Indeed, psychogenic explanations for physical diseases were often, as they are now, a default 'god of the gaps' diagnosis of the time, reflecting lack of medical knowledge, sadly as they still do. She goes on to make him realize that not everything doctors tell him is true; she blames his one arm for taking up all the nutrients, so he should have it amputated so as to make his other arm stronger. Toinette comes in and says that a new doctor has arrived who wants to treat Argan.

We quickly find out that she has been talking almost non-stop about the qualities of a young man named Cléante since she met him at a play six days ago.

Beralde then tries to convince his brother that since he has already fallen out with Purgon, he should consider a different marriage for his daughter. Not only is Thomas a doctor, but his father and uncle, Monsieur Purgon are also doctors.

skipped all the songs and dances though. The Imaginary Invalid (French: Le Malade imaginaire) is a three-act comédie-ballet by the French playwright Molière. Eventually he gives up trying to scold her and asks her to call in his daughter, Angelique. However, there were some lovely quotes within the play and I really enjoyed the interludes, especially as they had Latin and Italian influences. Argan then tells Cléante to help Angelique sing a song for the party. Argan begins to get angry again, but Toinette steps in and says she has a solution to prove to Beralde how much Beline loves her husband. She and Cléante are both delighted that he is alive. Beralde tells his brother that he has a match for Angelique.

(Summary by Wikipedia) Cast:

She suggests that they ought to get to know each other first. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known by his stage name, Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. The plot was slightly confusing. Beralde hides as Beline comes in. It is very obvious they do not know what they are doing.

Then Argan invites Cléante to stay as a guest as Angelique is introduced to her fiancé, Thomas Diaforious. He says that as a child he was never very bright or exciting and he never has had any wit or liveliness, but he has sound judgement. 397–418 in, This page was last edited on 28 August 2020, at 20:35.

An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Imaginary-Invalid, The Literature Network - "The Imaginary Invalid". Announcing our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! She also endeavors to find a way to tell Cléante of the intended marriage. I wish I'd known about this play years ago. Beralde wants to hear no more of this.

Cléante shows up in disguise at the door, surprising Toinette. In 1998, the L.A. Theatre Works recorded and released a production (.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN 978-1-58081-360-0) featuring an adaptation by Beth Miles (who also directed the production) based on the John Wood translation (without the tragic twist ending; see above) and performed by The Actors' Gang.

Summary Argan, a fearful but miserly hypochondriac, divides his time between summoning the doctor to care for his ills and trying not to settle the resultant bills. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. He points out to Argan that he (Argan) is one of the healthiest people he (Beralde) knows and that Argan's infatuation with doctors and apothecaries is bad for him and everyone else. Nice play.

This final play by Molière isn't as hilarious as his best plays but was still pretty fun. Molière was ill while writing this so choosing to satirize doctors and apothecaries makes sense and explains the bitter edge to some of the speeches. The author's basically criticizing the medical practices of his time and this is done with the finest wording and sense of humor. Once you had read L'Avare and Tartüf you know everything that it's going to happen here. Toinette hints that she has a plan herself, but cannot tell what it is because her master has returned. Argan asks if Thomas is to become a doctor for the rich at court.

He pays out only about half of what is on the bill.

Beralde asks Argan not to take the remedy and to put it off until tomorrow, but this makes Fleurant very angry and he storms off to tell Dr. Purgon about this interference.

By Molière Adapted by Fiasco Theater Directed by Jessie Austrian and Noah Brody. She suggests that Argan lie down on the couch and pretend to be dead. This was a nice read and still stikes a cord even with today's advances in medicine. We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. It begins with an introduction, an eclogue with music and ballet dancing, and a prologue added a year after the play debuted. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).

Angelique tries to argue the point with him, but the arguing proves useless. Unfortunately, Angelique thinks he's been talking about Cléante, while her father has promised his daughter to Thomas Diaforious, the son of a respected Paris doctor who is soon to be made a doctor himself. “The Hypochondriac” is Richard Bean’s version of Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid”, as literally translated by Chris Campbell. He suggests that Argan should just become a doctor himself, since no disease would dare to attack a doctor. Cléante gives her a scroll of music with no words and tells everyone that it is a short piece from an improvised opera. I can scarcely believe that, as an undergraduate College student at Bradley University, I read this in the opriginal French, with comments that I made (sometimes in French, and sometimes in English) in the margins, as I explained what specific words might mean or what concepts might be relevant.

The acclaimed artists of Fiasco Theater are back! A hypochondriac has remarried, maybe unwisely.

This is ironic because Moliere was apparently extremely ill with pulmonary disease and died a few hours after a performance. Argan gets angry with Angelique's willfulness and everyone's failure to pay attention to him during the fight. Hearing the disturbance, Argan's second wife Béline runs in.

It was also translated as The Hypochondriac. Surely some horrific fatal irony lies in Moliere's dying at the same age as Shakespeare, playing a hypoch. Then everyone will see how she really feels about him by her grief, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtl7KkcrhNQ, http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=8521, http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2941, English translation on the Gutenberg Project, Tromb-al-ca-zar, ou Les criminels dramatiques, Le barbier de Séville ou La précaution inutile, La folle journée, ou Le mariage de Figaro, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Imaginary_Invalid&oldid=975493069, Articles with dead external links from January 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The first known Broadway production was performed at the Liberty Theatre in March 1917, The latest Broadway production was performed at the ANTA Playhouse 1–13 May 1967 with, Théâtre Chatelet with Les Arts Florissants; music-director, William Christie (1999); complete production using original/early sources, performing styles, and scenic design etc.