When I left the Louvre on Monday, I came upon this oversized chair (replicated two times bigger than the original) encased in glass standing in front of the Palais-Royal, which houses the Comedie-Francaise theatre. It hadn’t been there on Sunday (remember the striped columns in the courtyard?); but workmen were roping off the entry way and unloading some trucks as I walked to l’Opera. Possibly a new exhibit? The sign in front of the chair talked about Moliere and oh, that reminded me of something I recently read (and have confirmed on Wikipedia.org, the free on-line encyclopedia).Jean Baptiste Poquelin, better know as Moliere, was the famous French theatre writer, director, actor and one of the masters of comic satire. (It’s time you learned some more French history, n’est pas?) The son of an interior decorator, he received at age 18 the title of "Tapissier du Roi," (upholsterer of the king) which put him in frequent contact with King Louis XIV. He actually became a lawyer two years later but his love was always the theatre.
His life sounds not unlike that of current actors, come to think of it. He had a female lover (Madeleine); his first theatre troupe went bankrupt; he spent a few weeks in prison for his debt. It’s presumed that this is when he changed his name to Moliere—to spare his family the shame of having an actor in the family. In those days, it was not an honored profession. Moliere toured as a comedian and eventually created another company, all the while writing and acting—he even “played the Louvre” in 1658 when it was rented as a theatre. He preferred tragedies but became famous for his farces which oftentimes were partially written and then improvised.
At one point he took a male lover but then eventually married a lady (Armande) whom he believed to be the sister of Madeleine. In fact, Armande was Madeleine’s illegitimate daughter with another man! Quelle horreur! So, while being wrongly accused of having married his daughter, his work was also causing controversy and embarrassment because of its excessive realism and irreverence. Eventually all of this took a toll on his health.
Which brings me to his death, which unfortunately, is that which he seems to be best remembered. He was performing Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) sitting in this chair (ah, she finally gets to the point of the picture) when he begin to cough—convulsions, says the sign posted in the glass case. The audience thought that this was part of the act and the more he coughed, the more they laughed. Finally, when they realized he was not acting, he was removed from the stage and died two hours later without sacraments (because two priests refused to visit him).
The original chair remained in its “role” on the stage for many years and actually became a seat of honor for the most eminent comedian in the troupe. It remains today in the collection of the Comedie-Francaise. (PS: Moliere is buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.)
