Character Analysis ( The Imaginary Invalid By Moliere )

I.                   Given Circumstances- Understanding the context of the scene

1-      Is there one event without which this action would not take place?

A-    Where does the scene take place? Describe.

Answer:  All the scenes take place in the Paris home of a hypochondriac named Argan.

B-    When? In relation to what event?

Answer:  “A one-paragraph introduction praises Louis XIV, king of France, for military exploits. Although the introduction does not provide specifics, it is clear that it refers to his campaigns in the Spanish Netherlands, beginning in 1668, to strengthen French borders and to expel Spanish from strategic locales.”

C-    Who is involved?

D-    What is their relationship?

Answer for C, & D:

1-      Argan: A Hypochondiac.

2-      Toinette: A Servent

3-      Guy: ( Prounounced the French way- GHEE )- A Musician

4-      Angelique: A Daughter, Argan’s youngest

5-      Louison: A Daugter, Argan’s eldest

6-      Beline: A Wife, Argan’s second

7-      Cleante: A Florist, and Suitor to Angelique

8-      Monsieur De Bonnefoi: A Lawyer

9-      Monsieur Diafoirus : Father of Thomas Diafoirus

10-  Thomas Diafoirus: Son of Monsieur Diafoirus, and Suitor to Angelique

11-  Beralde: Brother of Argan

12-  Fleurant: An Apothecary

13-  Doctor Purgon: A Doctor

Explaining little bit further about each character:

1-      Argan: Hypochondriac who regularly takes various concoctions prescribed by a physician and prepared by an apothecary. He plans to marry his older daughter to a physician so that he will have constant access to medical services.

Béline: Argan's second wife and stepmother of his two children.

Angélique: Argan's older daughter. She is in love with a young man named Cléante, but her father wants her to marry a young doctor, Thomas Diafoirus. She loves her father but is frustrated with his plans to match her with Diafoirus. 

2-      Cléante: Young man who loves Angélique.

3-      Louison: Argan's younger daughter. Her father forces her to tell him about a conversation she heard between Angélique and Cléante.

4-      Toinette: Intelligent, sassy maid who schemes to overcome Argan's opposition to Angelique’s wish to marry Cléante.

5-      Monsieur Purgon: Argan's physician.

6-      Monsieur Fleurant: Argan's apothecary.

7-      Monsieur Diafoirus: Physician of Argan's acquaintance. Argan and he strike an agreement for Angélique to marry the son of Diafoirus.

8-      Thomas Diafoirus: Son of Monsieur Diafoirus. He has just completed studies to become a physician.

9-      Monsieur de Bonnefoi: Notary who advises Argan on how to bequeath assets to Béline.

10-  Polichinelle: French name for a stock character frequently appearing in commedia dell'arte productions, in which he may also be referred to as Punchinello, Pulcinella, and Punch. In The Imaginary Invalid, Polichinelle is an old usurer acquainted with Toinette. At her request, he contacts Cléante to inform him of developments concerning Angélique. (Commedia dell'arte is a type of Italian theater in which actors improvise their lines in a loosely outlined plot.)

11-  Singers and Dancers: Performers in the eclogue, prologue, and interludes in the play.

E-     Why are they there?

Answer:  Because they are related into one place, same period of time and there is a connection and relationships that are playing a part in everybody’s life, they belong to each other, and they are completing each other in the whole story. 

F-     What is the Pre- Circumstance?

Answer: One of the important and apparent circumstances of the character Toinette already knew ahead of time about Angelique and her wishes to marry Cleante and that Cleante crazy in love with Angelique. However, Toinette was the only one who knew before everyone else in the family about that love story and Argan the father of Angelique did not know that his daughter is in love with Cleante and not anyone does at the same time.

2-Now write a brief description of the given circumstances in first person from your character’s point of view. 

Answer:  

( The Imaginary Invalid (in French, Le malade imaginaire) is a three-act stage play. It begins with an introduction, an eclogue with music and ballet dancing, and a prologue added a year after the play debuted. The acts of the play follow, interrupted by interludes of music and dancing. The play is generally classified as a comedy of manners. Throughout the play, the author brilliantly blends satire and farce in a fast-moving plot that lampoons doctors. Marc-Antoine (1634-1704) composed the music, and Pierre Beauchamp (1636-1705) choreographed the dancing. The play was first performed on February 10,1673, at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris, with Molière in the lead role as Argan, a hypochondriac. During the fourth performance on February 17, Molière began coughing up blood on the stage and died hours later at his home).

II.                Character Analysis- Developing the individual from the script within you.

1-      Daydream- begins (Now) writing down impressions, vague hunches, silly ideas. Try to understand this person and their Essence. What is their situation like for you? Imagine! How can you relate? Write down whatever comes to mind- you will find it valuable.

Answer: the character I’m playing in this scene is Toinette the servant lady; she’s the one who’s in charge of the entire house and family. She’s close to Argan’s daughter Angelique and she almost knows everything about her friend and what secrets that she doesn’t share with anyone except with her servant and close friend Toinette. 

My character almost trying to over control the whole house, she thinks it is her job and responsibility to take of everybody in the entire family, trying to stand by Angelique side and defense her love with Clante her dream man who she wishes to marry to! Toinette is funny, and plays a sarcastic role throughout the entire play, very active, powerful, and sometimes she gives everybody else a hard time to understand her behavioral attitudes. She’s over protective, but full of joy she is indeed the most intelligent, autonomous, and sympathetic character in this play she is not only a servant but she’s more like a servant-nurse to Argan. Toinette who easily perceives and manipulates the weaknesses of her master and mistress and their entourage. Her deception is not entirely capricious: in becoming a doctor, able to name his own woes, Argan seems to be cured. 

2-      Super- Objective ( Spine, intention ): 

Write what your character wants more than anything in the world. Use an actable verb. Example : “ I want to crush the confines of the rigid society in which I live”.

3-      Scene Objective :

What does your character want in the scene? Write it down with an active (actable) verb. Example: “I want to crush his hopes” Does what they want change in the scene?

My character really wants to control the house that she works at … Seeing myself playing Toinette role is blessing because I personally when I was reading the original script I felt that there’s so much passion into Toniette attitude. She is funny, indeed. Yet, I believe that she has hopes and unreachable dreams once she fell in love. It is quite impossible for her to take a real step to declare her love to the people who she works for because she ended up felling in love into a wealthy man who belongs to the same family, and she as a servant she absolutely cannot defense her love because the reason was clear enough that she cannot love him as she doesn't belong to their classical level. 

One of my really favorite scenes with Argan is when she knows about herself that she’s one of Argan’s outspoken servants, and she comes to aware him that his daughter that Angélique loves Cléante—& she tells her master that Angélique ought to be allowed to marry a man of her choosing. When Argan orders her to mind her own business, Toinette refuses to back down. Argan then tells her that a daughter should be willing to help her father. Besides, Thomas Diafoirus is the sole heir of his father's estate. Moreover, his uncle, Purgon—who has no wife or child—approves the marriage, and he has an income of eight thousand francs a year. Toinette tells him his plan is nonsense and that Angélique will not consent to it. Argan then says that if Angélique refuses to cooperate he will place her in a convent. Argan and Toinette argue further, and Argan chases and threatens her. 

Scene Objective : 

What does your character want in the scene? Write it down with an active (actable) verb. Example: “I want to crush his hopes” Does what they want change in the scene? 

From a personal perceptive, I think what I’m trying to be in this role is to be a good caring person to Angelique at the same time she tries her best to give her advice to obey her father’s words and what he says. On the other side, I want to change the reality and push further to stand for my love, but I’m anxious to do it, holding and keeping my emotions as a deep private secret because surly, I will not be able to find the way to express and open my heart to anybody who would appreciate, or understand my situation. I try to escape and run away at some moments and some moments I stay at the same place doing nothing to make my dreams become any true! 

4-      Describe the character in detail. Include:

A.    What other characters say about them.

B.     What they say about themselves.

C.     What they do___ their behavior ( most important ).

Anwer:

A.    “Argan is a hypochondriac. He regularly takes concoctions provided by his physician, Purgon, and an apothecary named Fleurant. So worried is he about his health that he has betrothed his older daughter, Angélique, to a young doctor so that he will have ready access to medical services. Angélique is already in love with another young man, Cléante. When Argan tells her that someone has asked for her hand in marriage, she concludes that the petitioner was Cléante. She says, “I ought to obey you in everything, Father.” However, a moment later, he informs her to her dismay that she is to marry Purgon's nephew, Thomas Diafoirus, who will complete his medical studies in three days.” 

“Toinette warns Angélique that the notary is part of a scheme Béline is using to gain control of her father's money. Nothing will be left for Angélique. When Angélique says her only concern is her love for Cléante, Toinette says she will do all she can to thwart Argan's plan to marry her to Thomas Diafoirus. She begins by having an old usurer she knows—Punchinello is his name—inform Cléante of what is happening.” 

“After hearing from Punchinello, Cléante goes to Argan's house and tells Toinette he plans to pose as a music teacher to gain access to Angélique. She then takes him to Argan's room. There, Cléante tells Argan that Angélique's regular music teacher was required elsewhere and, as a friend of the teacher, he is taking his place. Angélique comes in a short while later, and Argan introduces him as a substitute music teacher. Though surprised to see her beloved, Angélique does nothing to give him away and simply plays along.” 

B.     “The climax occurs when Argan's scheming wife denounces him while he is playing dead. This development is the turning point that leads to the resolution of the conflict between Argan and his daughter.” 

Dramatic Irony:

“Molière also uses dramatic irony (in which a character is ignorant of information known to the audience). This figure of speech occurs intermittently to underscore Argan's inability to realize that he is a hypochondriac. It also occurs when Béline is unaware that Argan is playing dead, causing her to reveal her true feelings toward him. Other instances of dramatic irony occur when (1) Argan thinks Cléante is Angélique's music teacher; (2) Thomas Diafoirus fails to recognize his inanity, most notably when he invites Angélique to take part in the dissection of a woman's corpse; (3) Argan believes Toinette is an accomplished doctor, and (4) Angélique is unaware that Argan is playing dead.” 

C.     Example:

Gullibility

If Argan suffers from any condition, it is gullibility. He accepts without question the quack cures of Purgon and Fleurant. He believes that his wife is beyond reproach. When Toinette presents herself in the guise of a male physician, he believes her description of herself as an accomplished practitioner. In the real world of seventeenth-century France, physicians frequently duped gullible patients like Argan into paying large fees for needless or ineffective treatments. 

5-      Pysical life:

Describe your impression of this perosn’s physical characteristics___ posture, bearing, gestures, tempo, rhythm  vocal quality, diction, range, physical quirks, psychological gestures…… Although it is difficult to solidify or quantify these physical things, it is worth trying. Perhaps it will aid your transformation.  

Answer:

Personally as an actress, I feel like that my character fits in the category of being a skinny,well built, has a long black or it could be blond straight hair but more like a twisted hair style, short, or she might has the average hight to fulfill my visualization sense for addressing myself into this character in specific.

She also has this type of reliable, brave and plucky diction in her personality and attitude. Vocally she’s very load sometimes it makes you feel that she’s angry sometimes, or she’s a powerful woman in other moments during the entire play. Very active and I don’t think this character in particular she ever gets weak, tired, lazy, careless, pointless in terms of her behavioral, and physical structure. 

As when it comes to the preparation for this character I preferred to go with the (The Beatles) song that’s called I want to hold your hand. I played it several times when I was reading through the script and also when I moved forward in rehearsing my scene with myself at first and with my partner in class Jeannette Gutierrez when she and I went over the characters together that song also helped me establishing a good vocal, physical, emotional mood and let me live inside the character pretty well.