The protagonist of the work is Mr. Jourdain. His most cherished dream is to become a nobleman. In order to become at least a little like a representative of the nobility, Jourdain hires teachers for himself. The main character has a role model - this is a certain Count Dorant, who is known in society as a scoundrel and a swindler.
Jourdain also has a wife who is incredibly intelligent as well as well educated, but she has not the slightest sympathy for the nobility. This beautiful woman considers her main task to marry her own daughter to a wonderful, worthy young man. The daughter of Jourdain and his wife is named Lucille.
The girl is in love with a certain Cleont. This young man is very smart, noble and handsome, and most importantly, he incredibly loves Lucille. But, of course, Jourdain refuses Cleont, since the young man has nothing to do with the nobility. It would seem that the young couple was not destined to be together. But the circumstances are completely different. The servant, whose name is Covelier, decides on a very desperate, but at the same time cunning step.
In order for young people to finally find their happiness, he disguises Cleont, who in turn appears before Jourdain as "the son of the Sultan." After that, Jourdain, who had dreamed of a noble title for so long, gives his consent to the wedding of Cleont and his beautiful daughter. In such an incredible way, a cunning servant helps young people find true happiness, because young Lucille's father gave his parental blessing.
And what happens to Jourdain himself? He longed for a precious title of nobility for a very long time, but at the same time he was left with nothing. But his wife has fulfilled her main task, and his daughter is marrying a worthy man. This is where the work comes to its logical conclusion.
Read the detailed summary of The Tradesman in the Nobility of Molière
The hero of the play "The Philistine in the Nobility" is Mr. Jourdain. Despite his background not from a high class, he was able to get rich. However, for complete happiness, he lacks a title, he wants to be an aristocrat. In order to become equal to people from high society, he decides to learn good manners and get an education worthy of an aristocrat.
This brings a lot of inconvenience to his family, but it is very useful for tailors, hairdressers and Jourdain's teachers.
The first thing the owner wanted was for the music and dance teachers to put on a show and entertain the guest invited to dinner.
The tailor offered Jourdain new liveries for the lackeys and a very unusual dressing gown in which the gentleman appeared before his teachers. Despite the absurdity of the attire, the teachers retained a serious look and even expressed their admiration for the attire. But they, of course, flattered the owner, because for this they were promised a good reward.
Then Jourdain listened to the serenade, and at first for a long time he could not decide how to listen to it: in a new dressing gown or without it. He did not like the serenade, it seemed boring, unlike a cheerful street song, which he did not immediately sing. Jourdain was praised for such a skillful performance and was advised to also take up music and dance.
According to the teachers, every noble person certainly pays attention to these studies.
The dance teacher, together with his students, showed Jourdain a ballet, which the latter liked. The musician immediately advised to make sure to arrange home concerts every week. The dance teacher began to teach Jourdain the minuet, but the classes were interrupted by the fencing teacher, who stated that his art was the most important, which, of course, the music and dance teachers disagreed with. Each of them began to prove the superiority of their occupation, and soon a fight ensued.
Fortunately, a teacher of philosophy soon arrived, on whom Jourdain placed his hopes as a peacemaker. But he himself found himself in the thick of the fight, although initially he wanted to calm the fighting.
The philosophy teacher, who miraculously escaped injury, nevertheless began his lesson. Logic turned out to be too tough for Jourdain - too complicated words, and he considered ethics simply unnecessary - if he starts swearing, nothing will stop him.
Then it was decided to start the spelling lesson. This lesson captivated Jourdain - he really liked to pronounce vowel sounds. But soon he admitted that he was in love with a secular lady and was eager to write her a love note. When the philosopher began to specify in what form to write it - in prose or in verse, Jourdain wanted to do without them. Here, the future aristocrat was waiting for one of the biggest discoveries in his life - it turns out that when he called the maid, he spoke in prose.
However, the philosophy teacher could not improve the text of the note composed by Jourdain.
At this time, the tailor was reported, and the philosopher had to leave. Apprentices brought in a new suit, tailored according to all the laws of fashion. Dancing, they dressed Jourdain in new clothes, and tirelessly treated him like a high society nobleman, thanks to which he forked out, being touched by such treatment.
Jourdain wanted to take to the streets of Paris in a new attire, but his wife was against it - there were still not enough new ridicule from the townspeople. In her opinion, he was already too carried away by nonsense. For example, why would he learn to swordsman if he wasn't going to kill anyone? Why, at his age, when his legs are so sore, also dance?
In response, Jourdain decided to impress his wife and maid with what he had learned, but nothing came of it: Nicole pronounced the sound “u” in the same way, while not knowing how to pronounce it “correctly”, and with a rapier inflicted several injections on the owner, since used it inappropriately.
The wife accused the noblemen, with whom Jourdain had recently made friends, in his new useless pursuits. He saw the benefit in dealing with such people, while they saw in him only a plump wallet.
Count Dorant - one of Jourdain's new friends, borrowed fifteen thousand eight hundred livres from him, and was going to borrow another two hundred thousand for good measure, in return promising to provide a service - to introduce Jourdain to the Marquise Dorimene, with whom he is in love and is going to give a dinner with a performance
M. Jourdain's wife at this time went to dinner with her sister, thinking only about the fate of her daughter Lucille. She wanted to marry her to the young man Cleont, who was not a nobleman, and therefore did not meet the requirements of Mr. Jourdain. And of course, the guy was refused and fell into despair.
Then Coviel, Jourdain's servant, decided to take him.
At this time Count Dorant and the Marquis Dorimena arrived. The count himself liked this lady, but they could not see her. And all the gifts and entertainment that Jourdain spent on, the count allegedly gave from himself, which endeared Dorimena to him.
Jourdain greeted the guests with a rather awkward speech, before which he bowed awkwardly and invited them to the table.
The owner's wife unexpectedly returned and raised a scandal about the fact that she was specially escorted away so that her husband could spend time with a strange lady at that time, and then she began to accuse the marquise of promiscuity. The guests immediately left the house.
But soon a new visitor reported, who was the disguised servant Koviel. He introduced himself as a friend of Jourdain's father. Previously, he assured everyone that the deceased was not a merchant, but a real nobleman. After these words, Jourdain was ready to listen to the new guest and not doubt the veracity of his stories.
Covel said that the son of the Turkish sultan had come to the city, who intended to propose to Lucille, the daughter of Jourdain. In order for the marriage to take place, and the father-in-law to be a match for noble relatives, it was decided to dedicate him to mammamushi, that is, paladins. Jourdain's delight knew no bounds.
The son of the Turkish Sultan was, of course, Cleont. He spoke in a fictitious language, and Coviel allegedly translated this nonsense into French. The initiation ceremony turned out to be very spectacular, with music and dancing, and its apogee was the beating of the future mother.
Meanwhile, Lucille recognized the overseas prince Cleont and gave her consent. Madame Jourdain was against this marriage, but Coviel explained everything to her, and she had already changed her mind.
Jourdain gave his father's blessing on the marriage of his daughter and young man, joining their hands, and then began to wait for the notary, enjoying the ballet, which was staged by the dance teacher.
Moliere's play "The Philistine in the Nobility" ridicules the class of people who, due to circumstances, became rich and received the status of nobility, but did not receive proper education and upbringing. And also ridicules wayward, stupid and narrow-minded people who believe that everything you want can be achieved with money, and that money is the most important thing in life, who do not notice that they expose themselves to ridicule.
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Lesson 5. J. B. MOLIERE'S COMEDY "THE PEIST IN THE NOBILITY"
Practice Plan
1. The history of the comedy "The tradesman in the nobility".
2. Typology of conflict in comedy. Reflection of the social contradictions of the era of absolutism.
3. The system of images in comedy. Principles of character creation.
4. The concept of the comic in "The Tradesman in the Nobility".
5. The place of the comedy "The Philistine in the Nobility" in the work of Molière, its artistic significance.
One of the main goals of the practical lesson is to reveal the great possibilities of the classic method, its ability to penetrate deeply into social reality with its specific means. The literal translation of the title of the comedy by Jean Baptiste Molière, written in 1670, is “Bourgeois nobleman”. The name reflects a whole era in the history of the third estate. G. V. Plekhanov pointed to this: “In the history of the spirit and customs of the French bourgeoisie, we see ... at least two essentially different eras from each other: the era of imitation of the nobility and the era of contradiction to it. Each of these epochs corresponds to a certain phase in the development of the bourgeoisie. The inclinations and directions of taste of any class depend, therefore, on the degree of its development, and still more on its relation to the upper class - a relation determined by the named development.
The class conflict brewing in society finds artistic embodiment in an indirect form. Jourdain is economically already a ruler, not only people of art, but also nobles curry favor with him. However, in the social and cultural sphere, he is still a complete nonentity. In Molière's time, the "natural man" standing outside civilization and judging it from the outside is still ridiculous (in Molière this is both the tragicomic image of Alceste in The Misanthrope and the satirical image of Jourdain). The conflict of his comedy is based on Jourdain's "crazy" struggle with the rational order of things. Molière's work still retains, although not in a universal sense, the modified Renaissance concept of the "single chain of being" as the embodiment of higher intelligence. According to this concept, everything in the world is connected and ascends from stone to God. In each link of the “single chain”, the law of ascent also operates: among stones, the noblest is diamond, among metals - gold, in the state everything goes back to the king, in the family - to the father, in the world of heavenly bodies - to the sun, etc. The world, thus bound by uniform laws. This concept allowed Molière to give significance to his comedy, without in any way violating the requirements of classicism to depict in comedies only private situations, individual vices of people.
There are two closely related private plots in the comedy. As a classicist, Molière drew on the ancient tradition, the Italian "learned" comedy, introducing a line of young lovers who seek to connect. The lyrical line of Cleont and Jourdain's daughter Lucille is parodied twice: firstly, by the more mundane, but full of sincerity, love of the servants - Nicole and Covel (see the famous scene of "love annoyance", d. III, yavl. 10), secondly, prudent relations, covered with precision, between Count Dorant and Marquise Dorimena (see d. III, yavl. 19, d. V, yavl. 2). It should be borne in mind that lovers are also constant characters in the Italian folk comedy of masks (commedia dell'arte).
The second side of the plot is the development of the French farce tradition (there is a quarrel between a stupid husband and a smart and evil wife, here, in the comedy by J. B. Moliere, this is an image of the father of the family who has lost his mind, who himself forces the family to deceive and fool him) .
In The Tradesman in the Nobility, both lines are inextricably linked (unity of action!), creating an integral system of images. The comedy of character appears against the background of the comedy of manners - this is how one can define the basic law of this system, which gives it an artistic originality.
The bearers of morals are all the heroes of comedy, with the exception of Jourdain. The sphere of morals is the customs, habits, traditions of society. The characters can express this sphere only together, in the aggregate (Dorant and Dorimena; Lucille, Cleont, Madame Durden, Coviel and Nicole; teachers of music, dance, fencing, philosophy, etc.). All of them are just characters, they are personified, endowed with characteristic features, but not character. These features, even comically pointed, nevertheless do not violate the plausibility.
In this regard, students should be warned against the wrong conclusion about the individualization of Molière's characters with the help of speech. The speech of teachers of fencing and philosophy is often cited as an example. But Molière needs it not for individualization (individualization of speech is associated with the selection of a specific person, an “individual”; professional, estate features make up the shade of his speech, and not a being, as in Moliere), but for contrast with the speech of other teachers. They almost always appear not one by one - and together they outline the mores of their environment.
Jourdain, unlike the characters of the comedy of manners, acts as a comedic character. You can acquaint students with the point of view of D. D. Oblomievsky, who disputed the well-known statement of A. S. Pushkin that Molière, unlike Shakespeare, has only “types of such and such a passion, such and such a vice”. D. D. Oblomievsky speaks of the "complexity", "many qualities" of the character of Moliere's heroes, concentrated around some dominant quality. So, Harpagon, about whom Pushkin said that he was "stingy - and nothing more" in Molière, in fact, combines "stinginess and a passion for enrichment with inclinations for young girls, narcissism, with confidence in flattery", D. D Oblomievsky.
It seems, nevertheless, that it was Pushkin who penetrated the very essence of the problem. The heroes of Moliere, of course, appear in a variety of relationships, situations, but, as A. S. Pushkin said, “in Moliere, a hypocrite drags himself behind the wife of his benefactor, a hypocrite; accepts the estate under preservation, hypocrite; asks for a glass of water, the hypocrite." Hypocrisy for Molière is not at all the dominant feature in the character of Tartuffe, it is the very character of the hero. For classicists, character is a distinctive property, a general quality, a specificity of one or another human type. The character can be extremely sharpened to the point of improbability, because such a sharpening does not distort it, but, on the contrary, reveals it. In this, character differs from mores - characteristic features, each of which cannot be sharpened to the point of opposing others, so as not to distort the connections in the whole picture of mores. Mores are common, ordinary, habitual; character is a special, rare precisely in terms of the degree of manifestation of a property dispersed in the mores of society.
The peculiarity of Moliere's characters is that the tendency that exists in reality is brought to such a degree of concentration that the hero "breaks out" from the natural, "reasonable" order. Such are the heroes of Moliere's comedies Don Juan, Alsest, Harpagon, Tartuffe, Orgon - heroes of the highest honesty and dishonesty, martyrs of noble passions and fools.
Such is Jourdain. For more than forty years he lived in his own world and did not know that he "spoke in prose." This world was harmonious, because in it everyone was in their place.
Jourdain was smart enough, sharp-witted in a bourgeois way (see numerous examples of this sharpness in the text). The desire to get into the world of the nobles, which has become the character of the bourgeois Jourdain, destroys the harmonious family order. Let us recall the “single chain of being”: the father of the family is likened to a king in a state, to the sun among the luminaries. It is the duty of the head of the family to govern wisely and humanely this small unit of society. Jourdain, at the same time, becomes a petty tyrant, a tyrant who prevents Cleont from marrying Lucille, who loves him, only because he is not a nobleman, and a naive child who is easy to deceive by playing on his noble tastes.
Through the mouth of Cleont (partially acting as a reasoner), the idea of the play is stated: “People without a twinge of conscience assign themselves a noble title - this kind of theft, apparently, has become a custom. But on this score, I confess, I am more scrupulous. I believe that every deceit casts a shadow on a decent person. To be ashamed of those from whom heaven destined you to be born into the world, to shine in society with a fictitious title, to pretend not to be what you really are - this, in my opinion, is a sign of spiritual baseness.
Attention is drawn to the contradiction of this tirade to the further development of the plot of the comedy. The noble Cleont literally an hour later (note that the action develops without any interruption) pretends to be the son of the Turkish Sultan, and honest Madame Jourdain and Lucille help him in deception.
How to explain it? In the Renaissance, the concept of a “single chain of being” required everyone to correspond to their place and purpose. If some link is destroyed, the whole chain loses harmony (for example, in Shakespeare, the murder of a monarch is accompanied by a storm, a downpour, the dead come out of the graves, etc.) and is restored only when the “dislocated” link “resets”. Molière, on the other hand, perceives the world not in harmony, but in motion, he sees more and more clearly the impossibility of returning to the previous state of society (it should be noted that Molière is no longer characterized by a holistic perception of the world as a universe living according to uniform laws, the world for him is a society and reigning it has morals).
Moliere brilliantly foresaw the ideas that would be expressed in many decades by enlighteners and romantics. The classicists saw the world as commensurate with the hero and corresponding to him (for example, the heroism of Corneille's Rodrigo corresponded to the heroic state of the artistic world recreated in Side). Moliere was one of the first to depict the discrepancy between the world and the hero living in it. The motif of the hero's blindness arises, as if not understanding what is happening around him (Orgon and Madame Pernel in Tartuffe). In The Misanthrope, Alsest is deeply aware of the depravity of the world, fights against it, but is defeated and leaves Paris, breaking his last ties with society.
In The Tradesman in the Nobility, Jourdain, unlike Orgon, never sees the light and, unlike Alsest, does not suffer defeat. Of course, his victory is ephemeral (he triumphs in the world of phantasmagoria, carnival, ballet), but it is ephemeral only in regard to his new titles. Jourdain, having forced his relatives and servants, contrary to their inherent honesty, to deceive, changes the real world, primarily its moral character. Now, whether Jourdain sees through or not, the former harmony will not be restored, the world has irrevocably changed, adapting to the hero's delusion.
French romanticists, who portrayed the tragic contradiction of the individual and society or the ability of a strong romantic personality to subjugate circumstances, will not accidentally see Molière as one of their great predecessors (see, for example, the manifesto of French romanticism - “Preface to Cromwell” by V. Hugo). But the discrepancy between the world and the hero, that is, what for the romantics will appear in a dramatic, tragic light, for Molière was still a source of the comic.
The comic in Moliere differs from the comic in Shakespeare or Lope de Vega, whose comedies sang the excess of vitality, the joy of feeling being. In the works of Moliere, cheerful, cheerful laughter is increasingly combined with tragicomic and satirical laughter.
In a practical lesson, when analyzing the comedic skill of a playwright, one should dwell on the means of satirical and carnival-comedy depiction, considering the comedic characteristics of the characters through description, word and action. Thus, an analysis of the description of Jourdain's costume, his speech, attitude to art and science, his actions (battle with rapiers with Nicole, bow before Dorimena, etc.) - all this will allow us to see the satirical sharpness of the image of Jourdain. Hegel, who saw in Moliere's comedies only satirical ("prosaic") laughter, explains well what it is: "The prosaic is based here on the fact that individuals take their goals with extreme seriousness", they act "as objects of someone else's laughter" .
Carnival laughter suggests that the hero laughs at himself along with everyone else. In a carnival-comedy vein, for example, the scene of "love annoyance" is solved. Analyzing the principles of construction of the dialogue in this scene (reduced parallel in the remarks of the servants, peripety development, contrasting dialogue, etc.), it can be recalled that when constructing this type of dialogue, Moliere used the traditions of the commedia dell'arte dialogue, significantly enriching them.
However, it should be borne in mind that satirical and carnival-comedy laughter are quite difficult to combine in comedy. A. V. Lunacharsky, describing the performance of the role of Jourdain by the French actors Coquelin Jr. and Vilbert, noted precisely the complexity of Molière’s comic palette, which makes it possible to give the comedy very different interpretations: Coquelin had it - he is an adult child, with a joyful laugh reaching out for everything that rings, glitters and entertains. It is impossible to be angry with him, because he is good nature itself. And this splendidly sets off the other side of Molière's satire, striking precisely at that refined society into which poor Jourdain was trying to get into. Hiding behind his ridiculous figure, but placing his venerable family next to him, Molière, with the colors of almost the present Free Theater, paints the nasty faces of all these small and large robbed, from a high-society tailor to an elegant marquis, accepted by the king and mercilessly, not without some, however , self-humiliation, robbing and fooling the weak-minded eccentric.
Information for home reflection
The comic in Molière is embodied in the genre. When characterizing the genre, it is not enough to note the combination of a comedy of manners and a comedy of character in The Tradesman in the Nobility: we also have a comedy-ballet. This genre is very artificial and somewhat contradicts the classicist requirement for the purity of genres. "The Philistine in the Nobility" was written by order of King Louis XIV, who loved ballets. Offended by the irreverence of the Turkish embassy who arrived in France, the king wanted to see a ballet in which the Turks would appear in a ridiculous way. Moliere gave this simple joke the depth of a genuine satire on modern society. The playwright has been writing comedy-ballets since 1661 ("The Boring"). As a classicist, Moliere strove for the unity of the genre. In the preface to Boring, he wrote: "... in order not to break the thread of the play with such interludes, we decided to connect them as closely as possible with the plot, to combine ballet and comedy into one whole."
"The tradesman in the nobility" is the pinnacle of the comedy-ballet genre. The ballet here is not an interlude; moreover, the ballet, after the fourth act, constitutes the climax of the comedy. He is the expression of that phantasmagoric world, which, unlike the real world, fully corresponds to the character of Jourdain.
Homework
Think of the concept of a modern theatrical production of "The Tradesman in the Nobility" as a comedy-ballet.
The comedy-ballet The Philistine in the Nobility is a bold and very successful literary experiment by Molière, which has enjoyed constant success with readers for several hundred years. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the analysis of the work according to the plan, which will be useful to students in grade 8 in preparing for a lesson in literature. In The Tradesman in the Nobility, the analysis includes the disclosure of the theme, description of the composition, genre affiliation and the history of the creation of the work.
Brief analysis
Year of writing- 1670.
History of creation– The work was written by order of King Louis, who wanted to ridicule Turkish customs. This desire was connected with the unsuccessful and extremely humiliating reception of impostor envoys of the Turkish Sultan.
Topic– Exposure of social and human vices, shown through the prism of the behavior of a wealthy bourgeois who desired to become a nobleman.
Composition- The play consists of five acts, in each of which Jourdain finds himself in ridiculous situations, not realizing that his own ambitions are to blame.
Genre- A play. Social comedy-ballet.
Direction- Classicism.
History of creation
The autumn of 1669 was marked for the capital of France by the arrival of "distinguished" guests - ambassadors of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. King Louis XIV wanted to surprise them with an incredibly pompous reception, but he failed: neither the spectacular meeting, nor the luxurious decoration of the apartments and the richness of decorations could touch the Turks.
Moreover, the delegation arrogantly stated that the royal reception was surprisingly meager and pathetic. Subsequently, it turned out that they were impostors, but the blow to the royal pride was very strong. As a kind of revenge, Louis demanded that Moliere write a comedy in which Turkish customs would be ridiculed in the most cruel way.
It took the talented playwright very little time to stage a play called "Turkish Ceremony" at the Royal Theater. Moliere showed his offspring to the king, but soon radically altered it, supplementing it with ridicule of the nobility. So the play "The Bourgeois Man in the Nobility" was born.
Topic
Molière has always had the reputation of an excellent comedian who, throughout his entire career, followed his own principle - to correct people by entertaining them. He did not change himself in the work "The tradesman in the nobility", central theme which was the ridicule of the ordinary bourgeois, who decided at all costs to become a real aristocrat.
Writing idea such a work was caused by the pressing problems in society at that time, when the impoverished aristocracy was forced to accept into its ranks wealthy philistines who sought to acquire a title of nobility for big money.
Already from the first minutes of acquaintance with the main characters, the reader comes to the conclusion how absurd this idea is. A wealthy and very intelligent bourgeois named Jourdain becomes a victim of his own ambitions when he decides to become a nobleman. He employs teachers in various disciplines in order to "reach out" to a high level of educated nobility, spending a minimum of time on it. However, in his quest to become a true aristocrat, Jourdain makes himself a laughingstock, since his true nature does not change in any way.
So the author leads the reader to the main idea of the work- It is impossible to become what you are not in reality. A mature man, who managed to make a decent capital through honest work, shows himself to be a real fool, allowing clever teachers to pull money out of his pocket. He sees the meaning of his life only in acquiring the coveted title of nobility, and in the end he receives it - the sham title of the Turkish aristocracy.
So the author shows that excessive vanity becomes a big obstacle on the way to the cherished goal. Ignorance and clumsy imitation of an alien way of life and culture expose the protagonist in a comic light, making him look like a crow in peacock feathers.
Composition
Moliere's comedy "The Philistine in the Nobility" is all woven from comic episodes and funny situations, each of which is described in detail in a separate act:
- in the first act the protagonist becomes a victim of frank flattery of music and dance teachers;
- in the second act the staff of Jourdain's mentors is increasing, and each of the teachers strives to prove the value and necessity of his subject for a true aristocrat;
- third act clearly demonstrates how stupid and blind in his vanity Jourdain is, allowing his imaginary friend Dorant to pull money out of himself;
- in the fourth act a Turkish farce is played out, necessary for the initiation of Jourdain into the ranks of a non-existent aristocracy;
- in the fifth act Jourdain, who is in seventh heaven because of his cherished dream come true, gives permission for the marriage of his daughter and maid.
main characters
Genre
Since Moliere worked in the age of classicism, this obliged him to adhere to the basic canons of this literary movement and to observe the trinity in action, place and time. And he fully succeeded in this, since the action of the plot takes place within one day, in the house of Mr. Jourdain and the main storyline is not interrupted by secondary actions.
However, Moliere, who wrote according to the strict rules of classicism, nevertheless moved away from him towards realism. In order to clearly emphasize all the absurdity and wretchedness of rich upstarts who want to break into the privileged strata of society, he created a fundamentally new genre - comedy-ballet. At the same time, he managed to avoid genre conflict, and the play came out surprisingly harmonious.
It is noteworthy that the ballet numbers not only do not infringe on the realism of the events described, but even more emphasize the essence of the play, fully revealing its problems. As a result, the work turned out so bright and unusual that for many years it has been one of the most popular plays all over the world.
Artwork test
Analysis Rating
Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 513.
"The Philistine in the Nobility" is a comedy-ballet created by the great Molière in 1670. This is a classic work, supplemented with elements of folk farce, features of ancient comedy and satirical compositions of the Renaissance.
History of creation
In the autumn of 1669, the ambassadors of the Ottoman Sultan visited Paris. The Turks were greeted especially pompously. But decorations, a spectacular meeting and luxurious apartments did not surprise the guests. Moreover, the Delegation stated that the reception was poor. It soon turned out that it was not ambassadors who visited the palace, but impostors.
However, the offended King Louis nevertheless demanded that Moliere create a work that would ridicule the pompous Turkish customs and the specific mores of Eastern culture. It took only 10 rehearsals and the play "Turkish Ceremony" was shown to the king. A month later, in 1670, at the end of November, the performance was presented at the Palais Royal.
However, a talented playwright after some time radically transformed the original play. In addition to satire on Turkish customs, he supplemented the work with reflections on the theme of the modern customs of the nobles.
Analysis of the work
Plot
Mr. Jourdain has money, a family and a good house, but he wants to become a true aristocrat. He pays barbers, tailors, and teachers to make him a respectable nobleman. The more his servants praised him, the more he paid them. Any whims of the master were embodied in reality, while those around him generously praised the naive Jourdain.
The dance teacher taught the minuet and the art of bowing correctly. This was important for Jourdain, who was in love with a marquise. The fencing teacher told me how to strike correctly. He was taught spelling, philosophy, learned the subtleties of prose and poetry.
Dressed in a new suit, Jourdain decided to take a walk around the city. Madame Jourdain and the maid Nicole told the man that he looked like a jester and everyone rushed about him only because of his generosity and wealth. There is a skirmish. Count Dorant appears and asks Jourdain to lend him some more money, despite the fact that the amount of debt is already quite substantial.
A young man named Cleon loves Lucille, who loves him back. Madame Jourdain agrees to the marriage of her daughter with her lover. Mr. Jourdain, having learned that Cleont is not of noble origin, sharply refuses. At this moment, Count Dorant and Dorimena appear. An enterprising adventurer courts the marchioness, passing on gifts from the naive Jourdain in his own name.
The owner of the house invites everyone to the table. The marquise is enjoying delicious treats, when suddenly Jourdain's wife appears, who was sent to her sister. She understands what is happening and makes a scandal. The Count and Marquise leave the house.
Koviel appears immediately. He introduces himself as a friend of Jourdain's father and a real nobleman. He tells that the Turkish heir to the throne arrived in the city, madly in love with the daughter of Mr. Jourdain.
To intermarry, Jourdain needs to go through the rite of initiation into mammamushi. Then the Sultan himself appears - Cleont in disguise. He speaks in a fictitious language and Coviel translates. This is followed by a mixed initiation ceremony, complete with ridiculous rituals.
Characteristics of the main characters
Jourdain is the protagonist of the comedy, a bourgeois who wants to become a nobleman. He is naive and direct, generous and reckless. Goes ahead to his dream. Happy to lend money. If he is angered, he instantly flares up, starts screaming and making a fuss.
He believes in the omnipotence of money, so he uses the services of the most expensive tailors, hoping that it is their clothes that will “do the job”. Everyone fools him: from servants to close relatives and false friends. Rudeness and bad manners, ignorance and vulgarity contrast very markedly with claims to noble gloss and grace.
Jourdain's wife
The wife of a petty tyrant and a false nobleman is opposed to her husband in the work. She is educated and full of common sense. A practical and sophisticated lady always behaves with dignity. The wife tries to guide her husband on the "path of truth" by explaining to him that everyone is using him.
She is not interested in titles of nobility, not obsessed with status. Even her beloved daughter, Madame Jourdain, wants to marry a person of equal status and intelligence, so that she feels comfortable and well.
Dorant
Count Dorant represents the nobility. He is aristocratic and vain. He makes friends with Jourdain solely out of selfish motives.
The man's enterprise is manifested in the way he deftly appropriates the gifts of the enamored Jourdain, presented to the marquise, as his own. Even the presented diamond he gives out as his gift.
Knowing about Covel's prank, he is in no hurry to warn his friend about the insidious plans of scoffers. Rather, on the contrary, the count himself has plenty of fun with the stupid Jourdain.
marquise
Marquise Dorimena - a widow, represents a noble noble family. For her sake, Jourdain is studying all the sciences, spending incredible money on expensive gifts and organizing social events.
It is full of hypocrisy and vanity. In the eyes of the owner of the house, she says that he spent so much for nothing on the reception, but at the same time enjoys delicacies with pleasure. The marquise is not averse to accepting expensive gifts, but at the sight of her boyfriend's wife, she pretends to be embarrassed and even offended.
Beloved
Lucille and Cleont are people of a new generation. They are distinguished by a good upbringing, smart and resourceful. Lucille loves Cleont, so when she learns that she will be married to another, she sincerely opposes it.
The young man really has something to love. He is intelligent, noble in manner, honest, kind and loving. He is not ashamed of his relatives, does not pursue ghostly statuses, openly declares his feelings and desires.
Comedy is distinguished by a particularly thoughtful and clear structure: 5 acts, as required by the canons of classicism. One action is not interrupted by secondary lines. Molière introduces ballet into the dramatic work. This violates the requirements of classicism.
The theme is Mr. Jourdain's crazyness in noble titles and nobility. The author criticizes in his work the aristocratic mode, the humiliation of the bourgeoisie in front of the class that allegedly dominates.
So, we have Molière on the agenda. "The tradesman in the nobility" is a book written by the author based on a real and quite anecdotal case. The Turkish ambassador, who was at the court of Louis XIV, had the imprudence to notice that there were more precious stones on the horse of the king than on the monarch himself. For several days, the offender was under house arrest. Then he was sent home, and in order to take revenge on Porta, a parody of the ceremonial adopted in Turkey was staged in the courtyard.
"The tradesman in the nobility", Molière. Summary of the 1st act
Music and dance teachers are waiting for Mr. Jourdain. He called them both to decorate a dinner in honor of an important person. Jourdain decided to become like the masters. The teachers like both the pay and the owner's treatment, but they feel that he lacks taste. For some time now, he has been trying to do everything in the same way as noble gentlemen. The household is also experiencing a lot of inconvenience because of his desire to certainly become a nobleman. He orders a dressing gown for himself, and liveries for the servants, so that it would be like in noble houses. Jourdain also decided to study dance and music.
"The tradesman in the nobility", Molière. Summary of the 2nd act
Teachers quarrel: everyone wants to prove that only with his help Jourdain will reach the goal. A shabby philosophy teacher starts the lesson. They decide to put logic and ethics aside and move on to spelling. Jourdain asks to write a love note to a lady. At the age of forty, he is surprised to learn that there are poems, but there is also prose. The tailor brings the master a new suit. It is sewn, of course, according to the latest fashion. Jourdain notices that the tailor's clothes are made from his own fabric. But the apprentices “spread out” in front of him so much that the master was generous even with a tip.
"The tradesman in the nobility" Molière. Brief summary of the 3rd act
The new outfit causes laughter from the maid Nicole. But Jourdain is still eager to walk around the city in it. The wife is not happy with the whims of her husband. She considers spending on teachers unnecessary, she does not see the use of his friendship with the nobles, since they perceive him only as a cash cow. But Jourdain does not listen to her. Moreover, he is secretly in love with the Marquise Dorimena, with whom Count Dorant brought him together. And a diamond, and ballet, and fireworks, and dinner - all this for her. When Madame Jourdain goes to visit her sister, he plans to host the Marquise. Nicole overheard something and passed it on to the lady. She did not notice anything, since her head was occupied by her daughter Lucille. The girl sends Nicole to Cleont to say that she agrees to marry him. The maid does not hesitate, as she herself is in love with his servant and even hopes that their wedding will take place on the same day. Jourdain does not give consent to the marriage of his daughter, since Cleont is not a nobleman. The wife, admonishing her husband, says that it is better to choose a rich and honest son-in-law than a poor nobleman, who will later reproach Lucille with the fact that she is not of a noble family. But to convince Jourdain is almost impossible. Then Coviel offers to play a joke on him.
"The tradesman in the nobility", Molière. Brief summary of the 4th act
Dorimena and Dorant come to Jourdain. The count himself was in love with the marquise and attributed all the gifts and luxurious receptions to himself. Therefore, he teaches a “friend” that it is indecent in society to even hint to a lady about his presents and feelings. Madame Jourdain suddenly returns. Now she understands where her husband's money went. She reproaches Dorant for following Jourdain's lead. The Count says that it was he who spent everything. Offended, Dorimena leaves. The couple continues to argue. At that moment, Coviel arrives, a servant of Cleont in disguise. He introduces himself as an old friend of Jourdain's father and reports that he was a nobleman. Of course, the tradesman fell for this hook. He is delighted with the fact that he is a hereditary nobleman, and hurries to announce this news to everyone. In addition, it turned out that the son-in-law of Jourdain wants to become the son of the Turkish Sultan himself. Only for this newly-minted nobleman needs to be promoted to "mamamushi". Jourdain is not worried about the upcoming ceremony, but the stubbornness of his daughter. Actors disguised as Turks appear, and Cleont himself. They speak some kind of gibberish, but it doesn't bother me at all. Dorant, at the request of Covel, participates in the draw.
Molière, "The tradesman in the nobility". Summary of Act 5
Dorant invites Dorimena to Jourdain's house to see a funny spectacle. The Marquise decides to marry the Count in order to stop his extravagance. Cleont arrives disguised as a Turk. Lucille recognizes him as her lover and agrees to the marriage. Only Madame Jourdain resists. Everyone gives her signs, but she stubbornly ignores them. Then Coviel takes her aside and says bluntly that everything is set up. They sent for a notary. Jourdain gives Covel (the interpreter) the maid Nicole as his wife. The marquise and count intend to use the services of the same notary. While waiting for him, everyone watches the ballet.