Moliere

In addition to entertaining his audience with the realistic portrayal of Parisian life, Moliere also sought to illuminate the inherent hollowness of the existing conventions of high society. In Le Misanthrope, he unveiled the masks of the players in high society who engaged in the game of flattery, only to backstab others when they are absent. Even though he would incur the wrath of the religious and secular establishments, Moliere did not refrain from his powerful portrayal of the evils of false piety in Le Tartuffe. Amidst the song and dance of Le Bourgeois Gentleman, Moliere exposed the follies of an affluent bourgeois tradesman who would trade the stability of his life for that of an impoverished aristocrat.

Moliere's greatest strength as a playwright lies in his realistic portrayal of Parisian life. Through his keen observat

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re Celimene makes a mockery of the aristocrats behind their back: "Oh! That pretensious bore! He can never throw off his lordly manner" (44; Act 2). Her mockery serves as a form of entertainment for her guests, such as Acaste and Clitandre, who applaud her "performances": "You are wonderful at hitting people off" (44, Act 2). Philinte's excessive praises of Oronte's verse offer a good example of this fawning behavior: "Oh! A lovely ending - charming! Admirable" (34; Act 1). Nonetheless, Moliere conceded that it was better to have an imperfect society than to have no society at all. Moliere's compromised attitude is reflected in Philinte's words: "What is needed in society is an accommodating virtueà It demands too much perfection of mere mortals" (29; Act 1). Furthermore, for Moliere, life is a human spectacle where each individual member is an actor putting on performances. Everyone engages in a game of playacting; the comic figures, such as Orgon and M. Jourdan, are the ones who fail to recognize this reality and allow themselves to be deceived by the dazzle of the empty signs and titles. Therefore, although Moliere voiced his criticisms through Alceste who criticizes vehemently the superficiality of upper class society, ultim
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Approximate Word count = 2082
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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