The Imaginary Invalid

Le Malade Imaginaire, typically translated as The Imaginary Invalid, opened in Paris in 1673 and was the final play written by the famous French satirist Molière.

Molière wrote frequently about doctors, and six of his comedies deal significantly with medical practitioners. The trope of the doctor who is as greedy and as pompous as he is inept—often speaking a jumble of Latin and Greek to prove his intelligence—is a stock character of commedia dell’arte, the Italian form that influenced Western comedy. Molière wrote Le Malade Imaginaire as a comédie-ballet, a form that meshed music, singing, dance, and comedy, to perform for King Louis XIV, but the play opened in Paris at the Palais-Royal theater instead of at Versailles. The play’s title character, Argan, with the urging of doctors, imagines himself to be an “invalid.” Though his ailments are imagined, Argan truly believes that he is ill. The play comments on the effect of capitalism on the practice of medicine, because Argan is a wealthy man who can command all the medical treatments he desires, some of which cause rather than cure his symptoms.

Ironically, while playing Argan in the original production, Molière was very ill, possibly with tuberculosis. He became seriously ill during the fourth performance of the play and died shortly afterward.

This study guide utilizes the 1994 Nick Hern Books edition of The Hypochondriac, translated by Martin Sorrell, which employs an alternate interpretation of the title.

Content Warning: Invalid is a stigmatized term that was formerly used to describe a person who experiences chronic illness or has a disability. It is retained in this guide only in quoted material.

Plot Summary

Argan is a wealthy French aristocrat who solicits constant attention and treatment from doctors because he is convinced that death is near. He even concocted a plan to marry his oldest daughter, Angélique, to a doctor so he can have round-the-clock access to medical care. His wife, Béline, who is the stepmother of Angélique and her younger sister, Louison, wants to send the girls to a convent to get them out of the way as she schemes to inherit Argan’s fortune. Meanwhile, Angélique falls in love with Cléante, a young man who intends to ask for her hand in marriage. Toinette, the family’s headstrong and clever maid, promises to help her end up with the man she loves. To see her, Cléante pretends to be a substitute for Angélique’s music teacher. While he is there, Cléante and Angélique meet her intended husband, Thomas Lillicrap, and his father, Dr. Lillicrap. Thomas is bumbling and unlikeable, and Angélique immediately can’t stand him. But Argan decides that the wedding will happen in four days, or Angélique will go to a nunnery. Béline reports to Argan that she spotted Cléante with Angélique and Louison in Angélique’s room, and Argan pries the information out of Louison that Cléante kissed Angélique’s hands.

Argan’s brother, Béralde, arrives and promises Toinette that he will do what he can to persuade Argan to allow Angélique to marry the man of her choice. Béralde argues with Argan that he isn’t really ill; the doctors are bleeding him for money, and their purported cures are the only thing making him feel sick. They debate the merits of medicine, but Argan believes in doctors, and he insists that his daughter will marry one. When his doctor’s assistant brings an enema treatment in the middle of their discussion, Béralde makes him leave. This angers Argan’s doctor, who is also the uncle of Thomas Lillicrap, and he wishes death on Argan and ends their association. Argan is terrified, but then Toinette enters, disguised as a doctor, and declares that Argan’s doctors are incompetent “fools.” Béralde attempts to convince Argan that Béline is scheming to take his fortune, but Argan refuses to believe it. Toinette, dressed as herself again, suggests that Argan pretend to be dead to see how Béline responds. As expected, Béline is ecstatic when she thinks Argan is dead, revealing her true intentions. They decide to test Angélique in the same way, and she is devastated by losing her father. Argan decides to let Angélique marry Cléante, but Cléante has to become a doctor. He agrees. Béralde suggests that Argan ought to become a doctor, and they hold a ridiculous ceremony, enacted by a troupe of actors, in which Argan graduates from medical school.