When Moliere wrote The Bourgeois Gentleman in 1670 and first performed the comedie-ballet at the court of Louis XVI, it would have been clear that the term was an oxymoron. A gentleman could only be one born to the aristocracy; there was no such thing as a “bourgeois gentleman”.  That difficult truth does not, however, prevent the middle-class from aspiring to join the ranks of the nobility, particularly those who have become wealthy. The play, which has also been translated as The Middle-Class Aristocrat and The Would-Be Noble, satirizes both the pretentious social-climbing of the vulgar middle-class and the vanity of the snobbish aristocracy.  Monsieur Jourdain is the middle-aged son of a wealthy cloth merchant, who spends his time making a fool of himself studying the arts of fencing, dancing, music and philosophy against the objections of his wife. He dreams of marrying his daughter Lucille to a nobleman. She, of course, is in love with the middle-class Cléonte  and denied permission to marry him. Dorimene, a cash poor nobleman, flatters Jourdain by confiding that he has dropped his name at court and thus persuades him to pay off his debts. In cahoots with Mme Jourdain and his valet, who has a thing for the maid, Cléonte  disguises and presents himself as the son of the Sultan of Turkey. Jourdain is only too eager to believe his good fortune, and is thrilled to have his daughter marry so well. Even better, he learns that, as father of the bride, he will be granted a title as well.  The play ends with a ceremony arranged to bestow this honor.

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