Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, & The Bourgeois Gentleman

By Denis Calandra

Subjects: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Moliere, 1622-1673

Description: In Tartuffe, a witty 17th-century French comedy, a religious hypocrite almost succeeds in his plot to jail a naive friend and his family and thereby get the title to their home. The Misanthrope centers on a man who decides to speak and act with complete honesty, despite the fact that society has its hypocritical aspects. Love enters the picture, and the results are funny and filled with disillusionment. Moliere's play The Bourgeois Gentleman tells us about a boring, unimaginative, and newly wealthy man who decides that he will become a first-class gentleman. Many comic episodes ensue before the final disappointment.