From April 2022:

I just finished reading The Misanthrope (1666), a play by Moliere, translated by John Wood and David Coward. It was an engaging and fast-paced read centered on the character of Alceste, who, presumptuously dismissive of every form of duplicity and hypocrisy, is determined to speak truthfully regardless of social circumstances. Even though he disparages all of society, he finds himself smitten by Célimène, a beautiful young woman who encourages many suitors with her charm.

Through the interactions of the characters, many of which express rather extreme examples of a range of individual virtue and personal philosophies, Moliere appears to comment on the relationship between human nature and society.

I was reminded of a line from King Lear: “Know thou this: that men are as the time is.” This was spoken by the villain, Edmund, as an excuse for his grasping and unscrupulous actions. One can read King Lear as an argument for the timelessness of virtue and human nature. Moliere, with a softer tone, seems to agree. The characters of Éliante and Philinte seem to be the closest thing to a model of reasonable response to the pressures of society and the realities of human nature.

“Men ought to be different from what they are.”