Le Médecin malgré lui

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Le Médecin malgré lui (The Doctor in spite of himself/The Mock Doctor) is a comedy by Molière.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Synopsis 3 Why did Molière write this? 4 See also

[edit] Characters

• Sganarelle, a woodcutter
• Léandre, Lucinde's lover
• Martine, Sganarelle's wife
• Jacqueline, Lucas' wife
• Lucinde, Géronte's daughter
• Géronte, a wealthy bourgeois
• Valère, Géronte's valet
• Lucas, Géronte's servant

[edit] Synopsis

Sganarelle is mistaken for a reputable doctor, even though, as an alcoholic woodcutter, he has no idea what a doctor should know.

[edit] Why did Molière write this?

A widely-accepted theory as to why Molière wrote this play is that he wanted to make fun of the practices of doctors at the time, such as leeching and the four humors. Since Sganarelle is a complete idiot, he even manages to mix up which side the heart and the liver are on (the heart is on the left, the liver is on the right).

It is also believed that he was forced to write this after his previous play, Le Misanthrope, turned out to be a commercial flop, despite the fact that The Misanthrope is one of his best known works.

[edit] See also

Gounod wrote an opera based on Molière's play, also entitled Le médecin malgré lui.