Moliere; "Le Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur"
- Artist/Author/Producer: Moliere (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) (1622-1673)
- Confronting Bodies: King Louis XIV, Chief of Police of Paris, Archbishop of Paris
- Dates of action: 1664
- Location: France
- Description of the Art Work
- "Le Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur," 1664-1669: A satire on religious hypocrisy.
Tartuffe portrayed a pious crook so firmly established in a bourgeois
household that the master promises him his daughter and disinherits his
son. At the time it was common for directors of conscience to be placed
in families to reprove and reform conduct. When this "holy" man is
caught making love to his employer's wife, he recovers by masterly self
reproach and persuades the master not only to pardon him but also to urge
him to see as much of his wife as possible.
- Description of incident
- 1664, France: "Le Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur" banned from the public stage
by Louis XIV who, nevertheless, read it aloud to an audience which
included high dignitaries of the Church.
1667: While the King was away in Flanders, the play was given as "The
Impostor."
- Results of incident
- 1664, France: The first three acts were given repeatedly at court, but
Moliere could not get permission for a public performance. During these
years the church called him "a demon in human flesh," closed his theater,
and tore down his posters.
1667: The theater was ordered closed by the Chief of Police, and the
Archbishop of Paris laid a ban of excommunication on all who might act in
the play, read it, or see it.
1669: Permission was granted by the King to perform the play in public.
Source: Banned Books 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D., by Anne Lyon Haight, and Chandler B.
Grannis, R.R. Bowker Co, 1978.
