Harpagon, a wealthy Parisian widower, prioritizes his hoard of gold coins above the welfare of his children, Cleante and Elise. He enforces a household of extreme deprivation, monitoring his servants for theft and plotting to marry his daughter to a wealthy old man who requires no dowry. Meanwhile, Harpagon intends to marry Mariane, the young woman Cleante loves. The plot centers on the theft of Harpagon’s buried strongbox, which forces the protagonist to choose between his financial obsession and his family’s future.
This play serves readers interested in the mechanics of classical French comedy and the psychological profile of pathological greed. It appeals to those studying seventeenth-century social structures and the rigid hierarchies of domestic life. Readers gain an understanding of how obsession bypasses logic, illustrated through sharp dialogue and farcical misunderstandings. The text provides a clear example of the archetype of the miser whose singular focus on accumulation leads to total social isolation.
- Published
- 1668
- Language
- EN
