Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid"

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no shortage of
enemas and other "bathroom" related scenes. I originally thought this change was
for comical purposes, but after some additional thought I questioned whether
Argan was imagining his illness or if he really was ill. In the text, by not
having too many bathroom scenes, Argan seems to be imagining his illness (thus,
he is the imaginary invalid). In Panych's stage version, Argan shows several
symptoms of being ill; this definitely confuses the original play by Moliere.
One of the original purposes of the play was to criticize, among other things,
the medical profession in Moliere's time. Now, if Argan really was sick, does
that mean that the doctors were correct in their analysis? No, it doesn't. I
believe that Panych intended to show that it was the doctors' treatments that
made Argan ill and eventually killed him.
Another major change from Moliere's version is Beralde's gender and role
in the play and in the family. Beralde is transformed into Argan's sister,
instead ...

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change is the exclusion of Punchinello
(Toinette's Lover) from the stage version. One of the major themes in this play
is love. Everyone in the play, has someone to love; however, in Panych's
production the Toinette's lover is excluded. There are two possible reasons for
this. First, Panych might have decided that there were already too many plots
and not enough time. Second, the maid is the heroine in the play- in the end she
cures Argan of his selfishness, exposes Beline's greed, and makes it possible
for Angelique to marry the man she loves- and therefore instead of having a love,
her purpose in life is to maintain order in Argan's life. I believe that the
second reason is the more ...

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