Background
''The Mock Doctor: or The Dumb Lady Cur'd'' was the replacement for ''The Covent-Garden Tragedy'' as the companion play to ''The Old Debauchees''. The play is an Anglicised adaptation of Molière's ''Le Medecin malgre Lui'' and is contemporary to the translation by John Watts in the ''Select Comedies of Molière'', even though there is no direct connection between Fielding and the translation. The play was first advertised in the 16 June 1732 '' Daily Post'' as being in rehearsal and first ran on 23 June 1732. It was later revised by 16 November 1732, and both versions were successful. The play ran for a total of twenty-four nights that year and was revived even until the nineteenth century. The revised version was shown on 16 November 1732 as an author's benefit and shown on 30 November at the request of the king. It was published by John Watts on 11 July 1732 with a second edition published on 30 November 1732.Cast
* Gregory * Dorcas * Sir Jasper * Charlotte * LeanderPlot
The basis of the plot is the story of Gregory's pretending to be a doctor. Gregory starts off as a simple woodcutter by trade, but his wife forces him to take on the role of doctor. He disguises himself as Dr Ragou, a Frenchman, and goes to treat Sir Jasper's daughter, Charlotte, who pretends to be unable to speak. Charlotte pretends to be mute because she feels that it is the only way for her to avoid marrying who her father wants her to marry. Instead, she wants to marry a man named Leander. While treating Charlotte, Gregory's disguise is able to fool his wife and he begins to pursue her as the Frenchman. However, Dorcas is able to figure it out that it is her husband in the disguise.Themes
Unlike Fielding's other plays, there is no serious moral lesson or purpose in ''The Mock Doctor''. Instead, it is a pure comedy and follows closely to Molière's structure with alterations to adjust the format of the play to an English setting. Likewise, the language is Fielding's and emphasis theatrics over a faithful translation.Sources
Although Fielding is in debt to Molière, he made the play his own. In terms of characters, the power of the husband figure is shifted to the wife figure, and there is a connection between Gregory and the real life John Misaubin, of whom Fielding dedicates ''The Mock Doctor''. However, the wife and husband also resemble Fielding's previous characters, the Moderns. Fielding added nine songs to Molière's version and changed a few scenes around, including substituting unmarried characters for married characters during a sex scene. The original adaptation filled only one act but the revised version added distinct scene changes. The revised play also replaced four songs.Critical response
The 26 June 1732 ''Daily Post'' reported that the play was shown to "a full House, with great applause" and that "''Le Medecin Malgre Lui'', of Molier, from whence the ''Mock-Doctor'' is taken, bears the greatest reputation of any petite Piece in the French language; and many good Judges allow the English Farce is no way inferior to the Original." The ''Grub-Street Journal'' disagreed with the reporting and printed on 29 June and 20 July 1772 that Fielding performed a disservice to the original. The 24 August 1732 ''Grub-Street Journal'' stated that the play was favoured by audiences but gave all credit to Molière and the actors instead of to Fielding. Later, John Hill, a rival to Fielding, admitted in the 13 January 1752 ''London Daily Advertiser'' that the play defined the English farce.Notes
References
* Battestin, Martin. "Dating Fielding's Letters to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu" ''Studies in Bibliography'' 42 (1989). * Battestin, Martin, and Battestin, Ruthe. ''Henry Fielding: a Life''. London: Routledge, 1993. * Hume, Robert. ''Fielding and the London Theater''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. * Pagliaro, Harold. ''Henry Fielding: A Literary Life''. New York: St Martin's Press, 1998. * Paulson, Ronald. ''The Life of Henry Fielding: A Critical Biography''. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mock Doctor Plays by Henry Fielding Comedy plays 1732 plays Medicine and health in fiction