Moliere's Play: Love is the Doctor

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Moliere’s Play: Love is the Doctor

Over the years, many writers have found it necessary to use humor as a way of adding diversity in their work. It is no wonder then that even those who write about serious and grave issues find a way of incorporating humor in their work. Humor helps to divert the attention of the reader and it creates realism in the work. Even though a person may be facing serious problems, he or she still manages to find something that will humor him. Perhaps that was why Moliere incorporated humor in his classic work “Love is the Doctor”. Some of the contents presented in the play are of serious concerns yet they are presented in such a way that diverts the readers’ attention from their seriousness and enables them to see the issue in a new light. Various themes are brought out in the play and in each instance; Moliere has managed to lighten the seriousness by adding in humor.

The play by Moliere is about a father, Sganarelle who does not want his daughter Lucinda to get married to Clitandre, the man that she has come to love. Lucinda is sad and she keeps to herself but her father does not listen when Lucinda and Lisette try to explain to him that she just wants to get married. Lucinda feigns sickness and with the help of her maid, Lisette, they come up with a plan that will enable the two young lovers to get married. Clitandre introduces himself to Sganarelle as a doctor and he convinces Sganarelle that he can take care of her daughter’s illness. Sganarelle has just had an encounter with fake doctors and he is willing to try the young doctor. Clitandre tells Sganarelle that the solution to her daughter’s sickness is to make her believe that she is married. Sganarelle does not know that they are all playing a trick on him and he agrees with the doctor. Thinking that the marriage is false, he agrees to hand over his daughter to Clitandre and the marriage contract is signed (Moliere, 1995).

Moliere brought to light many aspects of life as it was in Paris during that time. True to his character, he used a wide variety of humor and satire especially from the four doctors, Lisette and Clitandre’s servant. Humor is actually used as a way of hiding the serious issues that were actually prevalent in the society. It is indeed serious that doctors were not taken seriously and neither did they take their profession seriously. When Sganarelle summons four doctors to check on her daughter, Lisette asks him whether it was necessary for four doctors to kill his daughter. Through the conversation, the doctors actually prove that they do not know much about medicine and the human anatomy. They speak of the traffic, the speed of their mules and horses and other unrelated topics instead of checking on Lucinda. The doctors do not agree on the treatment and they recommend different treatments. When one of them dies, they tell Sganarelle that they have to take care of their colleague and that his daughter can die another day. They are more adamant about following rules than they are about treating their patients. Moliere used humor and satire to show the sad situation in France at that time.

Sganarelle comes across as an unreasonable and foolish man who is ready and willing to believe what he hears. He does not take the time to know the man who has asked to marry his daughter, reasoning that he cannot let any man have his daughter and his wealth. He is willing to believe anyone who quotes Hippocrates even though he is wrong. Everybody seems to be aware that the partisan doctors do not know how to diagnose and treat patients and that most of their patients end up dead. He however disregards this fact and he goes ahead and calls four of them to treat his daughter. In addition to this, Sganarelle pays the doctors in advance for services they have not rendered. One might argue that he loves his daughter and he is willing to see her health restored/ however, this argument fails to convince because he was not willing to listen to his daughter or Lisette when they told her what was bothering her. Sganarelle is willing to believe that every new doctor who comes to his home is good and it is this unquestionable belief, which makes it easy for Lucinda and Clitandre to fool him easily.

Ingenuity, deception and determination are themes present in the story. This is especially the case with Lisette and Clitandre’s servant. Lisette comes up with a plan that convinces Sganarelle that his daughter is sick and she needs to see a doctor. They are able to device a way where Lucinda ends up married to Clitandre despite her father’s prior disapproval. Lucinda deceives her father by playing the role of a sick and depressed person who is on the verge of death. Clitandre’s servant manages to convince Sganarelle that he is a doctor. He uses long words, which were supposedly said by Hippocrates, and he wins him over. He manages to get himself out of a sticky situation by pretending that he has a brother. Throughout the time that he spends with Sganarelle, he makes sure that he plays two different roles without any suspicion from Sganarelle. Sganarelle only finds out about this deception in the end (Moliere, 1995).

Sganarelle brings out the themes of parenting and parental responsibility. He is a wealthy man and a very protective father. His wealth seems to determine the decisions that he makes regarding his daughter. Although he has money, he does not want his daughter to marry because he does not want a stranger to inherit his fortune. He fails to listen to her as she tries to explain her sadness and misery to him. Sganarelle is used as an illustration of parents who refuse to accept that their children have grown and they are capable of taking on responsibility. Sganarelle deserved the punishment he received. His adamant refusal to marry off his daughter because he did not want a stranger to inherit his wealth shows his selfishness. He did not even consider the fact that his wealth would benefit his daughter. He however comes across as a father who does not want his daughter to come to any harm, as he is willing to pay any doctor who tells him that he can cure his daughter.

The play “Love is the Doctor” was written in the seventeenth century but it remains relevant today. Many things, such as knowledge in the medical field, have changed since then. However, some of the themes such as responsibility have remained. Despite the advances made in the medicine field, some doctors are still caught in malpractices. Their irresponsibility cannot be overlooked and writers usually find different avenues to present these problems. Nowadays, it is not easy to incorporate humor in such grave matters such as a patient’s death. Moliere also highlighted the role of fathers and parental responsibility and the fact that parents seem to think they know what is best for their children (Moliere, 1995). These are still relevant today and much as it is true, parents need to know when their children become of age and they should give them the chance to make decisions on their own. Children will sometimes oppose their parents especially if the parents do not listen to them and they think that they are being unreasonable. They will come up with ways of either showing their opposition or defying their parents’ authority.

Humor is indeed important in literature although it needs to be portrayed in a way that does not over simplify the main theme of the work. It is especially important in bringing out themes, which the audience may perceive to be too serious and grave to show as works of art. The doctors used humor to highlight their lack of medical knowledge yet at the same time they wanted to divert the attention of the audience from their foolishness. Other themes are also present in the story. They include deception, ingenuity, responsibility, determination and foolishness. For a play that was written in the seventeenth century, it is interesting to note that it is relevant and important today. “Love is the Doctor” is a play that transcends culture, beliefs, time and boundaries.

Works Cited

Moliere. Love is the Doctor (L’Amour Medecin). Upper Saddle Rvr, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 1995. Print.