The Miser

The Miser begins in Harpagon’s house in Paris, which was once refined but has since fallen into disrepair. A young woman named Elise runs into the room, sobbing, with her lover, a young man named Valere, close behind her. When Valere asks why she is upset, Elise tells him she is worried about several things: her father, who will not approve of their love, her reputation being on the line, and her worry that Valere’s words of love are not sincere. Valere showers her with loving phrases, and Elise rescinds her worries. She tells him, “I don’t doubt your love, Valere, or your constancy. It’s the approval of others. Imagine a lifetime of reproachful eyes staring at you” (8, emphasis added). Elise fears that her family, and others in society, will disapprove of her marriage to a man they view as a servant.

Elise recounts the story of how she and Valere first met, when she nearly drowned and Valere rescued her from the sea. After, Valere came back with her and began disguising himself as a servant in Harpagon’s (Elise’s father’s) house, even though he is of a noble, long-lost family himself. Valere assures Elise that if Harpagon will not permit them to marry, he will travel the world to find his family and prove his worth as a husband. In the meantime, he will continue to flatter Harpagon in the hope of winning his approval. He brags, “flattery wins every round, Elise, even with the most suspicious” (9). He is confident that if he keeps this up, Harpagon will approve of the marriage. However, he admits that waiting for that to happen has become almost unbearable.

Elise suggests that they enlist the help of her brother, Cleante. Valere does not wish to get between Cleante and Harpagon, who are always at war with one another. Instead, he encourages Elise to speak with Cleante herself, as she has his trust. They hear him coming in the house, and Valere leaves Elise alone to speak with Cleante about their problem.

Cleante enters and is relieved to find Elise. Before Elise can say anything, Cleante is confiding in her about his own torrid affair with a beautiful woman. He begins by telling Elise that he knows he is under his father’s control, and he knows that their father will never approve. However, he warns her, his mind is made up and he will marry her no matter what. Elise tries to get her name, but Cleante rambles on, telling Elise about his lover’s dreadful situation. The woman is poor and has been tending to her ailing mother. Cleante talks of his dreams to “drag her out of the mire of paucity and into a world of plenty” (10), dreams that he knows will be crushed by their father, who refuses to give them a cent of their inheritance now. Cleante finally announces his plan to Elise: He is going to face his father and ask for both his share of the money and permission to marry the woman. If he is denied, then he, Elise, and Marianne (the woman’s name, which he reveals at last) will run away together.

Just then, the siblings hear their father approaching and hide in another room as Harpagon enters with Cleante’s servant, La Fleche. Harpagon is shooing La Fleche away, accusing him of thievery. La Fleche scoffs, “Steal? From you? You who locks up everything he has and stands sentry by it with his dogs day and night?” (11). Harpagon tells La Fleche to leave, but not before he has been searched thoroughly for stolen goods. La Fleche is forced to turn out every pocket in a comical exchange. La Fleche repeatedly makes comments about Harpagon to the audience (asides). However, in this play, the other characters can hear the asides and La Fleche is forced to cover his tracks to avoid further reprimanding.

After La Fleche leaves, Harpagon mutters to himself that he is always nervous about the money he has hidden away in his house. He distrusts banks, so he has “buried [his] newly-earned ten thousand crowns in a strongbox in the garden. And chained the Dobermans to the nearest tree” (13). Even with these precautions, he fears being robbed more than anything, and quickly looks around in fright, worried he has been overheard. He slaps himself to remain calm just as his two adult children, Elise and Cleante, enter.

Cleante tries to gather enough courage to tell his father that he wants to marry Marianne, but before he can do so, Harpagon announces that he has marriage plans of his own, for all three of them. For Cleante he has selected an elderly, wealthy widow; for Elise, an older man named Seigneur Anselme; and for himself, the impoverished Marianne. Cleante, horrified, rushes off stage.

Elise, alone with her father, begins to have a polite argument in which Elise refuses to marry Seigneur Anselme. After a multitude of back-handed comments disguised as praises and curtsies, Harpagon ends the argument. He tells Elise, “with your feelings fully in mind, you will marry him tonight” (17). Elise is shocked by this, and once again says she will not go through with it. At that moment, Valere enters. Harpagon and Elise make a deal that whoever Valere says is in the right, that will be the final decision. Both of them are confident that Valere will side with them, inviting Valere into the conversation.

Harpagon explains to Valere that he and his daughter are in disagreement. He asks Valere which of the two of them, himself or Elise, is right. Before Harpagon can explain what the disagreement is about, Valere, determined to flatter Harpagon, sides with him. Elise tries to hint that he should enquire more, but he flatters Harpagon even more. Harpagon, satisfied with his answer, tells Valere about Elise’s impending marriage.

Valere is stunned to discover that he just helped Harpagon marry Elise off to someone else. He starts to backtrack, but can find no argument against Harpagon’s main reason for the wedding to take place that night: If the wedding is that evening, Elise’s betrothed will marry her even without a dowry, which will save Harpagon money. At the end of the Act, Valere sees that changing Harpagon’s mind is useless. He instead tricks Harpagon into letting him leave with Elise, under the guise of having a stern talk with her about obeying her father.