L'Avare, known in English as The Miser, is a comedy about Harpagon, a rich man whose love of money rules his life. He is stingy with his household and suspicious of everyone, yet plans advantageous marriages for his children and even for himself. His son and daughter, however, have their own romantic attachments and secret plans. Servants, matchmakers and a hidden strongbox drive the intrigue. Molière draws on Roman comedy to show how obsession with wealth distorts family life. The play is both very funny and quietly unsettling.