Moliere "The Bourgeois among the Nobility. Essay on the topic: How can one explain Jourdain’s actions in the work The Bourgeois in the Nobility, Moliere Reasonable and unreasonable in Jourdain’s actions

The literary process of the 17th century was characterized by the direction of classicism, which reflected the features of ancient literature. Moliere's play "The Bourgeois in the Nobility" is a kind of standard literary direction this period.

Characteristics of Jourdain's image

The main character of the play “A Bourgeois in the Nobility,” Jourdain, became a kind of mirror in which the author reflected all the shortcomings and vices of society. Jourdain is a fairly elderly merchant, who once had an irresistible desire to become part of an aristocratic society.

The main character began to completely rebuild his life and old habits in order to resemble a nobleman as much as possible. He hires a teacher and learns to dance, like secular gentlemen, arranges his apartment according to the example of fashionable salons, dresses in clothes made from expensive materials ordered abroad, and looks for a groom with a noble pedigree for his daughter.

But this does not help Jourdain to join the coveted society, since all his actions on the way to achieving his goal only cause ridicule from others. After all, what could be more amusing than an uneducated merchant imagining himself as a nobleman?

Close people use him for personal purposes: his daughter and wife demand new expensive outfits in order to match the future aristocrat. In order to marry her daughter to her loved one, Jourdain’s wife puts on a real performance for her husband.

A low-income groom is dressed up as a Turkish sultan, whom, according to the script, the daughter is supposed to marry. Jourdain has become so accustomed to the role of an aristocrat that he does not see in the Sultan the poor guy Clement, who asked for the hand of his child a month ago.

Playing along with the upper class in everything, Jourdain is nothing more, nothing less than an unsuccessful caricature of it. Probably, his image would have caused ridicule of more than one generation of readers if not for the epiphany that Jourdain had at the end of the play.

He realized that all his life he had been striving for something more sublime than everyday vanity, and chose the wrong path, wanting to inherit the nobility. Jourdain realized that he had actually lived prosaically his entire life, while his soul longed for lyricism.

At this moment the main character becomes for real it's a pity. However, this feeling is replaced by joy for him - he finally saw the light and looked at the world with a completely different look.

The meaning of the story

In the play “The Bourgeois in the Nobility”, in addition to people who want to be equal to high-ranking society, the aristocracy itself is ridiculed, along with its meaningless and empty laws of life.

Jourdain's game of nobility is actually a demonstration performance for the upper class, because sometimes they themselves, with their fictitious rules of good manners and bad taste in some things, look as comical as main character plays.

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LESSON IN 8th "B" grade on the topic: REASONABLE OR UNREASONABLE? Teacher Zueva Lyudmila Vasilievna.

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Jean Baptiste Moliere. Born January 15, 1622 in Paris. French comedian, actor, theatrical figure, reformer performing arts. Served at the court of Louis XIV. Based on the traditions of folk theater and the achievements of classicism, he created the genre of social comedy, in which slapstick and humor were combined with grace and artistry. Ridiculing the class prejudices of the aristocrats, the narrow-mindedness of the bourgeoisie, the hypocrisy of the nobles, he saw in them a perversion of human nature (“Funny primps”, “Misanthrope”, “The Misanthrope”, “Learned Women”, “The Bourgeois in the Nobility”; “The Imaginary Invalid”), with He exposed hypocrisy with particular intransigence, creating the immortal image of Tartuffe - the comedy “Tartuffe, or the Deceiver.”

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Family. Poquelin family ( real name Molière) belonged to a wealthy merchant class: in 1631, Jean's father received the high official position of royal upholsterer. He gave an excellent education to his eldest son, who from 1636 to 1639 studied at the Jesuit Clermont College in Paris, where the offspring of many noble families were educated. Jean Baptiste knew a lot about wallpaper craft and joined a craft workshop, but his relatives intended him for a legal career: in 1641 he was admitted to the bar.

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First steps in the theatrical field. Around 1641, Jean Baptiste made acquaintances in the acting community: the Italian mime Fiorilli gave him several stage lessons, and the young actress Madeleine Bejart became his mistress. In 1643, he decided to finally connect his fate with the stage and entered into an agreement with Madeleine Bejart to create the “Brilliant Theater”. In the 17th century, the acting profession was considered “mean”, so no one performed on stage under their own name. The pseudonym “Moliere” was first recorded in a document dated January 28, 1644. In 1645, the future comedian was twice in prison due to debts, and the troupe had to leave the capital. The tour of the provinces lasted 12 years: Moliere’s first plays “Naughty, or Everything Is Out of Place” (1655), “Love Spat” (1656) date back to this period. Years of wandering played a significant role in the life of the playwright: he became an excellent actor and director.

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Parisian period: first plays. In 1658, the troupe returned to Paris and staged a performance at the Louvre for Louis XIV, who greatly enjoyed Moliere's play The Doctor in Love. The playwright gained his first success with the public in 1659 with the comedy “Funny Primroses,” in which he ridiculed the sweetness and pretentiousness of manners. In 1661, Moliere’s only “correct” play, “Don Garcia of Navarre,” failed, but the productions of “The School for Husbands” and “The Annoyers” at the Palais Royal theater, which now houses the Comédie Française (also known as the “House of Moliere”) turned out to be extremely successful. ).

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“School of Wives” The following year, a “pamphlet war” broke out in connection with the presentation of “School of Wives”: the saints saw in it an attack on the principles of Christian education. The play was a huge success: according to a contemporary, “everyone found it pitiful, and everyone was in a hurry to see it.” This meant the emergence of the “double taste” or “double standard” so characteristic of France: either popularity or strict adherence to the “rules”. Moliere was accused of weak intrigue, which in fact is almost primitive. As in many other comedies by Molière, the denouement here is far-fetched. However, the playwright was not at all interested in the ending (almost tragic for Arnolf), but in the “universal” type: an elderly man in love with a young girl and raising her to the delight of his young rival.

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"Don Juan" and "The Misanthrope". In 1665, another storm was caused by the production of “Don Juan”: Moliere’s enemies, not content with a temporary ban, did everything possible to finally banish the play from the theater stage, and after 15 performances it was never staged again during the playwright’s lifetime. From a financial point of view, The Misanthrope, staged in 1666, was also unsuccessful. This is one of Moliere's most “mysterious” and polysemantic comedies. Alceste is an honest man who does not find his place in society. He loses the lawsuit, quarrels with his friend Philint, loses his beloved girl Selimene and proudly retires “into the desert” - away from the vicious light. Alceste's desire to reveal the true meaning of social conventions undoubtedly coincides with the position of Moliere himself. At the same time, Alceste is shown not only as an idealist, but also as a mature person who stubbornly refuses to grow up.

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Recent years life. Financial difficulties forced Moliere to write five plays in just one season (1667-68): these included “The Reluctant Marriage” and “The Miser.” In 1670, one of the playwright’s most popular comedies, “The Bourgeois in the Nobility,” appeared, which is a cheerful farce with an inserted Turkish ballet. The play was immortalized by the figure of M. de Jourdain - a stupid and very funny bourgeois, obsessed with his desire to become “one of his own” in the circle of nobles. The playwright's stage career ended tragically. In February 1673, The Imaginary Invalid was staged, where Moliere, despite a long-standing serious illness (most likely he had tuberculosis), played the main role. At the fourth performance he collapsed and had to be carried home. He died on the night of February 17-18, without having time to confess and renounce his acting profession. The parish priest forbade him to be buried on consecrated ground: the widow turned to the king for help, and only then was a religious burial allowed.

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The work of Moliere. Moliere's plays received more than 30 thousand performances on the stage of the Comédie Française alone. The French Academy, which neglected the “comedian” during his lifetime, announced a competition for “Praise of Moliere” in 1769 and installed his bust. Moliere became the true creator of the genre of classicist comedy, where the collective hero is countless and immense human delusions, which sometimes turn into mania.

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LESSON PURPOSE: to show the life position of ch. the hero of the comedy Mr. JOURDAIN, his understanding of the purpose of his life using the example of the analysis of acts I and II of the comedy

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1. Reading scenes 1-2 of Act I How do these scenes prepare the appearance of Mr. Jourdain? What idea do we get of Jourdain's moral character? (He is simple-minded, naive, and natural, but at the same time he loves flattery and, most importantly, is going to become like a nobleman).

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Act II, phenomenon 1 Prove that Mr. JOURDAIN is an ignorant person who at all costs wants to be like a noble gentleman?

Jean Baptiste Moliere. Born January 15, 1622 in Paris. French comedian, actor, theater figure, reformer of performing arts. Served at the court of Louis XIV. Based on the traditions of folk theater and the achievements of classicism, he created the genre of social comedy, in which slapstick and humor were combined with grace and artistry. Ridiculing the class prejudices of the aristocrats, the narrow-mindedness of the bourgeoisie, the hypocrisy of the nobles, he saw in them a perversion of human nature (“Funny primps”, “Misanthrope”, “The Misanthrope”, “Learned Women”, “The Bourgeois in the Nobility”; “The Imaginary Invalid”), with He exposed hypocrisy with particular intransigence, creating the immortal image of Tartuffe - the comedy “Tartuffe, or the Deceiver.”

Family. The Poquelin family (Molière's real name) belonged to a wealthy merchant class: in 1631, Jean's father received the high official position of royal upholsterer. He gave an excellent education to his eldest son, who from 1636 to 1639 studied at the Jesuit Clermont College in Paris, where the offspring of many noble families were educated. Jean Baptiste knew a lot about wallpaper craft and joined a craft workshop, but his relatives intended him for a legal career: in 1641 he was admitted to the bar.

"Don Juan" and "The Misanthrope". In 1665, another storm was caused by the production of “Don Juan”: Moliere’s enemies, not content with a temporary ban, did everything possible to finally banish the play from the theater stage, and after 15 performances it was never staged again during the playwright’s lifetime. From a financial point of view, The Misanthrope, staged in 1666, was also unsuccessful. This is one of Moliere's most “mysterious” and polysemantic comedies. Alceste is an honest man who does not find his place in society. He loses the lawsuit, quarrels with his friend Philint, loses his beloved girl Selimene and proudly retires “into the desert” - away from the vicious world. Alceste's desire to reveal the true meaning of social conventions undoubtedly coincides with the position of Moliere himself. At the same time, Alceste is shown not only as an idealist, but also as a mature person who stubbornly refuses to grow up.

Last years of life. Financial difficulties forced Moliere to write five plays in just one season (1667-68): these included “The Reluctant Marriage” and “The Miser.” In 1670, one of the playwright’s most popular comedies, “The Bourgeois in the Nobility,” appeared, which is a cheerful farce with an inserted Turkish ballet. The play was immortalized by the figure of M. de Jourdain - a stupid and very funny bourgeois, obsessed with his desire to become “one of his own” in the circle of nobles. The playwright's stage career ended tragically. In February 1673, The Imaginary Invalid was staged, where Moliere, despite a long-standing serious illness (most likely he had tuberculosis), played the main role. At the fourth performance he collapsed and had to be carried home. He died on the night of February 17-18, without having time to confess and renounce his acting profession. The parish priest forbade him to be buried on consecrated ground: the widow turned to the king for help, and only then was a religious burial allowed.

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“The Bourgeois in the Nobility” (Le bourgeois gentilhomme - lit., translation - “The Bourgeois-Nobleman”, 1670). Mr. Jourdain is one of the funniest characters of the great comedian. They make fun of him equally and characters plays, both readers and spectators. Indeed, what could be more absurd for those around him than an elderly merchant who suddenly became obsessed with sociality and frantically strives to resemble an aristocrat. The thirst for a “change of fate” is so strong in Jourdain that, overcoming his natural lack of musicality and clumsiness, he learns the intricate “steps” of fashionable dances, swings a sword, an indispensable attribute of the nobility, and, under the guidance of numerous teachers, learns the techniques of seducing demanding representatives of secular society.
Once again in Moliere's comedy everything revolves around the game. Jourdain can’t wait to get used to the role of an inveterate courtier, and those around him, with few exceptions, “play along” with the hero, pursuing their own very mercantile goals. Even Madame Jourdain, who resists her husband’s expensive follies, and her laughing maid, eventually understand that it is enough to direct Jourdain’s “game” in the right direction so that no one suffers from it. So, at the end of the play, with the help of the mummers of the household, Jourdain’s daughter, whom the adamant father intended exclusively for a nobleman, marries her beloved. And Jourdain himself, as a result of the cunning plan of his daughter’s fiancé, becomes “mamamushi” and “a close associate of the Turkish Sultan.” This quasi-Turkish monster word perfectly expresses the monstrous tastelessness and inorganic nature of the claims of the newly minted nobleman. It was composed especially for Jourdain by mischievous and enterprising fellows, Cleont and Koviel, who decided at all costs to marry the daughter and maid of a crazy bourgeois. The “Turkish ceremony,” designed to “initiate” Jourdain into the nobility, is the culmination of the comedy and the “apotheosis” of the hero, who felt like a real “Muslim aristocrat” during the parody ballet extravaganza.
Jourdain's image, however, is more complex than it might seem. Its social background, relevant for the era, does not prevent us from seeing in the comedy a continuation of Moliere’s serious reflections on the play space of human existence, on the functions of play that fills the life of society, on the different forms of play behavior and on the “costs” of human play activity. This time the subject of the study was the game design of caste train de vie (ways of life). The clumsy bourgeois Jourdain, trying on the etiquette standards of the nobility, turns out to be a kind of mirror in the play, reflecting both the unideal bourgeois manner of life, devoid of creative spirit, and the excessively ornamented, affected style of aristocratic behavior. The space of comedy-ballet, in which everyday scenes, singing numbers and dance involuntary divertissements coexist, is an expression genre originality"A bourgeois among the nobility." At the same time, the pantomime, vocal and choreographic pictures framing the action turn out to be, as it were, the materialization of Jourdain’s dreams of aristocratic existence in the image of a continuous ball of sophistication and gallantry.
Jourdain's thematic complex includes not only the motive of unfounded social claims. Creating for himself an illusory world of “high taste” and grace, Mr. Jourdain is intoxicated not only with a new robe “made of Indian fabric”, a wig and a suit with “flower heads up”. The key and most famous phrase of Molière’s philistine sounds like this: “... I had no idea that for more than forty years I have been speaking in prose.” The discovery made by Jourdain exposes, of course, his illiteracy. But the uneducated, absurd, ill-mannered merchant, in contrast to his surroundings, is suddenly able to see the wretchedness of a life lived, devoid of a glimpse of poetry, mired in crude material interests. Thus, another theme of Jourdain becomes a touching and sympathetic craving for a world of other values, revealed, however, by Moliere in a parodic way. In this sense, Jourdain opens a series of images of the bourgeoisie, seeking the spiritual sophistication of noble life, images among which is Madame Bovary Flaubert, and Chekhov's Lopakhin.
Mr. Jourdain has at least three acting roles in the play. He acts as an actor trying out a winning role, as a toy for those around him who take advantage of his mania, and as a catalyst for the playful activity of young comedy characters. At the end of the play, the hero receives what he is looking for (after all, his goal has always been appearance); all participants and witnesses of the “Turkish ceremony” are satisfied.
“The Bourgeois in the Nobility” is also a play about illusions, about the illusory nature and relativity of many human institutions, such as caste “rules of good manners” and “accepted” forms of social life. And also that the game is the last, and perhaps the only way to give creative energy to human existence, to force the thickness of inert matter to part in order to soar in the magical spaces of dreams. The image of Mr. Jourdain, a merchant living in a prosaic reality, but looking for poetry, confused and happy, a bourgeois and a nobleman, is one of the brightest manifestations of the insurmountable duality of existence and one of the absolute Moliere masterpieces. It is not surprising that the motives of comedy became the basis of M.A.’s dramatic fantasy. Bulgakov“Crazy Jourdain,” written in 1932 for the Studio Theater under the direction of Yu.A. Zavadsky.
The first performance of the comedy "The Tradesman among the Nobility" took place at the Chateau de Chambord on October 14, 1670. Then, in the same year, Jourdain was played by Moliere himself at the Palais Royal Theater. Among the outstanding performers of the role of Jourdain is Coquelin Sr. (1903). In Russia, Jourdain was played by: M.S. Shchepkin(1825), P.M. Sadovsky (1844), V.I. Larkspur (1864).

Comedy is not an easy genre. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known under the pseudonym Molière, is considered the creator of the classic comedy. His works are witty and full of philosophical ideas. In his comedy "The Bourgeois in the Nobility" he raised one of the most pressing themes of the 17th century - the attempt of the petty bourgeoisie to penetrate the world of the aristocracy. In order to obtain titles, they were ready to pay huge amounts of money, buy lands and positions, master noble manners, and most importantly, make secular friends.

The main character of the comedy is an ordinary tradesman, Mr. Jourdain, who has everything necessary for happiness, except for the title of nobleman. Despite the fact that he is not a nobleman either by birth or upbringing, he strives at all costs to become a true aristocrat. For the sake of his crazy dream, he is ready to spend fortunes, hire teachers of logic, dance, music, fencing, tailors, hairdressers and other employees so that they can make him a different person. He himself is rude and uneducated by nature, so it is not easy for teachers to teach him secular manners. However, in words they promise him any changes.

Jourdain, without a moment's hesitation, pays this entire army of scammers and firmly believes that this will help in making his dream come true. In turn, the tailor deceives him. He sews ridiculous outfits for him, calling them secular, while Jourdain himself has no idea what they actually wear in society. From leftover materials he sews clothes for himself. Many of Jourdain’s employees receive money only for praising his new robe or cap, listening to his mediocre folk song and obsequiously calling him “Your Grace” or something else. Count Dorant, although of aristocratic blood, is not rich. He is friends with Jourdain only for money and often borrows money from him.