The Miser Madness Quotes

To get his money back, Harpagon is actually willing to hang every person in Paris. And don't think that the old man is exaggerating here. He'd probably do it if he could. Besides that, he plans on committing suicide if he doesn't get his money back. Who needs therapy? Harpagon needs therapy.

When he finds out that someone has stolen his moneybox, Harpagon screams out that a murder has been committed. This just goes to show how he connects his body directly to his money—to harm one is to harm the other. Having his cash box taken from his yard is, in his crazy brain, nothing less than having his heart pulled out of his chest.

When the officer asks him whom he suspects took his money, Harpagon turns to the audience and says that he suspects "everybody." This is a funny moment for the crowd, but the fact that Harpagon is actually turning toward them helps show how his mind is floating away from the "real world" that exists within the play.