The Imaginary Invalid

This weekend we were required to see the play, The Imaginary Invalid, by Moliere. This was actually his last play ever written. He wrote about a hypochondriac, who is so obsessed with his so called "illnesses" that he tries to mary his daughter off to a doctor, all so he can have free medicine whenever he needs it. However, the irony of it all is that Moliere is writing about a man thinking he is ill when in fact, he, himself is dying. I feel that this play fits well with the readings we have been looking at during this semesters course. Just as the play has its twists and turns, so have the stories we have read.

The more I think about it, the more this play resembles a lot of the work we have discussed in class, especially the story, What We Talk about, When We Talk about Love. So instead of giving you a brief description of the play, I have decided to bring to your attention the connections between the husband, Argan and his step- wife, Beline and the husband, Mel and his wife, Terri, in the story, What We Talk about When We Talk about Love. In my previous posts, I have tried to express through my writings that I have not felt as if the text we have been reading have pinned pointed the exact meaning or true love, especially in, What We Talk about, When We Talk about Love. When I first analyzed the story, I stood firmly on my position that Mel was more concerned about drinking and being off call than he was about loving his wife. And in The Imaginary Invalid, Beline, was way more concerned with Argon's money than actually loving him. This rang true when in the second act, Toinette, Beline's maid, convinced him to pretend that he was dead to see if his wife actually loved him like she said she did. Not much to our surprise, but her reaction to his death was sheer excitement, because now she would be able to carry out her plan by acquiring all of his money that she wanted to get her hands on.

There are many more connections that I could make, but I would like to turn your attention to a song that we listened to in class, called, Frankie and Johnny. This song was about two lovers as well; however, one of the lovers, I believe Johnny, was cheating on Frankie, if I can remember the song correctly, and Frankie catches Johnny and shoots him. The irony in all three situations are that none of these people truly loved one other, except for the one that was the victim in the situation. In the song, Frankie and Johnny, the victim was Frankie, in the story, What We Talk about, When We Talk about Love, it was terri, and in the Imaginary Invalid, it Argan. Isn't it interesting, that usually, in real- life relationships you almost, 9 times out of 10, have the one person that cares more about the other and then they are the ones that usually get hurt. With all of these stories, I believe that there are many lessons to be learned, but one that stood out to me is that we should choose more wisely the people we decide to open our hearts to (literally, in Frankie and Johnny's case). If you find that you are constantly the victim in your relationships, I would advise you to start the next relationship you find yourself getting into by taking things slow and truly getting to know the person. Also, I would advise you to make a list, not too long, but one that represents what you want in a man/ woman.

The connections that I made throughout all three of these stories, truly interested and I look forward into building off of these connections for a more in depth post.

Also for the requirement of this post I would just like to add that "I attended Southeastern's production of The Imaginary Invalid and watched the entire play." I would also like to add, that by being apart of the play, which was my first production ever, was an amazing experience and Professor Dixon did an outstanding job by directing it!