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THE RIDICULOUS PRÉCIEUSES
(LES PRÉCIEUSES RIDICULES)

A Comedy In One Act by Jean Baptiste Poquelin
Molière

THE CHARACTERS

LA GRANGE


--worth-while young men of Paris.

DU CROISY

GORGIBUS--a substantial middle-class citizen.

MADELON--his socially-pretentious daughter.

CATHOS--her equally pretentious cousin.

The MARQUIS DE MASCARILLE--who pays them a call.

The VISCOUNT JODELET--who also comes to see them.

MAROTTE--the maid to the pretentious young women.

ALMANZOR, the footman, NEIGHBORS, and FIDDLERS.

Time: the mid- seventeenth century in France.

Place: the bourgeois home of Gorgibus in Paris.

SCENE. The groundfloor great-hall of GORGIBUS' house. As the play
opens, LA GRANGEand DU CROISYhave just come down from the upstairs
drawing room and are on their way to the street door.


SCENE I. LA GRANGE, DU CROISY

DU CROISY. My worthy La Grange!

LA GRANGE. What now?

DU CROISY. Just look at me without laughing.

LA GRANGE. Well?

DU CROISY. What do you think of our visit? Are you satisfied with it?

LA GRANGE. Do you think either of us has any reason to be?

DU CROISY. Not at all, to tell you the truth.

LA GRANGE. As for me, I must say that I was quite put out about it. Say now, did ever anybody see a couple of country wenches giving them-
selves more ridiculous airs, or two men treated with more contempt than
we were? They could hardly make up their mind to order chairs for us.
I never saw such whispering as went on between them, such yawning,
such rubbing of the eyes, and asking so often what time it was. Did they
answer anything but "yes," or "no," to what we said to them? In short,

-323-

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Publication Information: Book Title: Preface to Drama: An Introduction to Dramatic Literature and Theater Art. Contributors: Charles W. Cooper - author. Publisher: Ronald Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1955. Page Number: 323.
    
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