French Literature Companion:
Le Médecin malgré lui |
Médecin malgré lui, Le. One of Molière's best farces, performed 1666. Forced by a trick of his wife Martine to act the doctor, the woodcutter Sganarelle ‘cures’ Géronte's daughter Lucinde by introducing the young beau Léandre as his apothecary. When asked why he refers to the heart as being on the right side, Sganarelle explains: ‘Oui, cela était autrefois ainsi, mais nous avons changé tout cela.’
[Peter France]
| Wikipedia: Le Médecin malgré lui |
Le Médecin malgré lui (The Doctor in spite of himself) is a comedy by Molière.
Sganarelle is mistaken for a reputable doctor, even though, as an alcoholic woodcutter, he has no idea what a doctor should know.
A widely-accepted theory as to why Molière wrote this play is that he wanted to make fun of the practices of doctors at the time, such as leeching and the four humors. Since Sganarelle is a complete idiot, he even manages to mix up which side the heart and the liver are on (the heart is on the left, the liver is on the right).
It is also believed that he was forced to write this after his previous play, Le Misanthrope, turned out to be a commercial flop, despite the fact that The Misanthrope is one of his best known works.
Gounod wrote an opera based on Molière's play, also entitled Le médecin malgré lui.
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