The Medical Profession

It is immediately clear that Molière is interested in a pointed satire of the entire medical profession in The Imaginary Invalid, an agenda that is common to many of the dramatist's works. In a manner that would have been familiar to contemporary audiences, the play constantly ridicules the pompous behavior, misuse and overuse of Latin, incompetence, ignorance, and selfishness of doctors. Monsieur Purgon and Monsieur Fleurant are mocked by their very names, which suggest "purging" and "flowery," respectively, and Monsieur Diafoirus and Thomas are shown to be incompetent doctors with intolerable personalities.

Molière attacks doctors with satire that is not simply farcical, however; at the beginning of act 3, Béralde's discussion with Argan about the medical profession is an eloquent and even philosophical argument against the medical profession. Béralde questions the basic reasons for living, pointing out that nature...