In The Doctor in Spite of Himself, Moliere's scalpel-sharp satireof the medical profession, Sganarelle's wife spreads the word the he is secretly a brilliant doctor who won't reveal his skills unless he is un mercifully punished. The Bourgeois Gentleman, Moliere's classic treatment of snobbery, presents Monsieur Jordain's obsessive desire to move up out of the ranks of the middle class and associate with the gentry
