The Miser

The widower Harpagon, so cheap he'd swipe the pennies off a dead man's eyes, rules his roost with a tight, iron fist. His unhappy, rebellious children, Cleante and Elise, are afraid to tell him of their romantic attachments: Cleante has fallen in love with the beautiful but penniless Mariane, who lives with her invalid mother, and Elise has secretly promised to wed Valere, a young charmer of unknown parentage who has flattered his way into being Harpagon's chief steward. When Harpagon reveals his own marital designs—he will wed Mariane himself and yoke Elise to the wealthy but aged Seigneur Anselme—children, suitors, disgruntled servants, and the wily Jill-of-all-trades Frosine conspire to foil the miser before the marriages can take place. When Harpagon's treasure, buried in the backyard, is stolen, he rounds up all the suspects—including the audience—and threatens torture and imprisonment. Only the last-minute arrival of Seigneur Anselme, bearing secrets of his own, can unite the proper couples and restore Harpagon to his one true love—40,000 pounds in gold.