"The tradesman in the nobility. Jean-Baptiste Molière A tradesman in the nobility

  • 23.11.2021

Molière's comedy "The Philistine in the Nobility" was written in 1670. The work was created within the literary direction of realism. If you need to quickly understand what is at stake, we recommend that you read the summary of the “Participant in the Nobility” on the actions on our website. The play "The Philistine in the Nobility" is included in the 8th grade school curriculum.

In the comedy "The Philistine in the Nobility", the author ridicules the typical bourgeois - the ignorant Mr. Jourdain, who tried to join the "upper class", but he only succeeded in clumsily imitating the life of the nobility. Also, this material will allow you to quickly prepare for the lesson of world literature.

The main characters of the comedy

Main characters:

  • Monsieur Jourdain is a tradesman who wanted to be a nobleman. Those around him laughed at him, but played along with him for their own benefit.
  • Madame Jourdain - the wife of Mr. Jourdain; did not share his desire to become a nobleman.
  • Cleont is a young man who is in love with Lucille.
  • Coviel is Cleont's servant.
  • Dorant is a count, an acquaintance of Jourdain, who constantly borrowed money from the tradesman. In love with Dorimena.

Other characters:

  • Lucille is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jourdain, in love with Cleont.
  • Nicole is Lucille's maid.
  • Dorimena - marquise; Jourdain tried to win her favor through Dorant.
  • Teachers of dance, music, fencing, philosophy, who were hired by Jourdain.

"The tradesman in the nobility" is very brief

Jean-Baptiste Molière "The Philistine in the Nobility" summary for the reader's diary:

The protagonist of the work is Mr. Jourdain. His most cherished dream is to become a nobleman. In order to become at least a little like a representative of the nobility, Jourdain hires teachers for himself. The main character has a role model - this is a certain Count Dorant, who is known in society as a scoundrel and a swindler.

Jourdain also has a wife who is incredibly intelligent as well as well educated, but she has not the slightest sympathy for the nobility. This beautiful woman considers her main task to marry her own daughter to a wonderful, worthy young man. The daughter of Jourdain and his wife is named Lucille.

The girl is in love with a certain Cleont. This young man is very smart, noble and handsome, and most importantly, he incredibly loves Lucille. But, of course, Jourdain refuses Cleont, since the young man has nothing to do with the nobility. It would seem that the young couple was not destined to be together. But the circumstances are completely different. The servant, whose name is Covelier, decides on a very desperate, but at the same time cunning step.

In order for young people to finally find their happiness, he disguises Cleont, who in turn appears before Jourdain as "the son of the Sultan." After that, Jourdain, who had dreamed of a noble title for so long, gives his consent to the wedding of Cleont and his beautiful daughter. In such an incredible way, a cunning servant helps young people find true happiness, because young Lucille's father gave his parental blessing.

And what happens to Jourdain himself? He longed for a precious title of nobility for a very long time, but at the same time he was left with nothing. But his wife has fulfilled her main task, and his daughter is marrying a worthy man. This is where the work comes to its logical conclusion.

this is interesting: The comedy "Tartuffe, or the Deceiver" by Molière, written in 1664, has been one of the most popular plays in the world for several hundred centuries. For a reader's diary and in preparation for a literature lesson, we recommend reading through actions and phenomena. In his work, the French comedian severely criticized such human vices as meanness, hypocrisy, stupidity, selfishness, cowardice.

A short retelling of Molière's "The Bourgeoisie in the Nobility"

It would seem, what else does the venerable bourgeois Mr. Jourdain need? Money, family, health - everything you can wish for, he has. But no, Jourdain took it into his head to become an aristocrat, to become like noble gentlemen. His mania caused a lot of inconvenience and unrest to the household, but it played into the hands of a host of tailors, hairdressers and teachers, who promised through their art to make Jourdain a brilliant noble cavalier.

And now two teachers - dances and music - together with their students were waiting for the appearance of the owner of the house. Jourdain invited them so that they would decorate a dinner that he arranged in honor of a titled person with a cheerful and elegant performance.

Appearing before the musician and dancer, Jourdain first of all invited them to evaluate his exotic dressing gown - such, according to his tailor, is worn by all the nobility in the mornings - and the new liveries of his lackeys. From the assessment of Jourdain's taste, apparently, the size of the future fee of connoisseurs directly depended, therefore, the reviews were enthusiastic.

The dressing gown, however, caused some hitch, since Jourdain could not decide for a long time how it would be more convenient for him to listen to music - in it or without it. Having listened to the serenade, he considered it insipid and, in turn, sang a lively street song, for which he again received praise and an invitation, among other sciences, to also take up music and dance. To accept this invitation, Jourdain was convinced by the assurances of teachers that every noble gentleman would certainly learn both music and dance.

A pastoral dialogue was prepared for the upcoming reception by the music teacher. Jourdain, in general, liked it: since you can’t do without these eternal shepherdesses and shepherdesses, all right, let them sing to themselves. The ballet presented by the dance teacher and his students was to Jourdain's liking.

Inspired by the success of the employer, the teachers decided to strike while the iron was hot: the musician advised Jourdain to arrange weekly home concerts, as is done, according to him, in all aristocratic houses; the dance teacher immediately began to teach him the most exquisite of dances - the minuet.

The exercises in graceful movements were interrupted by the fencing teacher, the teacher of the science of sciences - the ability to strike, but not to receive them himself. The dance teacher and his fellow musician unanimously disagreed with the swordsman's claim that the ability to fight had absolute priority over their time-honored arts. The people got carried away, word for word - and a couple of minutes later a fight broke out between the three teachers.

When the teacher of philosophy came, Jourdain was delighted - who better than a philosopher to admonish those who are fighting. He willingly took up the cause of reconciliation: he mentioned Seneca, warned his opponents against anger that degraded human dignity, advised him to take up philosophy, this first of the sciences ... Here he went too far. He was beaten along with the others.

The shabby, but still unmutilated philosophy teacher was finally able to start the lesson. Since Jourdain refused to deal with both logic - the words there are already painfully tricky - and ethics - why does he need to moderate his passions, if it doesn’t matter, if it goes wrong, nothing will stop him - the pundit began to initiate him into the secrets of spelling.

Practicing the pronunciation of vowels, Jourdain rejoiced like a child, but when the first enthusiasm was over, he revealed a big secret to the teacher of philosophy: he, Jourdain, is in love with some high society lady, and he needs to write this lady a note. To the philosopher it was a couple of trifles - whether in prose or in verse.

However, Jourdain asked him to do without these very prose and verses. Did the venerable bourgeois know that here one of the most stunning discoveries in his life awaited him - it turns out that when he shouted to the maid: “Nicole, give me shoes and a nightcap”, just think, the purest prose came from his mouth!

However, in the field of literature, Jourdain was still not a bastard - no matter how hard the philosophy teacher tried, he could not improve the text composed by Jourdain: “Beautiful marquise! Your beautiful eyes promise me death from love.

The philosopher had to leave when Jourdain was informed about the tailor. He brought a new suit, sewn, of course, according to the latest court fashion. The apprentices of the tailor, dancing, made a new one and, without interrupting the dance, dressed Jourdain in it. At the same time, his wallet suffered greatly: the apprentices did not skimp on the flattering “your grace”, “your excellency” and even “lordship”, and the extremely touched Jourdain - on tips.

In a new suit, Jourdain set out to stroll through the streets of Paris, but his wife resolutely opposed this intention of his - half the city laughs at Jourdain without that. In general, in her opinion, it was time for him to change his mind and leave his silly quirks: why, one wonders, should Jourdain fencing if he does not intend to kill anyone? Why learn to dance when your legs are about to fail anyway?

Objecting to the woman’s senseless arguments, Jourdain tried to impress her and the maid with the fruits of her scholarship, but without much success: Nicole calmly uttered the sound “u”, not even suspecting that at the same time she was stretching her lips and bringing her upper jaw closer to her lower, and with a rapier she easily applied Jourdain received several injections, which he did not reflect, since the unenlightened maid stabbed against the rules.

For all the foolish things her husband indulged in, Madame Jourdain blamed the noble gentlemen who had recently begun to make friends with him. For court dandies, Jourdain was an ordinary cash cow, but he, in turn, was confident that friendship with them gives him significant - how are they there - pre-ro-ga-tivas.

One of these high society friends of Jourdain was Count Dorant. As soon as he entered the living room, this aristocrat paid a few exquisite compliments to the new suit, and then briefly mentioned that he had spoken about Jourdain that morning in the royal bedchamber.

Having prepared the ground in this manner, the count reminded him that he owed his friend fifteen thousand eight hundred livres, so that it would be a direct reason for him to lend him another two thousand two hundred - for good measure. In gratitude for this and subsequent loans, Dorant took on the role of an intermediary in cordial affairs between Jourdain and the subject of his worship, the Marquise Dorimena, for whose sake a dinner with a performance was started.

Madame Jourdain, so as not to interfere, was sent that day to dinner with her sister. She did not know anything about her husband’s plan, but she herself was preoccupied with the arrangement of her daughter’s fate: Lucille seemed to reciprocate the tender feelings of a young man named Cleont, who, as a son-in-law, was very suitable for Madame Jourdain. At her request, Nicole, who was interested in marrying the young mistress, since she herself was going to marry Cleont's servant, Covel, brought the young man. Madame Jourdain immediately sent him to her husband to ask for the hand of her daughter.

However, Lucille Cleont did not answer the first and, in fact, the only requirement of Jourdain to the applicant for the hand - he was not a nobleman, while his father wanted to make his daughter, at worst, a marquise, or even a duchess. Having received a decisive refusal, Cleont became discouraged, but Coviel believed that all was not lost. The faithful servant decided to play one joke with Jourdain, since he had actor friends, and the appropriate costumes were at hand.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Count Dorant and Marquise Dorimena was reported. The count brought the lady to dinner not at all out of a desire to please the owner of the house: he himself had been courting the widowed marquise for a long time, but did not have the opportunity to see her either at her place or at home - this could compromise Dorimena. In addition, he deftly attributed all Jourdain's crazy spending on gifts and various entertainments for her to himself, which in the end won a woman's heart.

Having greatly amused the noble guests with a pretentious clumsy bow and the same welcoming speech, Jourdain invited them to a luxurious table.

The Marquise was not without pleasure eating delicious dishes to the accompaniment of the exotic compliments of an eccentric bourgeois, when all the splendor was suddenly broken by the appearance of an angry Madame Jourdain. Now she understood why they wanted to send her away to dinner with her sister - so that her husband could safely spend money with strangers.

Jourdain and Dorant began to assure her that the count was giving a dinner in honor of the Marquise, and he paid for everything, but their assurances did not in any way moderate the ardor of the offended wife. After her husband, Madame Jourdain took on a guest who should have been ashamed to bring discord into an honest family. Embarrassed and offended, the marquise got up from the table and left the hosts; Dorant followed her.

Only noble gentlemen left, as a new visitor was reported. It turned out to be Coviel in disguise, who introduced himself as a friend of M. Jourdain's father. The late father of the owner of the house was, according to him, not a merchant, as everyone around him said, but a real nobleman. Covel's calculation was justified: after such a statement, he could tell anything, without fear that Jourdain would doubt the veracity of his speeches.

Coviel told Jourdain that his good friend, the son of the Turkish Sultan, had arrived in Paris, madly in love with his, Jourdain, daughter. The Sultan's son wants to ask for the hand of Lucille, and in order for his father-in-law to be worthy of a new relative, he decided to dedicate him to mammamushi, in our opinion - paladins. Jourdain was delighted.

The son of the Turkish sultan was represented by Cleont in disguise. He spoke in terrible gibberish, which Coviel supposedly translated into French. With the main Turk, the appointed muftis and dervishes arrived, who had a lot of fun during the initiation ceremony: it turned out to be very colorful, with Turkish music, songs and dances, as well as with the ritual beating of the initiate with sticks.

Dorant, initiated into Coviel's plan, finally succeeded in persuading Dorimena to return, seducing her with the opportunity to enjoy a funny spectacle, and then also an excellent ballet. The count and the marquise, with the most serious look, congratulated Jourdain on conferring a high title on him, and he was also eager to hand over his daughter to the son of the Turkish sultan as soon as possible.

At first, Lucille did not want to marry the Turkish jester, but as soon as she recognized him as a disguised Cleon, she immediately agreed, pretending that she was dutifully fulfilling her daughter's duty. Madame Jourdain, in turn, sternly declared that the Turkish scarecrow would not see her daughter as her own ears. But as soon as Covel whispered a few words in her ear, mother changed her anger to mercy.

Jourdain solemnly joined the hands of a young man and a girl, giving a parental blessing on their marriage, and then sent for a notary. Another couple decided to use the services of the same notary - Dorant and Dorimena. While waiting for the representative of the law, everyone present had a nice time enjoying the ballet choreographed by the dance teacher.

See also: "Dog in the Manger" by Lope de Vega is a comedy about a young widowed woman, Diana, who fights her crazy love for secretary Theodore. An obstacle to their relationship is the fact that they cannot be together due to Theodore's lack of title and lineage. for a reader's diary or preparation for a literature lesson

The plot of the play "The tradesman in the nobility" by phenomena

Act one

Phenomenon 1

Paris. Mister Jourdain's house. The music teacher and dance teacher prepare for the evening's performance and discuss that although Jourdain is not at all versed in the arts, "money straightens the crookedness of his judgment, his common sense is in his wallet."

Phenomenon 2

Jourdain boasts to the teachers of his new robe, they flatter him in everything.

The sound of the violin seems mournful to the tradesman. Teachers note that Jourdain should study the arts, since "all the strife, all the wars on earth", "all the misfortunes with which history is full" come from ignorance of music and inability to dance.

Action two

Phenomenon 1

Jourdain orders that the ballet be ready by the evening, as the person for whom he arranges all this will arrive. The music teacher, anticipating good pay, advises the tradesman to give concerts on Wednesdays and Thursdays, as all noblemen do.

Apparitions 2–3

A visiting fencing teacher teaches a tradesman, explaining that “the whole secret of fencing is to<…>inflict blows on the enemy" and "do not receive such blows yourself." The fencing teacher expresses the idea that dance and music are useless sciences. There is an argument between the teachers.

Apparitions 4–5

Jourdain asks the visiting teacher of philosophy to reconcile the quarreling. Referring to Seneca's treatise on anger, the philosopher tries to calm them down, but he himself gets involved in an argument that develops into a fight.

Phenomenon 6

Philosophy lesson. The teacher offers to teach Jourdain the wisdom of philosophy: logic, ethics and physics, but they do not arouse interest in the tradesman. Jourdain asks to teach him how to spell. The teacher tells him that there are vowels and consonants.

Jourdain asks the philosopher to help him write a love note, but in the end they settle on the original version of the tradesman: "Beautiful marquise, your beautiful eyes promise me death from love." Suddenly, the tradesman learns that he has been expressing himself in prose all his life.

Apparitions 7–8

The tailor brings Jourdain a new suit. The tradesman notices that the suit is made of the same fabric as the clothes on the tailor, and the pattern (flowers) is upside down. The tailor reassures him with what is so fashionable in high society.

Apparitions 9–10

Dancing around Jourdain, the apprentices put on a new costume for him. They call the tradesman "Your Grace", "Your Excellency", "Your Grace", for which they receive a generous payment.

Act Three

Phenomena 1–3

Seeing Jourdain's new outfit, Nicole can't help but laugh. Madame Jourdain is outraged by the appearance of her husband, who "dressed up as a jester", and everyone is laughing at him anyway. Jourdain decides to show off his knowledge to his wife and Nicole, but does not surprise women in any way. Moreover, fencing with a man, the maid easily stabs him several times.

Apparitions 4–5

Dorant praises Jourdain's new costume and mentions that he spoke about him "in the royal bedchamber", which amuses the vanity of the tradesman.

Dorant asks Jourdain for "another two hundred pistoles" to round up the amount of his considerable debt. Outraged, Madame Jourdain calls her husband a "cash cow" and Dorant a "rogue."

Phenomena 6

Dorant reports that he persuaded the Marquis to come today to the tradesman, giving her a diamond - a gift from Jourdain. Nicole accidentally hears part of the men's conversation and finds out that the tradesman sends his wife to visit his sister in the evening so that nothing "constrains" them.

Apparitions 7–11

Ms. Jourdain is sure that her husband is "hitting on someone." A woman wants to marry her daughter to Cleont, who is in love with her. Nicole is delighted with her decision as a mistress, as she likes Cleont's servant.

Madame Jourdain advises Cleont to ask Monsieur Jourdain for the hand of her daughter today.

Event 12

Cleont asks M. Jourdain for Lucile's hand in marriage. The tradesman is only interested in whether the future son-in-law is a nobleman. Cleont, not wanting to deceive, admits that he is not. Jourdain refuses, because he wants his daughter to be a marchioness.

Apparitions 13–14

Coviel calms the upset Cleont - the servant figured out how to "circle our dupe around the finger."

Apparitions 15–18

Dorimena did not want to meet Dorant at her place or at his house, so she agreed to dine at Jourdain's. The count gave all the gifts of the tradesman to the Marquise on his own behalf.

Apparitions 19–20

Meeting the marquise, Jourdain bows absurdly, which amuses the woman very much. Dorant warns the tradesman not to mention the diamond donated by Dorimen, as it is impolite in secular society.

act four

Phenomenon 1

Dorimena is surprised that a "luxurious feast" was arranged for her sake. Jourdain, drawing attention to the diamond on the marquise's hand, calls it "a trifle", believing that the woman knows that this is a gift from him.

Apparitions 2–4

Madame Jourdain suddenly appears. The woman is indignant that, having sent his wife out, her husband arranges a "feast" for another lady. Dorant tries to justify himself by explaining that he arranged the dinner. Madame Jourdain does not believe it. The frustrated Marchioness leaves, followed by Dorant.

Apparitions 5–8

In disguise, Coviel poses as an old friend of Father Jourdain. Koviel says that the tradesman's father was not a merchant, but a nobleman. However, the main purpose of his visit is the message that the son of the Turkish Sultan has long been in love with Jourdain's daughter and wants to marry her. Soon Cleont, disguised as a Turk, joins them and, through an interpreter, Covel, announces his intentions.

Coviel asks Dorant to play along with them.

Apparitions 9–13

Turkish ceremony. Mufti with retinue, dervishes and Turks sing and dance, conducting the initiation of Jourdain, dressed in Turkish clothes, into a Turk. Mufti puts the Koran on the back of the tradesman, calls Mohammed.

Act Five

Phenomenon 1

Jourdain explains to his wife that now he has become a mother. The woman decides that her husband has gone mad.

Apparitions 2–3

Dorant persuades Dorimene to stay to support Cleont's idea with a masquerade and watch a ballet arranged for her.

Apparitions 4–7

Lucille at first refuses to marry, but, recognizing Cleont in the Turk, she agrees.

Madame Jourdain was also against the marriage, but when Koviel quietly explained to her that what was happening was only a masquerade, she ordered to send for a notary.

Dorant announces that he and the Marchioness have also decided to get married. Jourdain thinks that the count said this as a distraction. The joyful tradesman gives Nicole to the "interpreter" Covel, and his "wife - to anyone." Koviel is surprised that “you won’t find another such madcap in the whole world!”.

"Comedy ends with ballet."

But also many undertakings in the field of art. Back in the 17th century, the son of the court upholsterer Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known to the whole world under the name of Molière, composed a witty, brilliant comedy, combining two such different genres as a dramatic theatrical performance and ballet into one. And now, for the fourth century, it has not left the stages of metropolitan and provincial theaters, it has been studied in schools, and the heroes of the work have long since become household names.

Genre Discovery

Of course, we are talking about Moliere's great comedy "The tradesman in the nobility." Everything was new in the work: a pronounced mockery of the morals and habits of high society, and a realistic depiction of ignorant rudeness, ignorance, greed and stupidity of the bourgeoisie, stubbornly striving to share power and privileges in a country with an impoverished nobility, and the author’s obvious sympathy for a simple person, representative of the so-called third estate. This is with regard to the problems and A spectacle of the production, colorful costumes, musical numbers ... Louis XIV, an ardent admirer of music, dance, especially ballet, loved a variety of enchanting performances. But before Molière, playwrights were not able to combine stage action, dance numbers and ballet so skillfully. In this regard, "The Philistine in the Nobility" may well be considered the forerunner of the modern musical. Comedy-ballet - such is the original genre of the work of the great Moliere.

The history of the creation of comedy

The event that brought comedy to life is also not quite ordinary. When in 1669 the Sun King, as Louis was nicknamed for his passion for clothes, jewelry, external chic and brilliance, it became known that the Sultan of the Great Ottoman Empire (i.e. Turkey) was sending an embassy delegation to him, the ruler of France decided to surpass him in pieces of luxury. The sparkle of jewels, the abundance of gold and silver, expensive materials, luxury items should have overshadowed the eyes of ambassadors accustomed to such abundance in the East, and spread the glory of the wealth and grandeur of the French court and its ruler throughout the world. But the plan of the king failed: he became a victim of mystification and deceit. Enraged, Ludovic commissioned Molière to write a comedy that would make fun of the Turkish mentality along with their delegation. Thus was born the "Philistine in the nobility", the first presentation of which before the king and nobility was given in mid-October 1670, and the official one, for the Parisian public, in November 1670. From that very day (November 28) on the stage of the main theater of Paris - the Palais Royal - during the life of the author, the performance was staged more than 42 times, and this is not counting other productions in smaller theaters! And about a century later, the first professional translation of the comedy into Russian appeared. In Russia, "The Philistine in the Nobility" was accepted with a bang, and his victorious procession continues to this day.

The plot of the work is simple, the main intrigue of the comedy lies not in the conflict, but in the characters. Jourdain, a bourgeois of respectable age, very rich, but narrow-minded, rude, and sometimes frankly stupid, ignorant, wants with all his might to join the noble sophistication, grace, gallantry and outward brilliance. The ultimate goal of all his tricks is the Marquise Dorimena, a cutesy aristocrat, accustomed to judging people by the severity of their wallet and the loudness of the title. The ruined Count Dorant, a trickster and a deceiver, safely leads Jourdain by the nose, promising to help get closer to Dorimena and, in general, to introduce his “friend” into the high Parisian society. By nature, he is far from being a fool, Mr. Jourdain is blinded by the brilliance of the nobility and does not notice point-blank that he has long been a "cash cow" for such rogue aristocrats. He borrows huge sums of money from them without demanding a return. He hires a whole host of teachers, tailors, so that they educate and hew it a little. There is no sense in this, but gold coins are flowing away like a full-flowing river. In fact, “The Philistine in the Nobility”, the summary of which is to ridicule and criticize the ruling class of the nobles and the bourgeoisie that comes to replace it, is a wonderful parody of the monarchical absolutist system that developed in France at the end of the 17th century. The comedy clearly emphasized that the future was not for jourdains and dorants, but for such honest, active, enterprising and viable types and characters, like Cleont, the groom of Jourdain's daughter, Covelier, his servant, and all those who are used to achieving everything in life thanks to his own mind and strength. In this regard, the book "The Philistine in the Nobility" could become a desktop book for the Russian nobility. However, the comedy of the remarkable Russian playwright Fonvizin "Undergrowth" turned out to be close to the point of view and the author's characteristics of Molière. Both of them are included in the golden fund of world literature.

Common noun of images

Needless to say, many comedy expressions have become aphorisms, and its main character symbolizes human rudeness and ignorance, lack of taste and sense of proportion! “Jourdain with papillots” - we are talking about this, and that says it all!

theme, idea, main idea

"The tradesman in the nobility" analysis

"The tradesman in the nobility" - comedy-ballet in five acts by Molière and Jean-Baptiste Lully, written in 1670.

Literary direction— classicism

genre- social comedy, with elements of love and socio-psychological comedy

Topic- the desire of the wealthy bourgeois Jourdain to get into high society

"The tradesman in the nobility" problems
  • a person's place in society; the factors by which this place is determined;
  • dominating moral ideals in the state;
  • problems of education, upbringing, art, love, human dignity, etc.

the main idea- exposure of social and human vices

main characters— Mr. Jourdain, Mrs. Jourdain, Lucille, Cleont, Dorant, Dorimena, Kovel, Nicole

Artistic features of "The tradesman in the nobility"

The comedy was written within the framework of classicism, it retains the trinity that is obligatory for a classical play:

  • unity of place (M. Jourdain's house),
  • time (the action is 24 hours)
  • action (the whole play is built around one main idea).

In each of the main characters, one leading feature in satirical exaggeration is emphasized.

"The tradesman in the nobility" plot

The action takes place in the house of Mr. Jourdain, a tradesman. Count Dorant, who borrowed money from Jourdain, was in love with an aristocrat, the Marquise Dorimena. Jourdain, in an effort to appear taller and win the favor of the count, tries to imitate the nobility in everything. Madame Jourdain and her maid Nicole make fun of him. Wishing to become a nobleman, Jourdain refuses Cleont the hand of his daughter Lucille. Then the servant of Cleont, Coviel, comes up with a trick: under the guise of a Turkish dervish, he initiates Mr. Jourdain into an imaginary Turkish noble dignity. mamamushi and arranges for Lucille to marry Turkish Sultan's son, who is actually Cleon in disguise as a Turk.

Year of writing:

1670

Reading time:

Description of the work:

The comedy A Tradesman in the Nobility was written in 1670 by Molière. The first time the comedy was shown in the presence of King Louis XIV. This play was very different from everything that Moliere had written before, since it did not have the dynamic intrigue that was always present in the works of the author.

We bring to your attention a summary of the comedy The tradesman in the nobility.

It would seem, what else does the venerable bourgeois Mr. Jourdain need? Money, family, health - everything you can wish for, he has. But no, Jourdain took it into his head to become an aristocrat, to become like noble gentlemen. His mania caused a lot of inconvenience and unrest to the household, but it played into the hands of a host of tailors, hairdressers and teachers, who promised through their art to make Jourdain a brilliant noble cavalier. And now two teachers - dances and music - together with their students were waiting for the appearance of the owner of the house. Jourdain invited them so that they would decorate a dinner that he arranged in honor of a titled person with a cheerful and elegant performance.

Appearing before the musician and dancer, Jourdain first of all invited them to evaluate his exotic dressing gown - such, according to his tailor, is worn by all the nobility in the mornings - and the new liveries of his lackeys. From the assessment of Jourdain's taste, apparently, the size of the future fee of connoisseurs directly depended, therefore, the reviews were enthusiastic.

The dressing gown, however, caused some hitch, since Jourdain could not decide for a long time how it would be more convenient for him to listen to music - in it or without it. Having listened to the serenade, he considered it insipid and, in turn, sang a lively street song, for which he again received praise and an invitation, among other sciences, to also take up music and dance. To accept this invitation, Jourdain was convinced by the assurances of teachers that every noble gentleman would certainly learn both music and dance.

A pastoral dialogue was prepared for the upcoming reception by the music teacher. Jourdain, in general, liked it: since you can’t do without these eternal shepherdesses and shepherdesses, all right, let them sing to themselves. The ballet presented by the dance teacher and his students was to Jourdain's liking.

Inspired by the success of the employer, the teachers decided to strike while the iron was hot: the musician advised Jourdain to arrange weekly home concerts, as is done, according to him, in all aristocratic houses; the dance teacher immediately began to teach him the most exquisite of dances - the minuet.

The exercises in graceful movements were interrupted by the fencing teacher, the teacher of the science of sciences - the ability to strike, but not to receive them himself. The dance teacher and his fellow musician unanimously disagreed with the swordsman's claim that the ability to fight had absolute priority over their time-honored arts. The people got carried away, word for word - and a couple of minutes later a fight broke out between the three teachers.

When the teacher of philosophy came, Jourdain was delighted - who better than a philosopher to admonish those who are fighting. He willingly took up the cause of reconciliation: he mentioned Seneca, warned his opponents against anger that degraded human dignity, advised him to take up philosophy, this first of the sciences ... Here he went too far. He was beaten along with the others.

The shabby, but still unmutilated philosophy teacher was finally able to start the lesson. Since Jourdain refused to deal with both logic - the words there are already painfully tricky - and ethics - why does he need to moderate his passions, if it doesn’t matter, if it goes wrong, nothing will stop him - the pundit began to initiate him into the secrets of spelling.

Practicing the pronunciation of vowels, Jourdain rejoiced like a child, but when the first enthusiasm was over, he revealed a big secret to the teacher of philosophy: he, Jourdain, is in love with some high society lady, and he needs to write this lady a note. To the philosopher it was a couple of trifles - whether in prose or in verse. However, Jourdain asked him to do without these very prose and verses. Did the venerable bourgeois know that here one of the most stunning discoveries in his life awaited him - it turns out that when he shouted to the maid: “Nicole, give me shoes and a nightcap”, just think, the purest prose came from his mouth!

However, in the field of literature, Jourdain was still not a bastard - no matter how hard the philosophy teacher tried, he could not improve the text composed by Jourdain: “Beautiful marquise! Your beautiful eyes promise me death from love.

The philosopher had to leave when Jourdain was informed about the tailor. He brought a new suit, sewn, of course, according to the latest court fashion. The apprentices of the tailor, dancing, made a new one and, without interrupting the dance, dressed Jourdain in it. At the same time, his wallet suffered greatly: the apprentices did not skimp on the flattering “your grace”, “your excellency” and even “lordship”, and the extremely touched Jourdain - on tips.

In a new suit, Jourdain set out to stroll through the streets of Paris, but his wife resolutely opposed this intention of his - half the city laughs at Jourdain without that. In general, in her opinion, it was time for him to change his mind and leave his silly quirks: why, one wonders, should Jourdain fencing if he does not intend to kill anyone? Why learn to dance when your legs are about to fail anyway?

Objecting to the woman’s senseless arguments, Jourdain tried to impress her and the maid with the fruits of her scholarship, but without much success: Nicole calmly uttered the sound “u”, not even suspecting that at the same time she was stretching her lips and bringing her upper jaw closer to her lower, and with a rapier she easily applied Jourdain received several injections, which he did not reflect, since the unenlightened maid stabbed against the rules.

For all the stupid things that her husband indulged in, Madame Jourdain blamed the noble gentlemen who had recently begun to make friends with him. For court dandies, Jourdain was an ordinary cash cow, but he, in turn, was confident that friendship with them gives him significant - how are they there - pre-ro-ga-tivas.

One of these high society friends of Jourdain was Count Dorant. As soon as he entered the living room, this aristocrat paid a few exquisite compliments to the new suit, and then briefly mentioned that he had spoken about Jourdain that morning in the royal bedchamber. Having prepared the ground in this manner, the count reminded him that he owed his friend fifteen thousand eight hundred livres, so that it would be a direct reason for him to lend him another two thousand two hundred - for good measure. In gratitude for this and subsequent loans, Dorant took on the role of an intermediary in cordial affairs between Jourdain and the subject of his worship, the Marquise Dorimena, for whose sake a dinner with a performance was started.

Madame Jourdain, so as not to interfere, was sent that day to dinner with her sister. She did not know anything about her husband’s plan, but she herself was preoccupied with the arrangement of her daughter’s fate: Lucille seemed to reciprocate the tender feelings of a young man named Cleont, who, as a son-in-law, was very suitable for Madame Jourdain. At her request, Nicole, who was interested in marrying the young mistress, since she herself was going to marry Cleont's servant, Covel, brought the young man. Madame Jourdain immediately sent him to her husband to ask for the hand of her daughter.

However, Lucille Cleont did not answer the first and, in fact, the only requirement of Jourdain to the applicant for the hand - he was not a nobleman, while his father wanted to make his daughter, at worst, a marquise, or even a duchess. Having received a decisive refusal, Cleont became discouraged, but Coviel believed that all was not lost. The faithful servant decided to play one joke with Jourdain, since he had actor friends, and the appropriate costumes were at hand.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Count Dorant and Marquise Dorimena was reported. The count brought the lady to dinner not at all out of a desire to please the owner of the house: he himself had been courting the widowed marquise for a long time, but did not have the opportunity to see her either at her place or at home - this could compromise Dorimena. In addition, he deftly attributed all Jourdain's crazy spending on gifts and various entertainments for her to himself, which in the end won a woman's heart.

Having greatly amused the noble guests with a pretentious clumsy bow and the same welcoming speech, Jourdain invited them to a luxurious table.

The marquise was not without pleasure eating delicious dishes to the accompaniment of the exotic compliments of an eccentric bourgeois, when all the splendor was suddenly broken by the appearance of an angry Madame Jourdain. Now she understood why they wanted to send her away to dinner with her sister - so that her husband could safely spend money with strangers. Jourdain and Dorant began to assure her that the count was giving a dinner in honor of the Marquise, and he paid for everything, but their assurances did not in any way moderate the ardor of the offended wife. After her husband, Madame Jourdain took on a guest who should have been ashamed to bring discord into an honest family. Embarrassed and offended, the marquise got up from the table and left the hosts; Dorant followed her.

Only noble gentlemen left, as a new visitor was reported. It turned out to be Coviel in disguise, who introduced himself as a friend of M. Jourdain's father. The late father of the owner of the house was, according to him, not a merchant, as everyone around him said, but a real nobleman. Covel's calculation was justified: after such a statement, he could tell anything, without fear that Jourdain would doubt the veracity of his speeches.

Coviel told Jourdain that his good friend, the son of the Turkish Sultan, had arrived in Paris, madly in love with his, Jourdain, daughter. The Sultan's son wants to ask for the hand of Lucille, and in order for his father-in-law to be worthy of a new relative, he decided to dedicate him to mammamushi, in our opinion - paladins. Jourdain was delighted.

The son of the Turkish sultan was represented by Cleont in disguise. He spoke in terrible gibberish, which Coviel supposedly translated into French. With the main Turk, the appointed muftis and dervishes arrived, who had a lot of fun during the initiation ceremony: it turned out to be very colorful, with Turkish music, songs and dances, as well as with the ritual beating of the initiate with sticks.

Dorant, initiated into Coviel's plan, finally succeeded in persuading Dorimena to return, seducing her with the opportunity to enjoy a funny spectacle, and then also an excellent ballet. The count and the marquise, with the most serious look, congratulated Jourdain on conferring a high title on him, and he was also eager to hand over his daughter to the son of the Turkish sultan as soon as possible. At first, Lucille did not want to marry the Turkish jester, but as soon as she recognized him as a disguised Cleon, she immediately agreed, pretending that she was dutifully fulfilling her daughter's duty. Madame Jourdain, in turn, sternly declared that the Turkish scarecrow would not see her daughter as his own ears. But as soon as Covel whispered a few words in her ear, mother changed her anger to mercy.

Jourdain solemnly joined the hands of a young man and a girl, giving a parental blessing on their marriage, and then sent for a notary. Another couple decided to use the services of the same notary - Dorant and Dorimena. While waiting for the representative of the law, everyone present had a nice time enjoying the ballet choreographed by the dance teacher.

You have read the summary of the comedy The tradesman in the nobility. In the section of our site - brief contents, you can familiarize yourself with the presentation of other famous works.

It would seem, what else does the venerable bourgeois Mr. Jourdain need? Money, family, health - everything you can wish for, he has. But no, Jourdain took it into his head to become an aristocrat, to become like noble gentlemen. His mania caused a lot of inconvenience and unrest to the household, but it played into the hands of a host of tailors, hairdressers and teachers, who promised through their art to make Jourdain a brilliant noble cavalier. And now two teachers - dances and music - together with their students were waiting for the appearance of the owner of the house. Jourdain invited them so that they would decorate a dinner that he arranged in honor of a titled person with a cheerful and elegant performance.

Appearing before the musician and dancer, Jourdain first of all invited them to evaluate his exotic dressing gown - such, according to his tailor, is worn by all the nobility in the mornings - and the new liveries of his lackeys. From the assessment of Jourdain's taste, apparently, the size of the future fee of connoisseurs directly depended, therefore, the reviews were enthusiastic.

The dressing gown, however, caused some hitch, since Jourdain could not decide for a long time how it would be more convenient for him to listen to music - in it or without it. Having listened to the serenade, he considered it insipid and, in turn, sang a lively street song, for which he again received praise and an invitation, among other sciences, to also take up music and dance. To accept this invitation, Jourdain was convinced by the assurances of teachers that every noble gentleman would certainly learn both music and dance.

A pastoral dialogue was prepared for the upcoming reception by the music teacher. Jourdain, in general, liked it: since you can’t do without these eternal shepherdesses and shepherdesses, all right, let them sing to themselves. The ballet presented by the dance teacher and his students was to Jourdain's liking.

Inspired by the success of the employer, the teachers decided to strike while the iron is hot: the musician advised Jourdain to arrange weekly home concerts, as is done, according to him, in all aristocratic houses; the dance teacher immediately began to teach him the most exquisite of dances - the minuet.

The exercises in graceful movements were interrupted by the fencing teacher, the teacher of the science of sciences - the ability to strike, but not to receive them himself. The dance teacher and his fellow musician unanimously disagreed with the swordsman's claim that the ability to fight had absolute priority over their time-honored arts. The people got carried away, word for word - and a couple of minutes later a fight broke out between the three teachers.

When the teacher of philosophy came, Jourdain was delighted - who better than a philosopher to admonish those who are fighting. He willingly took up the cause of reconciliation: he mentioned Seneca, warned his opponents against anger that degraded human dignity, advised him to take up philosophy, this first of the sciences ... Here he went too far. He was beaten along with the others.

The shabby but unmutilated philosophy teacher was finally able to start the lesson. Since Jourdain refused to deal with both logic - the words there are already painfully tricky - and ethics - why does he need to moderate his passions, if it doesn’t matter, if it goes wrong, nothing will stop him - the pundit began to initiate him into the secrets of spelling.