The Middle Class Gentleman

The Middle Class Gentleman is a play written by the famous French playwright Moliere, whose real name was Jean Baptiste Poquelin. The play was first performed in 1670 and is a satire on the rising middle class of the time. The story revolves around a wealthy businessman named Monsieur Jourdain, who aspires to become a gentleman and gain social status. He hires various teachers to teach him music, dance, fencing, and philosophy, but his lack of understanding in these areas leads to comical situations. Meanwhile, his daughter Lucille falls in love with a young man named Cleonte, who is not of noble birth. Monsieur Jourdain is against the match, but with the help of the clever servants and a scheming count, the lovers are able to overcome the obstacles and marry. The play is a witty critique of social climbing and the obsession with status and class in 17th century French society.DORANTE: Monsieur Jourdain is right, Madame, to speak so, and he obliges me by making you so welcome. I agree with him that the repast is not worthy of you. Since it was I who ordered it, and since I do not have the accomplishments of our friends in this matter, you do not have here a very sophisticated meal, and you will find some incongruities in the combinations and some barbarities of taste.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.