Imagining Identity: from Molière’s comedy to Howard Hawks and Frank Capra

Abstract

Comedy plays with the transcendent importance of identity. An awareness of dramatic performance is a starting point in the quest for happiness. On the basis of imagined identity, this article offers a comparative reading of Molière’s Le malade imaginaire, Howard Hawks’ TwentiethCentury and Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night, which suggest that romantic conflicts can be understood or overcome by the imaginative responses of the characters. Identity transference is a feature of both traditional and modern relationships.