Masks, Costumes, Ceremony: Life in Seventeenth Century France
Harriet J. Bauman
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Give FeedbackAPPENDIX A
Students will be encouraged to come up with questions to guide their reading. These questions can be discussed using brainstorming techniques as a whole class, and the answers can be found in small groups. In addition, the students can be encouraged to look for what is not obvious in the play so as to make statements about MoliEre’s art.
Acts One and Two
Some of the categories of questions might be: humor (What is funny? Why?), masks (Who is wearing a mask? For what purpose?), ceremony (How does one live as a noble? a bourgeois?), Louis XIV and his Court (How does life there affect life outside? Of what does Court life consist?), literary form (How is the main character introduced? Why are other important characters not introduced until Act Three? Why is so much time given to debate art versus livelihood? What is the purpose of the fight between the masters? What do we know about M. Jourdain by the end of Act Two?), MoliEre’s view (How is this life superficial? What is the purpose of ceremony, rites, masks?), and, social history (Why is there a struggle between the bourgeoisie and the nobility?).
Act Three
While reading this act, students can look for answers to questions such as: What are courtiers like? How are they different from M. Jourdain? What are Mme. Jourdain’s values? Describe the differences between Mm. Jourdain and DorimEne; and what is MoliEre saying to the audience?
Acts Four and Five
Some of the questions to which students might formulate answers for these acts are: What is the purpose of this farcical ceremony? Why is it included in its entirety? Why does Act Five exist? Is it necessary to the action? Who is MoliEre making fun of, and why? How does he get away with it?