Despite his own preference for tragedy, which he had tried to further with the Illustre Theatre, Molière became famous for his
farces, which were generally in one act and performed after the tragedy. Some of these farces were only partly written, and were played in the style of Commedia dell'arte with improvisation over a
canovaccio. He also wrote two comedies in verse, but these were less successful and are generally considered less significant.
Les Précieuses ridicules won Molière the attention and the criticism of many, but it was not a popular success. He then asked his Italian partner
Tiberio Fiorelli, famous for his play
Scaramouche, to teach him the techniques of Commedia dell'arte. His
1660 play
Sganarelle, ou le Cocu Imaginaire (
The Imaginary Cuckold) seems to be a tribute both to Commedia dell'arte and to his teacher. Its theme of marital relationships dramatizes Molière's pessimistic views on the falsity inherent in human relationships. This view is also evident in his later works, and was a source of inspiration for many later authors, including (in a different field and with different effect)
Luigi Pirandello. It describes a kind of round dance where two couples believe that each of their partners has been betrayed by the other's and is the first in Molière's 'Jealousy series' which includes
Dom Garcie de Navarre (a flop),
L'École de Maris and
L'École des femmes.
In
1661, in order to please his patron, Monsieur, who was so enthralled with entertainment and art that he was soon excluded from state affairs, Molière wrote and played
Dom Garcie de Navarre, ou le Prince Jaloux (
The Jealous Prince), a heroic comedy derived from a work of Cicognini's. Two other comedies of the same year were the successful
L'École des Maris (
The School for Husbands) and
Les Fâcheux, subtitled
Comédie faite pour les divertissements du Roi (a comedy for the King's amusements) because it was performed during a series of parties that
Nicolas Fouquet gave in honour of the sovereign. These entertainments led
Jean-Baptiste Colbert to demand the arrest of Fouquet for wasting public money, and he was condemned to life imprisonment.
In
1662 Molière moved to the
Théâtre du Palais-Royal, still with his Italian partners, and married Armande, whom he believed to be the sister of Madeleine; she was in fact her illegitimate daughter, the result of a flirtation with the
Duc of Modène in 1643, when Molière and Madeleine were starting their affair. The same year he played
L'École des Femmes (
The School for Wives), subsequently regarded as a masterpiece. Both this work and his marriage attracted much criticism. The play sparked the protest called the "Quarrel of L'École des femmes." On the artistic side he responded with two lesser-known works:
La Critique de "l'École des Femmes", in which he imagined the spectators of his previous work attending it. This perhaps needs some explanation: the piece mocks the people who had criticised
L'Ecole des Femmes by showing them at dinner after watching the play; it addresses all the criticism raised about the piece by presenting the critics' arguments and then dismissing them. This was the so-called
Guerre Comique (War of Comedy), in which the opposite side was taken by writers like
Donneau de Visé, Edmé Boursault, and
Montfleury.
But more serious opposition was brewing, focusing on Molière's politics and his personal life. A so-called
parti des Dévots arose in French high society, who protested against Molière's excessive "
realism" and irreverence, which were causing some embarrassment. These people accused Molière of having married his daughter. The Prince of Conti, once Molière's friend, joined them. Molière had other enemies, too, among them the
Jansenists and some traditional authors. However, the King expressed his solidarity with the author, granting him a
pension and agreeing to be the godfather of Molière's first son.
Boileau also supported him through statements that he included in his
Art Poétique.
Molière's friendship with
Jean Baptiste Lully influenced him towards writing his
Le Mariage Forcé and
La Princesse d'Élide (subtitled as
Comédie galante mêlée de musique et d'entrées de ballet), written for royal "divertissements" at
Versailles.
Le Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur was also performed at Versailles, in
1664, and created the greatest
scandal of Molière's artistic career. Its depiction of the hypocrisy of the dominant classes was taken as an outrage and violently contested.
The King allegedly suggested that Molière suspend the performances of
Tartuffe, and the author rapidly wrote
Dom Juan, ou le Festin de Pierre to replace it. It was a strange work, derived from a work by
Tirso de Molina and inspired by the life of
Giovanni Tenorio, rendered in a
prose that still seems modern today. It describes the story of an atheist who becomes a religious hypocrite and for this is punished by God. This work too was quickly suspended. The king, demonstrating his protection once again, became the new official sponsor of Molière's troupe.
With music by
Lully, Molière presented
L'Amour médecin (Love Doctor or Medical Love). Subtitles on this occasion reported that the work was given
par ordre du Roi, by order of the king, and this work was received much more warmly than its predecessors.
In
1666, Le Misanthrope was produced. It is now widely regarded as Molière's most refined masterpiece, the one with the highest moral content, but it was little appreciated at its time. It caused the "conversion" of Donneau de Visé, who became fond of his theatre. But it was a commercial flop, forcing Molière to immediately write the
Le Médecin malgré lui (The Doctor Despite Himself), a satire against the official sciences. This was a success despite a moral treatise by the Prince of Conti, criticizing the theatre in general and Molière's in particular. In several of his plays, Molière depicted the physicians of his day as pompous individuals who speak (poor) Latin to impress others with false erudition, and know only
clysters and
bleedings as (ineffective) remedies.
After the
Mélicerte and the
Pastorale Comique, he tried again to perform
Tartuffe in
1667, this time with the name of
Panulphe or
L'imposteur. As soon as the King left Paris for a tour,
Lamoignon and the archibishop banned the play. The King finally imposed respect for
Tartuffe a few years later, after he had gained more power over the
clergy.
Molière, now ill, wrote less.
Le Sicilien, ou l'Amour Peintre was written for festivities at the castle of Saint-Germain, and was followed in
1668 by a very elegant
Amphitryon, obviously inspired by
Plautus's version but with allusions to the King's love affairs.
George Dandin, ou le Mari Confondu (
The Confounded Husband) was little appreciated, but success returned with
L'Avare (
The Miser), now very well known.
With Lully he again used music for
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, for
Les Amants Magnifiques, and finally for
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (
The Middle Class Gentleman), another of his masterpieces. It is claimed to be particularly directed against Colbert, the minister who had condemned his old patron Fouquet. The collaboration with Lully ended with a
tragédie et ballet,
Psyché, written in collaboration with
Pierre Corneille and
Philippe Quinault.
In
1672, Madeleine Béjart died, and Molière suffered from this loss and from the worsening of his own illness. Nevertheless, he wrote a successful
Les Fourberies de Scapin (
Scapin's Schemings), a farce and a comedy in 5 acts. His following play,
La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas, is considered one of his lesser works.
Les Femmes savantes (
The Learned Ladies) of
1672 is considered one of Molière's masterpieces. It was born from the termination of the legal use of music in theatre, since Lully had patented the
opera in France, so Molière had to go back to his traditional genre. It was a great success, and it led to his last work, which is held in high esteem.
