How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"All the same, I cannot bring myself to say that I am overjoyed at the prospect that you might be thinking of becoming my stepmother." (3.7.3)
When Élise informs Harpagon that she has promised to marry Valère, Harpagon goes ape and promises his daughter that he'll lock her up in a place for nuns before he allows her to defy him like this. His style of parenting ain't exactly lenient. He prefers the whole rule-with-an-iron-fist approach.
Quote #5
"Your father's strong-box. I've pinched it!" (4.6.9)
As the father of the household, Harpagon assumes that he can make his children do whatever he wants. This assumption would have been in keeping with 17th-century French society. But little does Harpagon know that his children are on the verge of rebelling against him, and the whole arranged-marriage thing will be the last straw for them.
Quote #6
"In future, four solid convent walls will answer for your conduct." (5.4.1)
Harpagon thinks that Cléante doesn't like Mariane because the boy doesn't want someone to replace his mother. But when Cléante tells Mariane that he's unhappy about having her as a stepmother, he actually means that he is in love with her and wants her to marry him instead of his dad. How's that for family drama?