Molière - Complete Works of Molière

The Complete Works of

MOLIRE

(1622-1673)

Contents

Delphi Classics 2018

Version 1

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The Complete Works of

MOLIRE

By Delphi Classics, 2018

Complete Works of Molire

First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Delphi Classics.

Delphi Classics, 2018.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 978 1 78656 119 0

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Rue Saint-Honor, Paris Molires birthplace. The playwright was born on 15 January 1622.

Molires birthplace

Molires birthplace in 1901

Detail of the map of Paris by Merian, 1615, showing the suburb beyond the second door Saint-Honore

Portrait of Molire playing Julius Caesar by Nicolas Mignard, 1656

Le Mdecin volant

Translated by Charles Heron Wall

The Flying Doctor was written in 1645 when Molire was in his early twenties. It is his first play, which he composed the same year that the theatre company he founded with fellow actor Madeleine Bjart went bankrupt. Bjart was from a famous theatre family; she worked as both a performer and director and was highly regarded by her contemporaries. She and Molire established the Illustre Thtre in June 1643 after the playwright decided not to pursue a career in the law. However, within two years, the company had amassed considerable debts and, upon declaring bankruptcy, Molire was imprisoned. He was released from jail within twenty-four hours after a friend paid his debts and he immediately returned to acting. He changed his name from Jean Baptiste Poquelin to Molire in order not to embarrass his father, who had been given a post as furniture maker to King Louis XIII in 1631.

The Flying Doctor is a short, one-act comedy, consisting of only sixteen scenes. It was not performed in Paris until April 1659 and it remains one of Molires lesser known works. The playwright acted in the Paris production, taking on the role of the servant, Sganarelle. The plot involves Sganarelle attempting to help his master, Valre, marry a young noblewoman called Lucile. Gorgibus, Luciles father, is adamant that his daughter should marry the older nobleman, Villebrequin, despite her love for Valre. Sganarelle is tasked with playing a doctor in a plan to fool Gorgibus, but the scheme soon goes awry leading to a comic and ridiculous scenario.

Trivelin, one of the figures of the crafty valet of the commedia dellarte, from a seventeenth century vignette

Madeleine Bjart in Les prcieuses ridicules

Gorgibus, father to Lucile.
Valre, in love with Lucile.
Sganarelle, servant to Valre.
Gros-Ren, valet to Gorgibus.
A Lawyer.
Lucile.
Sabine, cousin to Lucile.

VALRE, SABINE.

V AL . W ELL , S ABINE , what do you advise me to do?

Sab. 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.