Sylvie Romanowski

Molière's Misanthrope: A critique and reluctant defense of courtly life

Moliere set he Misanthrope (1666) in an upper‐class salon at a time when norms of politeness were being refined for the elite of French society. Moliere uses theatre, one of whose functions it is to re‐enact social change for the spectators, to examine the evolving norms of sociability. Societys principal model and central institution was the court of Louis XIV. Alceste rebels against the demands for polite behavior demanded by courtly life, but at the same time hopes to marry the salons head, Celimene. His criticisms are powerless to reform the salon members and to win Celimene, but the salon collapses due to inner tensions. Moliere thus shows the dangers of non‐conformity to social norms of courtly life, even though these are often based on illusion.