Like other jokes by Molière, Le Malade imaginaire is a satire on medical sham. But it is also a character comedy that depicts the extravagances of a bourgeois obsessed with disease. Finally, it is a comedy-ballet dominated by a climate of fantasy and recklessness. Disguise and illusion will eventually render the hero's sickly imagination harmless, if they cannot correct it. Laughter and pleasure have the last word here: this is Molière's final message.
