2017-10-05

How Mr. Market finds its own cure

The Imaginary Invalid turned out to be Molière’s last play, when he collapsed on stage during its 4th performance at the Palais Royal on February 17, 1673 and died soon after.  What an odd fate!
The play tells the tale of Argan, a serious hypochondriac so obsessed with doctors & pharmacists that he wants to marry Angelique, his daughter, to a doctor.  At his side is Beline, his second wife, who is after his money & wants Angelique to go to a convent.
Beralde, Argan's brother, appears at the end of Act 2 to reason things out with him and, thanks to the help of Toinette, the servant, to reveal the truth, i.e. to unmask Beline and ensure that Angelique can marry Cleante, the man she really loves.

I love Molière and I love the Beralde character, Argan's brother.  I feel that his role of arguing with and cajoling his recalcitrant hypochondriac brother, sometimes taunting him, sometimes amusing him, sometimes being compassionate with him, is a very good reflection of my longstanding relationship with Mr. Market, as a Fund Manager for the last ten years, and as a broker before that.

At the end of the play, Beralde suddenly says: "But brother, it just strikes me; why don't you turn doctor yourself? It would be more convenient to have all you need within yourself!"

The analogy with Mr. Market is for me very striking.  Like us, Mr. Market gets it right eventually, sometimes after a long time.  With patience & diligence, Mr. Market finds its own cure and delivers the correct valuation.

Wasn't it Voltaire, a hundred years after Molière, who said:

"The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease."