A five-act prose play, whose main character is a usurer and pathological miser who loves his money more than anyone else, was written in 1668. Today it is one of the most acclaimed works by Molière, but at the time of its creation, it did not receive much attention. The popularity of the comedy came later, and today it is one of the most frequently performed plays by the author, with the name of the main character becoming synonymous with a miserly person. The Miser is a drama of one family and also a comedy of characters, where the plot and situations serve to reveal the absurdity and ridiculousness of the main character's uncontrollable vice. The widower Harpagon, father of two adult children, Cléante and Élise, is obsessed with accumulating money and is convinced that everyone wants to deprive him of it. Outwardly, he tries to present himself as a poor man, and he is equally miserly when it comes to household expenses and the needs of his children. The unbearable family situation culminates when Harpagon decides to marry off his daughter and son against their will, as he himself plans to marry a girl many years younger than him. It seems that the father has all the means to enforce his will, but he is struck at his most sensitive spot when the money he hid at home goes missing. The Miser is one of those plays that seems to...
