Molière
Jean Baptiste Poquelin (1622-73)

Baptized in Paris, January 15, 1622, young Jean Baptiste was the son of a well-to-do merchant upholsterer. In 1633, he bought an office at court, valet de chambre tapissier ordinaire du roi, and obtained the rights of succession for his son in 1637. The same year Jean Baptiste was sent to the Jesuit College de Clermont where he studied science, grammar, Plautus and Terence. At some point he apparently studied law at a university, perhaps at Orleans; he probably studied philosophy for two years beyond Clermont, also perhaps at Orleans.

In 1643, at the tender age of 21, he resigned his rights of succession to the office at court, drew out his share of his deceased mother's estate and compounded his own inheritance. Then in September he cast his lot with nine others and formed the Illustre Theatre with and around Madeleine Bejart, his mistress and business manager. They rented a tennis court to perform in but they apparently did not draw much of a crowd for, in October, they had moved to Rouen. When they returned to Paris in 1644, he had taken the name "de Molière," the origin or significance of which is completely unknown. After about a year of what must have been an unsuccessful enterprise, his father had to rescue him from debtors prison.

But "Molière" persevered. In 1646, Molière went "on the road" touring the hinterlands of France with his Madeleine in the company of Charles Du Fresne. When their patron deserted them, Molière took charge of the troupe. Between 1653 and 1657, they enjoyed the patronage of the Prince of Conti until he was converted. The actors were lost when the Prince found religion.

In 1658, the hardy little band returned to Paris and won the favor of the influential critic Boileau and, more importantly, the friendship of the young Louis XIV. Soon they enjoyed the patronage of the king's brother, Monsieur and were installed at the Petit Bourbon with the Italian Comedians. About a year later, Molière had his first hit with Les Precieuses Ridicules, a spoof on the salon of one Mme. Rambouillet which sought to purify the French language of "coarseness and vulgarity." By 1661, his troupe occupied Richelieu's Palais Royale.

In 1662, he married Armande Bejart, Madeleine's sister. (He was French after all.) The marriage was less than tranquil as reflected in several comedies, especially The Misanthrope. It is interesting to note that it was in this eventful year that he wrote The School for Wives.

In 1664, Molière wrote his most controversial, and perhaps his greatest play, Tartuffe. A brilliant satire of religious hypocrisy, the play was less than enthusiastically received by the powerful clergy. Even though Louis XIV was godfather to Molière's son, it took five more years, at least two rewrites and a shameless deus ex machina ending in praise of Louis XIV before the play was officially permitted a public performance. It was a great success, playing a record thirty-three performances.

Even as the battle over Tartuffe raged, Molière continued to crank out hits: The Misanthrope (1666); The Doctor In Spite of Himself (1666);The Miser (1668) a rewrite of Plautus' Aulularia or The Pot of Gold. After Tartuffe, came The Bourgois Gentleman, (1670) a marvelous lampoon of dilletantism; The Learned Ladies, (1672), a brilliant satire of academic pretentiousness among the hoi polloi; and finally The Imaginary Invalid (1673)

This last is a comedy about hypochondria and the vicious practices of doctors and the victimization of the public by shameless quacks. During the fourth performance of the play, Molière in the title role of Argan, developed a hemorrhage of the lungs and died later that night, February 17, 1673. Armande was not at his side, as she was vainly trying to persuade a priest to come and anoint the author of Tartuffe for burial. However, as he was an actor, he was technically excommunicated, and as he refused to recant his profession, it was only through the intervention of Louis XIV himself that Molière was buried in a parish cemetery in a private ceremony at night. Some still doubt that it was Molière's remains that were buried that night. .