Jean-Baptiste Poquelin

“Molière”

1622-1673

Molière

Nicholas Mignard,

1658

He was the oldest son of a middle-class craftsman who later

became upholsterer to the King of France. His father was

well-known for his strictness and his financial acumen.

His mother died when he was ten, and his father married a

much younger woman.

Young Jean was exposed to and influenced by the scores of

strolling players—both French and foreign—who performed

anywhere and everywhere on the streets of Paris.

He was educated at one of the best schools in the

Paris, The Jesuit School of Clermont. The

curriculum emphasized Greek and Latin, and the

future Molière became fascinated by Greek and

Roman comedy.

He may have participated in a course given by the

well-known materialist philosopher Pierre Gassendi,

whose theories emphasized balancing the demands

of the senses with the rules of rationality. This idea

recurs in many of Molière’s works.

Poquelin abandoned the study of law and was working as an upholsterer when he became involved with actress Madeleine Béjart. Soon after, he officially renounced the hereditary office of Royal Upholsterer to join the Béjartfamily’s group of players.

At the age of 21, he adopted the stage name Molière. He first tried to establish a theater group in Paris, but ended up so deeply in debt that he spent some time in prison.

In order to make a living, he and the troupe spent the next 12 years playing the provinces, which gave him an excellent background in all aspects of the theater. He early plays were heavily influenced by broad, high-spirited Italian farce.

It means literally, “stuffed in,” originally referring to the

comic interludes “stuffed in”-between more serious medieval

Miracle and Mystery plays.

Farce deals with stock characters—masters, servants, fools,

cuckolds, con-men, mistresses, lovers—dealing with stock

situations—star-crossed love, mistaken identity, domestic

unrest, etc.

Even Moliére’s most intellectual, sophisticated comedies

retain elements of farce.

In 1653, Molière gained the patronage of the Prince de Conti, an old schoolmate of his from the Jesuit College.

When the prince converted to a strict form of Catholicism known as Jansenism and lost interest in the theater a couple of years later, Moliere’s troupe was well-known enough to gain the patronage of the duc d’Orléans, brother to the King.

It was during this time that Molière began to develop the simple farces he’d been writing for the provinces into the brilliant drawing-room comedies that made his reputation in Paris. A man of great energy and experience, he soon made his mark on the Parisian stage. Of the 95 plays he produced during his lifetime, he wrote 31 of them.

In 1661, Molière’s players moved into the luxurious theater at the Palais Royal. In 1665, Louis XIV took over patronage of Molière’s troupe himself. The financial gain to the playwright was enormous, and he generously shared the bounty with his players.

Louis’ patronage was important, and it gave Molière’s life some stability. But Louis’ favor and attention were hard to keep, and the promises and payments he offered his pet playwright did not always materialize.

Louis XIV

Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701

Molière married Armande

Béjart, sister or daughter

of his former mistress,

Madeleine. The marriage

caused a scandal and led to

Molière being accused by

some of incest.

It didn’t help matters that

Armande was a notorious

flirt who engaged in

numerous affairs, of which

Molière was well aware.Armande Bejart

artist unknown, c. 1660

Though unhappily married and in failing health (he suffered from tuberculosis) Molière continued to write and produce plays throughout the 1660’s and early 1670’s. He was famous—and controversial—beyond his wildest early dreams. His success as well as his noted contempt for hypocrites (a theme which recurs in his plays) would gain him powerful enemies.

His career hit a peak of controversy in 1664, when two conservative sects of the Catholic Church—the Jansenists and the Jesuits—took offense at Molière’s play Tartuffe, claiming it was making fun of them. Though Louis XIV loved the play, he canceled its run to calm the controversy. Not long after, these same censors attacked Molière’s next play Don Juan on similar grounds. His enemies would continually harass him and attempt to cripple his career for the rest of his life.

On February 17, 1673, Molière gave by all accounts

a brilliant performance as a hypochondriac in his

play The Imaginary Invalid. This was truly ironic,

for Molière died not long after the curtain fell.

Church officials had never truly forgiven the

playwright for Tartuffe. Louis XIV had to influence

the Archbishop of Paris to get Molière buried in

consecrated ground.

The French National Theater has its roots in

Molière’s original theater troupe.

Today, he is considered the father of the modern

French comedy. His influence on French culture is

profound. Just as everyday English employs

frequent quotes from Shakespeare, French is rife

with the words of Molière.

His best plays are still frequently performed, both in

France and in other countries.

Written in 1664, it

provoked a huge

controversy, even after

Molière included

numerous changes to

make Tartuffe seem less

directly connected with the

Catholic Church. The play

was not performed

regularly until 1669, by

which time the scandal

had died down.Costume design for a 19th Century

production of Tartuffe, artist

unknown

Tartuffe illustrates the harm done when irrationality

is allowed to overcome rationality, and when the

accepted social norms, and the relationships that

underpin those norms, are disrupted.

This is a classic comedic device: natural law is

disrupted by an unnatural authority, which must be

laughed back into order. Hence, Moliere’s often-

repeated belief that comedy should be a mirror held

up to society’s vices.

Chief among these vices is hypocrisy, and the

deceits which allow hypocrites to flourish at

the expense of the good and innocent.

Tartuffe is a hypocrite who threatens every

good and natural relationship in the

household he invades.

However, Molière makes it clear throughout the play that had Orgon not attempted an unnatural level of authority over his family, Tartuffe’s manipulations could not have taken place.

It’s only by appeal to the most powerful authority under heaven—that of Louis XIV himself—that Tartuffe’s evil schemes are overthrown.

By giving us an almost unnaturally neat and happy ending, Molière underlines just how dangerous an intelligent hypocrite can be.

“Biography of Molière.” Bloom’s Major Dramatists. Ed. Harold Bloom. Infobase, 2003. 11-15. Literary

Reference Center. Web. 8 Jan. 2010.

Brent, Liz. “Critical Essay on Tartuffe.” Drama for Students. Ed. David Gale. Detroit: Gale, 2003.

Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 7 Jan. 2010.

Hada, Kenneth. “Overview of Tartuffe.” Masterplots. Rev. 2nd ed. Salem Press, 1996. Literary Reference

Center. Web. 8 Jan. 2010.

“Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière.” The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Vol. 2. 8th ed. Ed. Sarah

Lawall. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2006. 10-11. Print.

“Molière.” Encyclopedia Brittanica Online. 2010. Web. 7 Jan. 2010.

Reisman, Rosemary. “Molière.” Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries. Salem Press,

1999. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Jan. 2010.

Discuss three ways in which Tartuffe

disrupts the natural order of things in the

play. Use three text quotations (include page

numbers) to back your answer. How does his

mastery of deceit contribute to the chaos?

This should one-two pages in length. It may

be typed or written on notebook paper in ink.

Due at the beginning of class on Monday,

January 24.