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loses her miniature portrait of Lélie which ends up in the hands of
Sganarelle and his wife. These two events set off a series of mistaken assumptions and quarrelling: Sganarelle's wife believes that he and Célie are lovers; Sganarelle believes that Lélie and his wife are lovers; Célie believes that Lélie and Sganarelle's wife are lovers; and Lélie believes that Célie has secretly married Sganarelle. Célie's governess helps sort out the confusion in the penultimate scene, and in the final scene Villebrequin arrives with the surprise news that four months ago his son Valère had secretly married someone else. Célie and Lélie are now free to marry. In the final lines of the play Sganarelle addresses the audience:
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175:. It was to become the most frequently performed of Molière's plays during his lifetime and was offered every year by his company. Molière refused to have the play published to protect his company's exclusive performing rights. However, one enthusiastic spectator, "La Neufvillenaine" (pseudonym of the Parisian publisher Jean Ribou), saw the play so many times during its first run that he was able to write it down from memory. The text (with his added commentary) was published in a "pirate" edition by Ribou in late 1660.
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The greedy and domineering
Gorgibus is forcing his daughter Célie to marry the wealthy Valère, but she is in love with Lélie and he with her. Célie, in distress at her impending marriage to Valère, faints in the street, and Sganarelle, who is passing by, attempts to revive her. In the process she
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in Paris to great success. Molière himself played the role of
Sganarelle at the premiere and continued to perform it throughout his career. The story deals with the consequences of jealously and hasty assumptions in a farcical series of quarrels and misunderstandings involving Sganarelle (the
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Original French: Vous voyez qu'en ce fait la plus forte apparence peut jeter dans l'esprit une fausse créance. De cet exemple-ci ressouvenez-vous bien; et, quand vous verriez tout, ne croyez jamais rien.
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continues to be performed today in its original one-act version both in France and in other countries (often in translation). A performance of the play by the actors of the
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You have seen how the strongest evidence can still plant a false belief in the mind. Remember well this example, and even when you see everything, never believe anything.
158:. Molière wrote the character of Sganarelle as a vehicle for himself and played him in the premiere. The Sganarelle character first appeared in his 1645 play
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and would later re-appear in multiple Molière plays, each time with a different aspect of the character's personality developed or emphasised.
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in 1682), some 18th-century editors divided the play into three acts with the breaks coming after Scenes 6 and 17. The
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The play was an instant success at its premiere, playing throughout 1660 with several further private performances for
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Although Molière intended the play to be performed in one act without interruptions (as documented by
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Knapper, Stephen (2006). "The Master and the Mirror: Scaramouche and Molière" in
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a romantic young woman betrothed to the absent Valère but in love with Lélie
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692:(complete text in the original French annotated by Louis Lacour)
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of the title), his wife, and the young lovers, Célie and Lélie.
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Howarth (1997) p. 174; Wilbur (1993) p. 3; Knapper (2006) p. 53
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a bourgeois
Parisian, Sganarelle's neighbour and Célie's father
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traditions with the story unfolding over 24 scenes written in
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Oeuvres de Molière, avec des notes de tous les commentateurs
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Although there are no direct literary sources for the play,
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413:, comic chamber opera in one act; music and libretto by
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a well-bred and idealistic young man in love with Célie
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633:French Theatre in the Neo-classical Era, 1550–1789
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467:Wadsworth (1987) pp. 92–96; Wilbur (1993) pp. 3–5
403:, comic opera in one act; music and libretto by
198:television in 2002 and released on DVD in 2008.
123:. It was first performed on 28 May 1660 at the
389:("Sganarelle, or Appearances are Deceptive"),
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8:
677:, pp. 3–7. Dramatists Play Service Inc.
660:Moliere and the Italian Theatrical Tradition
645:, pp. 37–56. Cambridge University Press
509:Premiere cast sourced from Molière (1857).
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458:Hochman (1984) p. 417; Wilbur (1993) p. 4
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615:McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama
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624:Molière: A Playwright and His Audience
618:2nd Edition, Vol. 1. McGraw-Hill Inc.
365:The Picture, or The Cuckold in Conceit
675:The Imaginary Cuckold, Or, Sganarelle
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763:Sganarelle, or The Imaginary Cuckold
541:, p. 222. Cambridge University Press
104:Sganarelle, or The Imaginary Cuckold
642:The Cambridge Companion to Moliere
429:in one act; music and libretto by
393:in one act; music and libretto by
144:was influenced by both the French
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826:George Dandin ou le Mari confondu
689:Sganarelle, ou Le Cocu imaginaire
113:Sganarelle, ou Le Cocu imaginaire
630:Howarth, William Driver (1997).
621:Howarth, William Driver (1982).
612:Hochman, Stanley (ed.) (1984).
606:Operas in English: A Dictionary
603:Griffel, Margaret Ross (2012).
598:Operas in German: A Dictionary
535:"Plays as property, 1660–1710"
387:Sganarelle or Der Schein trügt
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657:Wadsworth, Philip A. (1987).
749:L'Étourdi ou les Contretemps
651:Molière and the Comic Spirit
636:. Cambridge University Press
627:. Cambridge University Press
202:Characters and premiere cast
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550:Griffel (2012) pp. 379–380
317:A relative of Sganarelle
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312:De Brie (Edme Villequin)
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847:Le Bourgeois gentilhomme
840:Monsieur de Pourceaugnac
756:Les Précieuses ridicules
648:Nurse, Peter H. (1990).
355:The Play House to be Let
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190:with stage direction by
125:Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon
68:Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon
770:The School for Husbands
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371:in two acts; music by
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875:The Imaginary Invalid
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571:Griffel (2012) p. 443
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142:The Imaginary Cuckold
52:28 May 1660
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663:. Summa Publications
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253:Mademoiselle Du Parc
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609:. Scarecrow Press
600:. Greenwood Press
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184:Imaginary Cuckold
161:Le Médecin volant
156:alexandrine verse
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671:Introduction
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214:28 May 1660
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119:in verse by
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925:(2007 film)
917:(1978 film)
427:opera buffa
373:Thomas Arne
349:Adaptations
283:Gros-René,
945:1660 plays
939:Categories
819:Amphitryon
441:References
411:Sganarelle
401:Sganarelle
259:Gorgibus,
209:Character
56:1660-05-28
39:Written by
833:The Miser
499:863540996
277:La Grange
223:bourgeois
180:La Grange
128:imagined
791:Dom Juan
784:Tartuffe
669:(1993).
596:(1990).
377:libretto
335:Synopsis
225:Parisian
196:France 3
922:Molière
914:Molière
885:Related
727:Molière
588:Sources
328:Hogarth
290:Du Parc
270:Lélie,
246:Célie,
230:Molière
136:History
130:cuckold
121:Molière
93:Setting
70:, Paris
54: (
43:Molière
899:(wife)
854:Psyché
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433:(1974)
417:(1974)
407:(1958)
397:(1929)
383:(1745)
117:comedy
109:French
87:Comedy
78:French
734:Works
446:Notes
357:, by
146:farce
83:Genre
495:OCLC
171:and
379:by
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