''Le Médecin malgré lui'' (; "The doctor/physician in spite of himself") is a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

first presented in 1666 (published as a manuscript in early 1667) at le

théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history O ...

by la Troupe du Roi. The play is one of several plays by Molière to center on Sganarelle, a character that Molière himself portrayed, and is a comedic satire of 17th century French

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. The music composed by

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

is lost. The play initially focuses on Sganarelle, an

impoverished Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

woodcutter (logger, timber cutter) who is both

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

and gluttonous. He spends his meager

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

on food and drink for himself. One day, he beats his wife during an argument between them. In

revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

, the wife convinces the servants of a wealthy man that Sganarelle is an eccentric

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

who needs beatings to admit his identity and work. The initially unwilling Sganarelle is forced to pretend to be an educated physician. He is tasked with curing Lucinde, the wealthy man's daughter who is supposedly suffering from

muteness In human development, muteness or mutism is defined as an absence of speech, with or without an ability to hear the speech of others. Mutism is typically understood as a person's inability to speak, and commonly observed by their family members, c ...

. The patient is actually faking her illness to avoid an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...

Characters

*Sganarelle, ''an alcoholic, gluttonous woodcutter'' (The title character) *Martine, ''Sganarelle's wife'' *Lucinde, ''Sganarelle's patient; daughter of Geronte'' *Léandre, ''Lucinde's lover'' *Geronte, ''a wealthy bourgeois; father of Lucinde'' *Valère, ''Geronte's educated servant'' *Lucas, ''Geronte's non-educated servant'' *Jacqueline, ''Lucas's wife and Geronte's non-educated feeder'' *Monsieur Robert, ''Sganarelle's neighbor'' *Thibaut, ''a country person'' *Perrin, ''a country person; son of Thibaut''

Synopsis

Sganarelle, a poor woodcutter, makes life a living hell for his wife and family by spending what little he earns on food and drink for himself. As the play opens, he is seen arguing with and eventually beating his wife, Martine, who then decides to take revenge. As she is plotting, she hears two passing servants of a rich man mention their frustration at being unable to find a doctor who can cure their master's daughter's mysterious illness. She convinces the two that her husband is an eccentric but brilliant doctor, whom they must beat into admitting his identity. The servants find Sganarelle cutting wood and drinking in the woods nearby and beat him until he finally admits to being a doctor. The servants take him to meet their master, Geronte, and his daughter Lucinde who has become mysteriously mute. Sganarelle spends his first session with her frantically trying to pass as a real doctor, mainly out of fear of being beaten again. When he sees how much Geronte is willing to pay him, however, he decides to give up woodcutting and remain a "doctor" for the rest of his life. Eventually Sganarelle discovers that his patient is in fact only pretending to be ill, because she is betrothed to a rich man whom she does not love. Farcical comedy ensues, climaxing with Sganarelle being discovered and almost executed. The play ends with a classical moment of

deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( ; ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; 'God from the machine') is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is general ...

; with Lucinde's love, Geronte's wishes, and Sganarelle's fate being neatly and happily resolved.

Sganarelle's monologue

Below is Charles Heron Wall’s 1898 translation of Sganarelle's famous speech:

Adaptations

Molière's play was adapted by

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

as '' The Mock Doctor'', and

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

wrote an opera using a libretto by

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (; 8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré.

and

Michel Carré Michel Carré (; 20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist. He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing li ...

closely based on the play, also entitled ''

Le médecin malgré lui ''Le Médecin malgré lui'' (; "The doctor/physician in spite of himself") is a farce by Molière first presented in 1666 (published as a manuscript in early 1667) at le Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), théâtre du Palais-Royal ...

'' and using Molière words in places.Haubner S. "''Le Médecin Malgré Lui''" in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', (Ed.) Sadie S., London & New York: Macmillan, 1997 An hour-long radio adaptation of the play by

Ernest Kinoy Ernest Kinoy (April 1, 1925 – November 10, 2014) was an American writer, screenwriter and playwright. Early life Kinoy was born in New York City on April 1, 1925; his parents, Albert and Sarah Kinoy (formerly Forstadt), were both high-school ...

was performed on the '' NBC Theatre'' on June 25, 1950. Another hour-long radio adaptation was broadcast on the '' Lux Summer Theatre'' on July 13, 1953. ;Films * ''Le Médecin malgré lui'', directed by

Émile Chautard Émile Chautard (7 September 1864 – 24 April 1934) was a French-American film director, actor, and screenwriter, most active in the silent era. He directed more than 100 films between 1910 and 1924. He also appeared in more than 60 films ...

, 1910 * '' Medico per forza'', directed by

Carlo Campogalliani Carlo Campogalliani (10 October 1885 – 10 August 1974) was an Italian screenwriter, actor and film director. Campogalliani directed around eighty films during his career and acted in another fifty. He directed the 1934 sports film '' Stadio'' a ...

, with

Ettore Petrolini Ettore Petrolini (13 January 1884 – 29 June 1936) was an Italian stage and film actor, playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is considered one of the most important figures of avanspettacolo, vaudeville and revue. He was noted for his numero ...

, 1931 * '' The Doctor in Spite of Himself'', Hong Kong film starring

Cheung Tat-ming Cheung Tat-ming () (born 2 July 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, director and writer. Personal life Cheung married Ho Nim-chi, a psychiatrist, in September 2001, subsequently announcing their divorce in 2016. They had one son and one daugh ...

, 1999 *''Le Médecin malgré lui'' (''Toubib al affia''), Moroccan film by Henry Jacques ;Poetry
''Le Médecin malgré lui''
by

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. His '' Spring and All'' (1923) was written in the wake of T. S. Eliot's '' The Waste Land'' (1922). ...

References

* ''Iceberg'' (short story)

External links