The School for Wives

play by Molière

Also known as: “L’École des femmes”

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

The School for Wives, comedy in five acts by Molière, performed in 1662 and published in 1663 as L’École des femmes.

The School for Wives presents a pedant, Arnolphe, so frightened of women that he decides to marry his ward, Agnès, a girl entirely unacquainted with the ways of the world. The delicate portrayal in Agnès of an awakening temperament, all the stronger for its absence of convention, is a marvel of comedy, as are Arnolphe’s clumsy attempts at lover’s talk. Meanwhile, a young man, Horace, falls in love with Agnès at first sight. Much of the play’s comedy results from Horace’s confiding in his new acquaintance, Monsieur de la Souche, who is actually his rival Arnolphe.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.