The Miser

Molière, 1622-1673Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.5

Word count: 118K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Miser by MolièreAuthor: Molière, 1622-1673,Language: English, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Nov 1, 2004

Editor's review

The Miser is one of Molière's representative comedies, built around the miser Harpagon's obsession with money and weaving family relationships, marriage arrangements, and property anxiety into a series of misunderstandings and comic turns. This English electronic edition from Project Gutenberg is filed under French literature and suits readers who want to read French classical comedy in English. Its value lies not only in exaggerated comic technique but in its cool observation of greed and control in human nature: family affection is converted into expenses, love is treated as a transaction, and sharp social satire lies beneath the laughter. While reading, note how repetition and exaggeration in the characters' language create comic rhythm, and observe the contrast between servants and children. The electronic edition makes lines easy to search, suitable for classroom discussion, staging selected scenes, or comparative reading with similar comedies. A plot summary and character chart are recommended to enter Molière's comic logic quickly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classical comedy and satire and want Molière-style humor
Drama enthusiasts looking for stageable plays with vivid characters and concentrated conflict
Students of foreign literature courses who need an English text of a French comedy for analysis
Readers interested in family and money themes who are willing to read the satire beneath the exaggeration

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer serious tragedy or deep psychological portrayal
Readers unaccustomed to the dramatic form who need continuous narrative drive
Beginners who want detailed Chinese notes and introductions

Reading tips

Look at the character chart first to clarify Harpagon's entanglements with his children, servants, and marriage prospects.
Note the repetition and exaggeration in Harpagon's language about money and sense how comic rhythm is formed.
Compare the children's love plot with Harpagon's property calculations and observe how the themes mirror each other.
Choose one conflict scene to read aloud or perform and feel where the laughs lie in oral delivery.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this English ebook suitable for English learners?

It can serve as a text for encountering classical comedy in English, but the play contains much colloquial, slangy, and period language that beginners may find difficult. Read a plot summary first, then proceed scene by scene with a dictionary, or read alongside an annotated edition.

Is the main appeal of The Miser the plot or the characters?

Both, but the characterization stands out especially. Harpagon's obsession with money drives almost all the misunderstandings and conflicts, while other characters scheme around marriage and property. Note both the coincidental plot design and the exaggerated language, which together create the comic effect.

Will I have trouble reading this without having read other Molière works?

Not much. The plot is relatively concentrated, with the core conflict revolving around one family's property and marriage arrangements. Once you understand the basic character relationships, you can enter the story; to understand its satirical tradition, you can later read other Molière comedies for comparison.

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About the author

Molière, 1622-1673 Author

Molière (1622-1673), born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, was a leading figure of French classical comedy and worked in the seventeenth-century French theatre as both actor and playwright. The library holds 41 of his works, including such representative plays as Tartuffe, The Miser, and Don Juan, ou le Festin de pierre, as well as multi-volume editions of his complete works. Drawing on everyday life, his comedies expose hypocrisy, greed, and vanity with exaggerated yet incisive satire; his characters are vividly drawn and his dialogue witty and lively, conveying criticism of social ills through laughter. Public information on his early life and education is limited, so no speculation is offered here. His plays have had a profound influence on French and European theatre history and are still frequently staged today.