another arranged marriage for his unwilling daughter Élise. He is initially unaware that Mariane is the girlfriend of his own son, or that Élise has a boyfriend. Meanwhile, Harpagon is stubbornly protecting a cassette full of gold. When his gold is stolen, Harpagon considers the entire urban and suburban population to be suspects for the crime. The five acts comprise five, five, nine, seven and six scenes respectively.