Moliere
Moliere, considered by many critics to be the greatest comic dramatist of all
time, was also a leading French comic actor, stage director, and dramatic
theoretician of the seventeenth century. He was born Jean-Baptiste
Poquelin in
Marie Cresse, Moliere's mother, died when he was ten, but she had been an
educated woman (she owned Plutarch's Lives, which her son read), and
Jean-Baptiste was given a good education. He attended the Jesuit College
de Clermont, where he studied a liberal arts curriculum: philosophy,
humanities, classical languages. In addition to more traditional studies,
the Jesuits had their students take part in ballets; later in life, Moliere was
a master of this sort of entertainment.
At fifteen, Jean-Baptiste was apprenticed to his father's upholstery business,
and then he studied law at the university in
At this point, however, Moliere shocked his family by joining a group of
strolling players. Jean-Baptiste had attended various theatrical
performances as a youth, but in the 17th century, actors were held in very low
esteem, and were often considered to be tricksters and charlatans. It is
believed that the young man chose to use the pseudonym, "Moliere," in
order to distance himself from his respectable family and to spare them
embarrassment. Whatever the reason, he never used any other name
professionally.
In conjunction with the theatrical Bejart family, Moliere founded the Illustre
Theatre in 1643. The oldest Bejart daughter, Madeleine, reportedly became
his mistress and leading lady. The troupe lasted three years, but
eventually went bankrupt and moved to the provinces of
After 15 years, Moliere and the Bejarts gained the patronage of Phillippe
d'Orleans, the younger brother of Louis XIV. They returned to
Though some of the company's early efforts were not particularly popular, the
public eventually responded well. In 1659, The Precious Maidens
Ridiculed established Moliere as the most popular playwright of the day,
and the first of his masterpieces, The School for Wives was produced in
1662. Thus, by age forty, he was professionally successful and
prosperous.
In his personal life, Moliere floated with a distinguished crowd. Among
his friends were the young poet, Chapelle; the poet, philosopher, fabulist and
opera composer, Jean de la Fontaine; and the great French
tragedian, Jean Racine. Moliere produced some of
the latter's tragedies, with mixed results.
In his marriage, Moliere was not so lucky. In 1622, he married Armande
Bejart, a much younger woman who is alternatively cited as the sister/daughter
of Madeleine Bejart. Armande didn't share er husband's background and
standards; she was not particularly intelligent or discreet, and antagonized
most of her husband's friends. By all reports, Moliere was a jealous
husband, and the marriage was characterized by several separations and
reconciliations. Some of the playwright's more satiric comedies are said
to be based on his marital difficulties.
Moliere made some enemies along his road to success. His royal patronage
was resented by others, and he struggled with the clergy about some of his
plays, which they considered attacks on the church. In 1664, for example,
Tartuffe offended the Jansenists
and was banned. Later in his life, the playwright concentrated on musical
comedy.
Throughout his life, Moliere's life was complicated by his hypochondria,
marital difficulties, the tragic death of his son, and constant attack from
various sources. In the late 1660s, he developed a lung ailment from
which he never really recovered, though he continued to write, act, direct, and
manage the troupe. On February 17, 1673, he collapsed while performing
the lead role in his last play, The Imaginary Invalid, and he died at
home at 10 that evening. No priest was present at his death, so the
church refused him a religious burial, but the King intervened, and he was
buried in sanctified ground, but at night, with no funeral mass. His tomb
was later moved to another cemetery where other French dignitaries are
interred.
To find a list of Moliere's literary output, go to http://www.site-moliere.com/pieces/index.html
For more information on Moliere's life, see: http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc35.html
and http://www.2020site.org/moliere/
Revised
5/22/09
