Empty olive cloth cap on a neatly folded gray fabric square

Original artwork, not a still

L'Avare

Molière

Tell me to whom you are addressing yourself when you say that. I am addressing myself--I am addressing myself to my cap.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Someone demands to know who's being spoken to, and the reply is a cap. It's a quick dodge that turns a hat into the listener. The comedy comes from the speaker escaping blame with an absurd, face-saving excuse.

Context reviewed

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