The Original Production

The first time the Misanthrope was performed was in June 4, 1666 at the Palais-Royal. An alternate name for the show was L’Atrabilaire Amoureux (the man of moods in love).
In the article “Much Depends on the Acting: the Original Cast of Le Misanthrope” Roger Herzel says that since Moliére’s company was known for performing comedies, an audience coming to see a play by Moliere would be expecting to see a comedy and especially a production that made them laugh.
Jean Donneau de Vise wrote a review of the show in which he thought this of Moliere’s interpretation of Alceste:
    “despite his madness, if one may call it that, he has the character of a gentleman …though he seems somewhat ridiculous, he says things that are very just . It is true that he seems to demand too much.” (Herzel 352)

    “Moleire has invited the audience to see Alceste’s anger as posturing, facetious, and arbitrary” (Herzel 354)
It is not just about choosing a comedic or tragic Alceste that has interested people in the Misanthrope but how to transform the play to fit modern pop culture and theatrical standards.

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Societal Masks Worn by Characters in The Misanthrope

Molière’s The Misanthrope is a play that explores social interactions between men and women as they adhere to or try to break from restrictions society attempts to place upon them. One could say that every character in The Misanthrope is wearing some sort of theoretical mask in order to present him or herself in a particular way within the highly social world of the play. There are two types of these theoretical masks that are worn by different characters: masks imposed by social conventions, and masks worn to show oneself in a certain light to society. It is the former of the two masks that the main character of The Misanthrope, Alceste, cannot stand, and this mask that he upbraids his friend Philinte for wearing at the top of the play:
    I see you almost hug a man to death
    Exclaim for joy until you’re out of breath,
    And supplement these loving demonstrations
    With endless offers, vows, and protestations;
    Then when I ask you “who was that?” I find
    That you can barely bring his name to mind!
    Once the man’s back is turned, you cease to love him,
    And speak with absolute indifference of him! (Wilbur 529).
Most characters, save Alceste, wear such a mask, pretending to like people they do not and saying things they do not mean in order to keep up social pretenses. However, there is a more complex system of masks at play in junction with this. Many of the characters wear masks in order to appear the way in which they would like society to see them. Alceste wears such a mask, pretending to be idealist and upright in order to be seen as better than everyone else. The masks that women wear in The Misanthrope are directly tied to the concept of wearing masks for the sake of appearances. Patricia Cholakian suggests that all of the women in The Misanthrope are also wearing such a mask. According to her, these women allow their sense of self worth to be dependent upon men’s views of them, and so they wear mask that allow them to be what men want them to be.

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Lawsuits Are the New Duel


In The Misanthrope, several characters have lawsuits that are soon to be tried. What is the significance of these lawsuits in relation to the period and the themes of the play? Because dueling was being effectively outlawed, disagreements between nobles had no recourse for resolution but to present their case before the Tribunal des Maréchaux. Thus, lawsuits became the new dueling. And they were very popular. “During the 1600s, as collisions escalated, so did lawsuits featuring litigants with a propensity to tell all to an interested public” (Hanley 32). Lawsuits had become one of the many social practices acceptable among the nobles. But admittedly, arguing before a court lacks the passion, danger, and some of the honor, of dueling. Having the fashionable characters of The Misanthrope wrapped up in pesky lawsuits rather than declaring grand duels is a way of poking fun and the passionless complacency that Alceste so despises.

In a play that is often debated as to its comedic or tragic nature, how do the lawsuits fit in to the duplicitous nature of the action?
    “Contemporaries who praised the play almost never mention that they found it funny . . . even a [comedy] that came to be regarded as a comédie de caractère and therefore not obligated to arouse laughter” (Gossman 323).
    “Donneau de Visé, alluding to the strongly literary, as distinct from the theatrical qualities of the work, declared that Molière ‘did not want to write a comedy full of incident, but a play in which he could speak against the manners of the age’” (Gossman 323).
    “In Le Misanthrope, if the world of law is not the main focus, it constantly underpins the comedy” (Shaw 164). The lawsuits are certainly not the major plot arc, but the have their place in moving the action. “With an interval occurring at the end of each act, it was a wise precaution to make the final scene of an act contain a cliffhanger” (Shaw 164).
    “After the spat between Alceste and Oronte in Act I, scene2, we are left wondering about the seriousness of the ‘malheureuse affaire’ that Alceste has landed himself with. At the end of Act II, the salon conversation is suddenly interrupted by a summons for Alceste to appear before the Tribunal des Maréchaux . . . At the end of Act IV, we have the splendid intervention of Dubois, Alceste’s forgetful valet. The entry of the servant relieves the tension that has built up over the previous scenes. Through his vagueness, he manages to introduce a double mystery. . . . Both seem to be concerned with the law” (Shaw 164).
Also, lawsuits are the perfect backdrop for some of Alceste’s more unreasonable declarations against the falseness of the conventions of his society. He might really believe that his being in the right is enough for him to win his case. It clearly establishes this large element of his character. “Alceste’s surprise at losing his lawsuit is a defining image of his idealism” (Shaw 163).

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Marriage in 17th Century France

At the time that The Misanthrope was written, marriage rarely ever happened because of love. It was usually done for political reasons, for families to gain power and money. Women usually were married when they were 12, while men were 16. A woman had to have permission from her father to marry until she was 25 years old. If she did marry without permission, the new husband was liable for the death penalty. There are stories of women running off with her fiancé, returning to the cloister, committing suicide, and murdering her parents so she would be able to marry who she wanted.
A woman went from her father’s jurisdiction to her husband’s. It was usually better to be under her husband’s because there was some social prestige that went along with being a married woman. If a woman became a widow, it was not looked highly upon her to remarry. In some cases she was expected to keep to the house, raise the children, and remember her late husband. Many women joined the church because they did not have enough money to pay off debts. Widows were allowed to keep the social class that they married into, as long as they did not remarry into a lower class. Widows were not necessarily treated the best in this society. Many times they were the person to be gossiped about, mostly because of their sexual experience and freedom from men at a seemingly young age.

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Baroque Music

Louis XIV “The King’s Music”
In the Baroque era, music was played in the church, court and chamber, but whether it was used by the King or the Church, music was a vast expression of power. It is interesting to note how power in the form of music was wielded by people during this time. Musicians were servants for the most part, and the King used them and their music in grandiose displays of his awesomeness.
At court King Louis XIV was very selective about who played the music. Talent was concentrated around the king’s court—mostly French talent. Wielding absolute power, Louis set about making order in every aspect of society, including the arts. He created royal academies for everything from dance “Académie Royale de Danse (1661)” to music “Académie Royale d’Opéra (1669) “(Anthony 18)

Gender, Music, and Sexuality
The music of the church was male dominated for the most part (women were sometimes allowed to sing in groups), and unlike the music of the chamber there was no dancing (or God forbid, dancing-inspired music!) allowed in church. Most of the instrumental music was named by the tempo of the movement (allegro, andante etc.) as opposed to a dance (allemande, courante, sarabande etc.)
“A certain amount of musical training was necessary for women whether they were destined for marriage or the convent” (Stauffer 145) However, this contradicts the virtues that were appropriate to women of the time: Silence and chastity. It’s a wonderful skill for a wife to have if she can entertain her husband’s dinner party guests with a tune at the piano upon his request, but it is an entirely different thing if she is performing by herself or for herself in public, whether it is in church or at court. Even moving forward into the Age of Enlightenment, there was a paradoxical point of view when it came to women (especially young ladies) and music. It was acceptable and favored to be proficient at the keyboard, but no other instruments. “Wind instruments distorted the face, the violin required the upper torso to twist, and the cello necessitated the legs to be spread, perish the thought!”(Wright 385).
During the Baroque Era, music at the French court set the standard for what became known throughout Europe as “French Style”.
  • French Style was defined by:
  • Emphasis on refined writing
  • Avoidance of regular meters and cadences.
  • Embellishments
Agréments (the French term for ornaments that are not written out in full in the keyboard score) were common and the French worked ornamentation into the texture of their music very often.

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Social Behavior of Late Seventeenth Century France

Gestures and social behavior of any time are influenced by people in the public eye. Just as how we dress now is influenced by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Paris Hilton, late seventeenth century French dress and social behavior were influenced by a popular and public figure, King Louis XIV.
King Louis XIV, during his reign, made everything very elaborate and ornate. At the palace, everything was a spectacle; the architecture, clothing, and general everyday life was exaggerated and flamboyant. Importance of the order of the planets and stars was also a common concern and was reflected in the dances of the time. As well as everything being an orderly and ornate spectacle, society, as a whole, became more polite. Objects like table napkins and soup spoons appeared during this time and a lot of emphasis was placed on honor, etiquette and courtesy in all aspects of life and activities. (Hatton 52)
The idea of self-perfection was a goal for the honnête homme. This was a vision of the perfect civilized person whose virtues include eloquent speech, skill at dance, refined manners, appreciation of the arts, intellectual curiosity, wit, a spiritual or platonic attitude in love, and of course the ability to write poetry. (“Honnete homme”) Proper etiquette was to be observed at all times: throughout all aspects of activities whether it be socially, in games, dancing or even during a duel.
Dance was very popular during this period. A well-rounded and knowledgeable person would know all the popular dances and would be able to dance them perfectly. About two to four new dances were learned each year, but a dancer had to also remember the past favorites as well. Dancing masters taught more than dancing; they taught how to hold yourself and how to act in public. They instructed on how to bow, in which hand to hold your hat, and just everyday demeanor. There was different protocol if you were in the presence of nobility or in the presence of someone with equal stature and if one was to be successful in society they had to know the rules (Rameau).
Dancers had to be meticulous with their performances. It was believed that if one made a mistake with the pattern of steps or the relationship pattern with a partner the cosmos might possibly become in disarray.
Understanding the rules and etiquette in dance of this time are intricate to understanding the everyday life and social etiquette of the day. There was such an emphasis placed on proper behavior and decorum in activities such as dueling and dancing, that the social constructions began to include these rules of such activities like dancing. It is within these activities that we are able to see the rigid order and rules of society of Seventeenth century France and are better able to understand and acknowledge the mostly unwritten rules which govern the actions of the characters in The Misanthrope.

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Moliere’s Life

Childhood
  • Born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin
  • January 15, 1622
  • Son of a “tapissier” (upholsterer to the King)
  • Mother was higher class bourgeois

Searching For A Career
  • Educated at Jesuit College de Clermont after the death of his mother
  • Student of Latin and Greek
  • Age of 18, father arranged for him to continue the family business
  • Decided to study law around 1642
  • It is undetermined whether or not he finished law school
  • Age of 21, dropped everything for a theatrical career

L'Illustre Théâtre
  • Founded in June 1643
  • Madeleine Béjart was co-founder, along with her brothers and sister
  • Molière became head of the troupe
  • Basically unsuccessful
  • Molière was jailed for not paying the theatre’s rent
  • Theatre went bankrupt in 1645

Why “Molière”?
  • Pseudonym
  • Inspired by village in the south of France by the same name?
  • Pseudonym’s Purpose
  • Actors were not respected during this time in history
  • Actors were more accepted by Louis XIV than in the past, but they were still largely outcasts
  • Adopted pseudonym to avoid disgracing his family?

Molière Learns His Lesson
  • After the failure of his first theatre, he learned more about the art through a tour of the French provinces
  • Lasted about 14 years
  • He began to branch out from Commedia dell’Arte style
  • Created a few pieces which experimented with his sense of humor which would become his hallmark later in life
  • Acquired the Prince of Conti as his patron
  • Paris
  • Triumphant return in 1658
  • Played at the Louvre
  • Gained the King’s brother as his patron
  • Part of the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon

The Big Leagues
  • Wrote Les Précieuses Ridicules (1659)
  • Not a huge success, but got the attention of the public
  • Wrote Sganarelle, ou le Cocu Imaginaire (1660)
  • To his disappointment, found his fame in farce
  • 1662 moved to Théâtre du Palais-Royal

Molière’s Death
  • Died on February 17, 1673
  • Was in the middle of a performance of Le Malade imaginaire
  • Louis XIV ordered rest, but Molière continued the performance
  • Died later that night of pulmonary tuberculosis in his home

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Architecture

The Hôtel was a home built for the royal family and aristocracy in the 17th century. The exterior of the hotel contained gardens, ancillary buildings and courtyards. They were closed off from street and one would enter through the “porte cochère” (heavy wooden door). If you were royal or more wealthy, you might have a front courtyard behind a gate with enough room for a coach to turn around.
All of the main rooms looked toward garden or interior courtyard. There were as many as 20 rooms in an average hotel, consisting of the following:
  1. Hall – entrance hall, usually on 1st floor (not ground)
  2. Kitchen – let out into garden/yard (1st with stairs)
  3. Buttery – storage space (2nd floor)
  4. Bed Chamber – 2nd, 3rd, or 4th floors
  5. Salon – largest room in house (not as important where, but rather what size)
In the mid- 17th century, wealthy homeowners had galleries in their homes. A gallerie was a hallway or room filled with art, mirrors, and other merchandise to show off to your guests. These could connect rooms, as was the case in larger hotels, or stand alone. In 1660, Marquise de Rambouillet designed a reception room (a salon) for her townhouse, in favor of a regular gallerie. Marquise de Rambouillet began a revolution with her design, and many women began entertaining in the large salon instead.
In The Misanthrope, the salon is where Célimenè does her entertaining for her male guests. The chambre would be where Éliante would be staying, if not in the salon.

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