The Miser

Another main theme of The Miser is the battle between viewing relationships as something meant to be based on love or as purely transactional and pragmatic. There are three things that keep the lovers from marrying the ones they love: social status, as is the case with Elise and Valere; familial duty, like that which Marianne feels towards her mother; and, of course, money, which is a persistent issue for both couples hoping to make a love match.

If Elise is to marry Valere, an apparent servant, she will be forgoing her place in society. At the beginning of the play, she struggles with this decision. Though she loves Valere, she knows it will not be easy for her to live with “a lifetime of reproachful eyes staring at [her]” (8). Her father, also, expects her to marry someone of similar status, not the steward that has been waiting on him hand and foot. By the end of the play, however, Elise learns that she is willing to sacrifice even social status to be with Valere. She tells her father, “you have often said to me: all that glitters is not gold. So the reverse can be said as well—take another look at Valere; he is not what you think him to be” (58). Though Valere has been acting as a servant, Elise knows that not only is he the one she loves most of all, but he is actually of noble blood. She knows the truth, and that is enough for her. Of course, the truth is eventually made known to all and she does not have to give up her place in society after all.

The second way marriage is viewed more as a transaction is by means of family duty. Marianne’s mother, who is dying, asks Marianne to marry a rich, older man. Though it is never explicitly stated, this is likely so that she can die knowing her daughter has secured her future and will be financially well-off once she is gone. Marianne struggles with not wanting to disappoint her mother, but eventually she is able to win over her mother’s blessing. Cleante tells the group, “Her mother has agreed to leave the decision to Marianne; she marries whomever she wants” (62). Even so, Marianne feels that she must have the approval of her long-lost father as well. Seigneur Anselme wastes no time in telling her she is free to choose. In the end, Marianne never has to break her parents’ trust or go against their will. Instead, their will changes to match her own.

Finally, marriage is viewed by Harpagon only in terms of money saved or earned. When Harpagon meets Marianne for the first time, he asks Frosine, “you did remind the mother that this is a marriage and therefore a dowry is expected?” (27). The irony of his statement is that the whole reason he is pushing for Elise to marry that very night is so she can be given away without a dowry. When Frosine says that Marianne does not have a dowry, but will save him money, Harpagon is not satisfied—he wants something “tangible.” When the lovers scheme to have him break matters off with Marianne, they know exactly how to go about it: Frosine asks the lovers, “What’s the one thing he loves more than Marianne?” (44) and Marianne and Cleante reply, “Money!” (44). They know that the quickest way to divert Harpagon’s attention is with money, since he was never going to marry Marianne for love anyway. Harpagon’s willing abandonment of Marianne to regain his strongbox confirms the contrast between his transactional view of marriage and the love matches that his children favor instead.