Moliere
Moliere
OTHER-NAME: Poquelin, Jean-Baptiste
BIRTH: Baptized January 15, 1622, Paris, France
DEATH: February 17, 1673, Paris, France
CATEGORY: Literature; Performing Arts & Sports
DISCIPLINE: Drama; Theater
ASSESSMENT: The greatest French comic playwright
LANGUAGE: French
EDUCATION: College de Clermont, Paris, France
ACHIEVEMENT: He wrote some of the greatest social comment in French history
MAJOR-WORK: "Tartuffe", "Le Misanthrope", "Le Medecin malgre lui", "Le Malade Imaginaire"
PARENTS: Jean Poquelin; Marie Cresse
SIBLINGS: Unknown
SPOUSE: Armande Bejart
CHILDREN: 3 (a daughter survived infancy)
DETAIL:
Passionately interested in theater, at 23 Moliere became one of the founders of the Illustre-Theatre company in Paris, formed to stage comedies. A noted young actress, Madeleine Bejart, persuaded him to find a theater for the company, but it soon went broke and Moliere was imprisoned twice in the same year for not paying the troupe's debts. At the end of 1645, the company decided touring the provinces might be more profitable. All that is known about the tour is that it lasted at least 12 years and included stops in Nantes, Toulouse, Lyons, Montpellier, and Beziers.
The first plays Moliere is known to have written were "L'Etourdi ou les contretemps” (“The Blunderer"), performed at Lyons in 1655, and "Le Depit amoureux” (“The Amorous Quarrel"), which played at Beziers in 1656.
The company's big breakthrough came in 1658 in Paris when it performed Corneille*'s "Nicomede" before Louis XIV* on an improvised stage in the guardroom at the Louvre palace. Encouraged by the reception, the group followed up with Moliere's "Le Docteur amoureux” (“The Amorous Doctor"), which impressed the king's brother, the Duke of Orleans, so much he became the company's patron for the next seven years.
In 1660, Moliere's "Les Precieuses ridicules” (“The Affected Young Ladies"), was performed to great acclaim. In 1661, the company moved to the theater in the Palais-Royal, which had been built by Richelieu*. Their first production was Moliere's tragicomedy "Le prince jaloux” (“The Jealous Prince") which flopped, but his next one, "L'Ecole des femmes” (“The School for Wives"), performed in 1662, was a fantastic success.
In "La Critique de L'Ecole des femmes" Moliere illuminated the workings of a theater company, setting this play in a rehearsal hall and presenting a make-believe rehearsal. This was a revolutionary approach to theater, and caused a furor, as did the company's next production, Moliere's masterpiece "Tartuffe", which was presented before the King at a Versailles gala in 1664.
In the play, Tartuffe, in the guise of a pious tutor, insinuates himself into a bourgeois household and seduces the owner's wife, all the while fooling the gullible husband. Since many households did have a resident tutor who was regarded as a "director of conscience", the story had contemporary relevance. The Catholic Church was outraged and kept the play from being performed for the next five years. Despite the scandal, the King took over his brother's patronage and the company became known as the "Troupe du Roi” (“The King's Troupe").
Moliere worked unceasingly to keep his company going, writing one play after another, and even acting in them. He married Armande Bejart, who was either the sister or the daughter of Madeleine Bejart (the actress who urged him to find a theater for the troupe.) In 1664, he staged Racine*'s first play "La Theobaide". (Racine took his second play to a more established theater).
Moliere was obliged to produce entertainments for the King and write plays that could incorporate interludes for the ballet, which was the King's passion. He worked in collaboration with other artists, such as stage engineer/designer Torelli*, decorator le Brun*, writer La Fontaine* and composer Lully*.
For the 1665-66 season, he wrote his second great masterpieces, "Le Misanthrope", a comedy of manners in which Moliere himself played the leading role of the ludicrously self-centered and righteous Alceste. For the 1666-67 season, he wrote five plays of which only "Le Medecin malgre lui (The Doctor In Spite of Himself") was a success.
Moliere's health began to fail and in the summer of 1667, he went to live outside Paris at Auteuil. Despite his tendency to brood, he also loved to entertain. Among his frequent visitors were poet/critic Boileau* and La Fontaine.
In 1667, an expanded version of "Tartuffe" was no sooner staged than banned by the president of Police and by the Archbishop of Paris. Moliere was threatened with excommunication, but persuaded the King to intervene. (In 1669, permission was finally granted to stage "Tartuffe". It was a critical and popular success, and ran for more than 60 performances in its first year.)
In 1668, the company put on three new Moliere plays, two of which were widely praised. But the third, "L'Avare” (“The Miser"), got only mixed reviews. The miser was a stock comic character, but Moliere's deeper interpretation made audiences uneasy.
In 1669, Moliere produced "Monsieur de Pourceaugnac" for the King, and in 1670, "The Bourgeois Gentleman" a comedy about social climbers. In 1671, ill health forced him to ask Corneille and another playwright to help him finish "Psyche", a play including a ballet which the King had commanded for a fete.
His last play was "Le malade imaginaire” (“The Imaginary Invalid"), performed in 1673. The lead role -- a hypochondriac who is terrified of doctors -- was played by Moliere himself. He was already ill and his family begged him not to go on stage. During the fourth performance, he collapsed, and died that night.
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: Fouquet*, Colbert* and Mazarin* were patrons.
Worked with Beauchamp*
Steele* based a play on his work.
ONELINER: Moliere, great French comedy playwright
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Palmer, John, Moliere, His Life and Works, G Bell and Sons Ltd., 1930
Encyclopedia Britannica