France is the forefather of not only High Fashion, but also many undertakings in the field of art. Back in the 17th century, the son of the courtier, Jean-Baptiste Poklen, better known by the name Moliere, composed a witty, brilliant comedy, combining two different genres such as dramatic theater and ballet. And now for the fourth century, it has not left the stage of the capital's and provincial theaters, it is studied in schools, and the heroes of the work long ago became common nouns.
Opening genre
Of course, we are talking about the great comedy of Moliere "The Tradesman in the Nobility." Everything was new in the work: both the pronounced mockery of the morals and habits of the upper world, and the realistically depicted ignorant rudeness, ignorance, greed and stupidity of the bourgeoisie, stubbornly striving to share power and privileges in a country with a poor nobility, and the author’s obvious sympathies for the common man, a representative of the so-called third estate. This applies to the problems and the
author’s position. And the spectacle of the production, colorful costumes, musical numbers ... Louis the 14th, an ardent fan of music, dancing, especially ballet, loved a variety of enchanting productions. But before Moliere, such a masterful combination of stage performance, dance numbers and ballet playwrights failed. In this regard, "The Tradesman in the Nobility" may well be considered the predecessor of the modern musical. Comedy-ballet - this is a peculiar genre of the work of the great Moliere.
The story of the comedy
The event, thanks to which comedy was born, is also not entirely ordinary. When in 1669 the sun king, as Louis was nicknamed for his addiction to dresses, jewelry, outward chic and splendor, it became known that the sultan of the empire of the Great Ottomans (i.e. Turkey) sent an embassy delegation to him, the ruler of France decided to surpass him parts of luxury. The sparkling of jewels, the abundance of gold and silver, expensive materials, luxury goods should have overshadowed the ambassadors, accustomed to such an abundance in the East, and spread the glory of the wealth and greatness of the French court and its ruler throughout the world. But the king’s plan did not succeed: he became a victim of mystification and deception. Enraged, Louis instructed Moliere to write a comedy in which the Turkish mentality would be mocked along with their delegation. Thus was born the "Tradesman in the Nobility", whose first performance before the king and the nobility was given in mid-October 1670, and the official, for the Parisian public, in November 1670. Since that day (November 28), the stage has been staged more than 42 times on the stage of the main theater of Paris - the Palais-Royal, and this is not counting other productions in smaller theaters! And after about a century, the first professional translation of comedy into Russian appeared. In Russia, "The Tradesman in the Nobility" was received "with a bang", and his victorious march continues to this day.
Content and Heroes
The plot of the work is simple, the main intrigue of the comedy is not in the conflict, but in the characters. Jourdain, a middle-aged tradesman of considerable age, very rich, but not far-fetched, rude, and sometimes frankly stupid, ignorant, wants to join the noble sophistication, grace, chivalry and outward brilliance with all his might. The ultimate goal of all his tricks is the Marquis of Dorimen, a cutesy aristocrat, accustomed to evaluate people by the severity of their wallet and the volume of the title. The ruined Count Dorant, a dodger and a deceiver, safely leads Jourdain by the nose, promising to help get close to Dorimena and, in general, to introduce his "friend" into the upper Parisian world. By nature, he is far from a fool, Mr. Jourdain is blinded by the brilliance of the nobility and, point-blank, does not notice that he has already become a “cash cow” for such arrogant rogues. He takes them huge amounts of money, not demanding a refund. Hires a host of teachers, tailors, so that they somewhat formed and trimmed him. There is no sense in this, but gold coins flow away in a full-flowing river. In fact, "The Tradesman in the Nobility", the brief content of which is to ridicule and criticize the ruling class of the nobles and the bourgeoisie replacing it, is a wonderful parody of the monarchical absolutist system that took shape in France at the end of the 17th century. The comedy clearly emphasized that the future is not for the jourdans and dorantes, but for such honest, active, entrepreneurial, and viable types and characters as Cleont, the bridegroom of Jourdain’s daughter, Covelier — his servant, and all those who are used to pursuing everything life through their own mind and strength. In this regard, the book "Tradesman in the Nobility" could become a desktop for the Russian nobility. However, close to the point of view and the author’s characteristics of Moliere was the comedy of the wonderful Russian playwright Fonvizin's “Undergrowth”. Both of them are part of the golden fund of world literature.
Commonness of Images
Needless to say, many expressions of comedy have become aphorisms, and its main character symbolizes human rudeness and lack of education, lack of taste and sense of proportion! “Jourdain with papillots” - we are talking about this, and that’s it!