The Miser begins in Harpagon’s house in Paris, which was once refined but has since fallen into disrepair. A young woman named Elise runs into the room, sobbing, with her lover, a young man named Valere, close behind her. When Valere asks why she is upset, Elise tells him she is worried about several things: her father, who will not approve of their love, her reputation being on the line, and her worry that Valere’s words of love are not sincere. Valere showers her with loving phrases, and Elise rescinds her worries. She tells him, “I don’t doubt your love, Valere, or your constancy. It’s the approval of others. Imagine a lifetime of reproachful eyes staring at you” (8, emphasis added). Elise fears that her family, and others in society, will disapprove of her marriage to a man they view as a servant.

Elise recounts the story of how she and Valere first met, when she nearly drowned and Valere rescued her from the sea. After, Valere came back with her and began disguising himself as a servant in Harpagon’s (Elise’s father’s) house, even though he is of a noble, long-lost family himself. Valere assures Elise that if Harpagon will not permit them to marry, he will travel the world to find his family and prove his worth as a husband.