L'Étourdi ou les Contretemps

L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps (The Blunderer, or the Counterplots), also known in English as The Bungler,[b] is a five-act theatrical comedy by the French playwright Molière.

[3] The plot follows a servant's schemes to help his wealthy employer win the affections of a poor young woman.

However, both men have become infatuated with Celia, a young gypsy who is enslaved by an old miser named Trufaldin because her family owes him money.

Lelio asks his servant Mascarille to devise a scheme to break his engagement with Hippolyta and win the love of Celia instead.

Mascarille suggests paying the debt owed to Trufaldin, but Lelio is dependent on his wealthy father Pandolphus, who would not be willing to help.

Ergaste informs Mascarille that Leander plans to take a group to Trufaldin disguised as female mummers who want Celia to join them for the evening.

[5] Sir Martin Mar-all, a 1667 play by the English writer John Dryden, was based on a translation of L'Étourdi.