by Molière

Overview

“The Imaginary Invalid” (Le Malade imaginaire) is Molière’s final play, first performed in 1673. It was tragically prophetic—Molière collapsed and died shortly after performing the title role of Argan. This brilliant comedy-ballet satirizes the medical profession of 17th-century France while exploring themes of hypochondria, greed, and the triumph of true love over mercenary motives.

Main Characters

Argan - The titular “imaginary invalid,” a wealthy hypochondriac obsessed with his health and completely dependent on doctors and their expensive treatments.

Béline - Argan’s second wife, a scheming woman who pretends to care for his health while actually plotting to inherit his fortune.

Angélique - Argan’s daughter from his first marriage, a spirited young woman in love with Cléante.

Cléante - A young man in love with Angélique, who disguises himself to gain access to her.

Louison - Argan’s younger daughter, an innocent child who becomes caught between family loyalties.

Toinette - The family’s clever maid and voice of reason, who sees through everyone’s pretenses and schemes to help true love prevail.

Dr. Purgon - Argan’s pompous physician who speaks in medical jargon and prescribes endless purges and bloodlettings.

Thomas Diafoirus - A young doctor and Dr. Purgon’s protégé, whom Argan wants Angélique to marry.

Béralde - Argan’s sensible brother who tries to open his eyes to the truth about his condition and his wife.

Plot Summary

Act I: The Hypochondriac’s Dilemma

The play opens with Argan obsessively calculating his medical bills and complaining about his numerous ailments. Despite appearing perfectly healthy to everyone else, he’s convinced he’s desperately ill and requires constant medical attention.

Argan has decided that Angélique must marry Thomas Diafoirus, a young doctor, so he’ll have a physician in the family to treat him for free. When Angélique protests that she loves someone else (Cléante), Argan dismisses her feelings entirely. His only concern is his own health and financial benefit.

Toinette, the sharp-tongued maid, boldly challenges Argan’s plans and his hypochondria, but he refuses to listen to reason. She warns Angélique about her stepmother Béline’s true nature and promises to help her avoid the unwanted marriage.

Act II: Deceptions and Revelations

Cléante arrives disguised as Angélique’s music teacher, having bribed the real teacher to stay away. Through the pretense of a music lesson, the lovers manage to communicate their feelings while Argan remains oblivious to their true relationship.

Thomas Diafoirus and his father arrive to finalize the marriage arrangement. Thomas proves to be a complete fool who spouts medical nonsense and speaks in pretentious Latin phrases. His attempt to court Angélique is comically inept—he delivers pre-memorized compliments to the wrong person and shows no genuine interest in her as an individual.

When Cléante’s true identity is discovered, Argan flies into a rage and forbids him from seeing Angélique. The young man pleads his case passionately, but Argan remains unmoved, caring only about securing a doctor for his own needs.

Act III: The Truth Exposed

Béralde, Argan’s brother, arrives and tries to reason with him about his obsession with medicine. He points out that Argan has outlived two wives and several doctors, suggesting his health isn’t as precarious as he believes. Béralde argues that nature is the best healer and that doctors often do more harm than good.

Dr. Purgon arrives and, furious that Argan has missed a scheduled enema, dramatically “breaks up” with his patient, predicting dire consequences. Instead of recognizing the doctor’s absurdity, Argan becomes hysterical with fear about losing his medical care.

Toinette disguises herself as an ancient Italian doctor and examines Argan, giving him hilariously contradictory advice to Dr. Purgon’s treatments. She exposes the arbitrariness of medical opinions while Argan remains too gullible to see through her obvious disguise.

The Climactic Deception

Toinette suggests that Argan pretend to be dead to discover his family’s true feelings. Hidden beneath a sheet, Argan listens as Béline reveals her true nature. Instead of mourning, she immediately begins planning how to secure his fortune and expresses relief at his death. She shows no grief whatsoever, confirming that her devoted wife act was entirely mercenary.

When Angélique believes her father is dead, she breaks into genuine tears and expresses real sorrow, despite their conflicts. Her grief proves her love is authentic, unlike her stepmother’s false devotion.

Argan emerges from his pretense, finally understanding the truth about both women. He banishes Béline and reconciles with Angélique, giving his blessing to her marriage with Cléante.

The Finale: A Medical Satire

The play concludes with an elaborate ceremony in which Argan himself becomes a doctor. Béralde suggests that since Argan is so obsessed with medicine, he should become a physician himself—then he can prescribe his own treatments and save money.

The final sequence is a mock medical graduation conducted in macaronic Latin (a mixture of Latin and French), satirizing the pompous ceremonies and meaningless jargon of the medical profession. Argan is “examined” with absurd questions and takes an oath to follow established medical practices, no matter how harmful or illogical.

Themes and Satire

Medical Quackery - Molière ruthlessly satirizes 17th-century medicine, portraying doctors as greedy charlatans who exploit patients’ fears with meaningless treatments. The play suggests that many illnesses are psychological and that doctors often create more problems than they solve.

Hypochondria and Self-Deception - Argan represents the dangers of excessive self-focus and the power of suggestion. His imaginary ailments control his life and blind him to real relationships and genuine concerns.

Greed vs. Love - The play contrasts mercenary motives (Béline’s gold-digging, the doctors’ profiteering, Argan’s selfish marriage plans) with genuine affection (Angélique and Cléante’s love, Toinette’s loyal service).

Appearance vs. Reality - Characters constantly disguise themselves and pretend to be what they’re not. The play suggests that social roles often mask people’s true natures.

Patriarchal Authority - Argan’s attempt to control his daughter’s marriage reflects broader questions about parental power and individual autonomy.

Literary and Historical Significance

“The Imaginary Invalid” represents the culmination of Molière’s dramatic art, combining sharp social satire with deep psychological insight. The play’s attack on medical practice was particularly bold, as doctors wielded considerable social influence in 17th-century France.

The work exemplifies Molière’s genius for creating characters who are simultaneously ridiculous and human. Argan is foolish and selfish, yet his fear of death is genuinely touching. The play’s structure perfectly balances farce with serious social commentary.

The integration of music and dance (it was originally performed as a comedy-ballet) reflects the sophisticated court entertainment of Louis XIV’s era, while the satirical content reveals Molière’s willingness to challenge established institutions.

Conclusion

“The Imaginary Invalid” ends with harmony restored: true love triumphs, false pretenses are exposed, and even Argan achieves a kind of satisfaction by becoming a “doctor” himself. However, the satire suggests that human folly is eternal—Argan may have learned to see through Béline’s deception, but he remains as gullible about medicine as ever.

The play’s enduring appeal lies in its perfect balance of entertainment and enlightenment. While audiences laugh at the absurd medical practices and Argan’s delusions, they’re also invited to examine their own susceptibility to self-deception and exploitation by authority figures.

Molière’s final masterpiece thus serves as both a hilarious farce and a serious warning about the dangers of abandoning critical thinking in favor of blind faith in supposed experts.

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