II.

Life

Born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in Paris, the son of a well-to-do upholsterer who worked at the king’s court, Molière attended the Jesuit Collège de Clermont. He then turned his back on a secure future in the position he could have inherited from his father and became an actor instead. After founding the Illustre Théâtre (Illustrious Theater Company) in Paris with actors Joseph and Madeleine Béjart, he adopted the name Molière. Although the company foundered in 1645, he toured the French provinces in another troupe with the Béjarts from 1645 to 1658. During that time, Molière began writing short plays, influenced by French farce and the popular form of Italian theater known as commedia dell’arte.

In October 1658 the traveling company accepted an offer from the king of France, Louis XIV (known as the “Sun King”), to present plays in the Théâtre du Petit Bourbon, part of the Louvre palace in Paris. There Molière produced his first major comedy, Les précieuses ridicules (1659; translated as The Conceited Ladies, 1732), a satire on the extravagant manners, style, and language of contemporary women who wished to distinguish themselves through excessively refined taste and behavior.

In 1662 Molière married Armande Béjart, the much younger sister of Madeleine and also a member of his troupe. The marriage was not a happy one. This misfortune was reflected in L’école des femmes (1662; School for Wives, 1739). In this play the character Arnolphe’s efforts to shape his much younger prospective bride, Agnès, through education in a convent and his own tyrannical rules are defeated by Agnès’s natural inclination toward Horace, a man her own age.

Les précieuses ridicules and L’école des femmes were highly successful and aroused considerable jealousy among Molière’s rivals. To answer his critics and satirize them in the process, Molière wrote and produced two short discussion plays in 1663: La critique de l’école des femmes (The School for Wives Criticized, 1739) and L’impromptu de Versailles (The Impromptu of Versailles, 1739). The king supported Molière during these battles and in 1664 became godfather to his son. That same year Molière wrote the first version of Tartuffe (translated 1670), a play that satirized religious hypocrisy. It was banned from the stage through the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church. Molière wrote two more versions of the play, in 1667 and 1669, and the third version was finally produced. During these years he also wrote seven of his greatest plays, including the complex Dom Juan (1665; Don Juan, 1739); his masterpiece, Le misanthrope (1666; The Misanthrope, 1739); L’avare (1668; The Miser, 1739); and Le bourgeois gentilhomme (1670; The Would-Be Gentleman, 1739), called a comedy-ballet because it included ballet interludes as part of the narrative. In addition to writing these plays (most of which are in rhyming couplets), Molière managed the business of his company, directed all the productions, and played some of the most demanding roles.

Molière’s last great plays were Les femmes savantes (1672; The Learned Ladies, 1739) and Le malade imaginaire (1673; The Hypochondriac, 1739). Ironically, Molière, who had been grievously ill for some time, played the role of the hypochondriac in his last play, fell mortally ill during the fourth performance, and died an hour after being taken home. Because of the disapproval of the Roman Catholic Church, it was only through the intervention of the king that Molière was allowed to be buried in holy ground, and this only in the dead of night.