Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

In Act II, Scene 1, The Music Master and Dance Master have prepared a performance piece. M. Jourdain tells them to wait until his special guest, for whom he requisitioned the piece, arrives for dinner. The Music Master cajoles, “However sir, this is not enough. A person like you, who lives magnificently, and who are inclined toward fine things, should have a concert of music here every Wednesday or every Thursday” (23). M. Jourdain asks, “Is that what people of quality do?” (23) and the Music Master affirms that it is. The Music Master assures M. Jourdain that the performance will be excellent, and the Dancing Master coaches him as he attempts to dance the minuet. M. Jourdain informs the Masters that he will need to learn how to bow properly to a marchioness named Dorimène.

As the Dancing Master teaches M. Jourdain how to bow, a lackey announces that the Fencing Master has arrived. As Scene Two begins, the Fencing Master is coaching M. Jourdain. He insists that Fencing is by far the most important science above “all the other useless sciences, such as dancing, music…” (26). The three Masters argue as M. Jourdain begs them to stop. When Scene 3 begins, the Philosophy Master enters, admonishing the other Masters for fighting. He then insists that none of their so-called arts can hold a candle to philosophy. All four Masters begin to shout at each other. M. Jourdain tries to get them to stop but then exclaims, “Oh! Fight as much as you like. I don’t know what to do, and I’ll not spoil my robe to separate you” (30).

In Act II, Scene 4, the Philosophy Master begins his lesson, reassuring M. Jourdain that he is all right despite the hits he received from the other Masters. He asserts, “It’s nothing. A philosopher knows how to take these things and I’ll compose a satire against them, in the style of Juvenal, which will fix them nicely” (31). The Philosophy Master speaks in Latin, asking if M. Jourdain understands. M. Jourdain says, “Yes, but act as if I did not know it” (31). The Philosophy Master begins by trying to teach logic, and the “three operations of the mind” (32). Upon hearing them, M. Jourdain responds, “Those words are too ugly. This logic doesn’t suit me at all. Let’s learn something else that’s prettier” (32). When the Master suggests they learn morality, M. Jourdain, asserts, “No, let’s leave that. I’m as choleric as all the devils and there’s no morality that sticks, I want to be as full of anger as I want whenever I like” (32). The Master offers physics, which M. Jourdain claims has “too much commotion in it, too much confusion” (34).

Instead, M. Jourdain wants the Philosophy Master to teach him how to spell and then how to read an almanac to discover when the moon is out. The Philosophy Master agrees, and begins teaching him vowels and how to say them. Naturally, M. Jourdain succeeds, exclaiming, “Ah! What a fine thing it is to know something!” (35) M. Jourdain confesses that he loves a “lady of great quality” (36) and needs the Master to help him write her a note. He tells the Master that he wants to express something like “Beautiful marchioness, your lovely eyes make me die of love” except “in a gallant manner and nicely turned” (38). The Master suggests several embellishments, but M. Jourdain rejects them all. Finally, the Master tells him that the way he already wrote it is the best way to say it, and M. Jourdain cries proudly, “I never studied, and yet I made the whole thing up at the first try!” (38). The Master leaves, promising to return early the next day. A lackey appears and informs M. Jourdain that his suit has not arrived yet, and M. Jourdain responds angrily.

Scene 5 begins as the Master Tailor enters and interrupts M. Jourdain’s rant. The Master Tailor claims that he had twenty men altering his suit. When M. Jourdain complains about the silk stockings that were too tight, the Master Tailor tells him that they aren’t, and he is only imagining that they are. He tells M. Jourdain that “It’s a masterpiece to have invented a serious suit that is not black” (41), and brushes off his errors as the way that “people of quality” (41) wear their clothing. The Master Tailor insists that his men must dress M. Jourdain ceremoniously, “the way you do with people of quality” (42). Once dressed, one of the Tailor’s apprentices ask for a tip, flattering M. Jourdain by calling him “my dear gentleman,” “My Lord,” and “Your Grace” (43), and receiving in return a financial reward. The apprentices dance, which is the Second Interlude, this one between Acts II and III.