Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

The bourgeois gentleman of the play’s title, Monsieur Jourdain is a fool from the first moment of the play until the end. As desperately as he desires to be of noble class, he has no modesty or sense. M. Jourdain, born of humble beginnings, has earned enough money to buy all of the trappings of the upper class. However, he demonstrates that wealth does not make one reasonable. Throughout the play, he never discovers that his friends and tutors are only using him for his money. He trusts Doranté, even as the count marries the woman that M. Jourdain had hoped to have for himself. M. Jourdain is humorous because his foolishness is obvious to everyone else, while he remains oblivious. As Molière was heavily influenced by commedia dell’arte, the Italian comic theatre form that originated during the Renaissance, he utilized commedia stock characters. M. Jourdain is an example of a Pantalone character, or an old rich dotard. The Pantalone is rich and witless, but puts great stock in believing in his own cultured intellect. Commedia stock characters are not especially complex, but their humor comes from their predictable behavior in different comical situations. As the Pantalone character, M.