A walking tour of the 1st arrondissement in Paris following Molière

Jean Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673), better known to us by his stage name Molière, is undoubtedly one of the greatest playwrights that humanity has known. The reason for this, at least in my opinion, is his ability to look inside the human soul and to describe in his plays human traits that have not changed to this day, such as hypochondria, stinginess, hypocrisy, and more. This is why, even though some 350 years have passed since his death, his plays are frequently performed all over the world and enjoy great success.

Unlike most intellectuals of the “Great Century” (Le Grand Siècle), aka the 17th century, who were born outside of Paris, Molière was born and died in the City of Lights. Therefore, it is not surprising that, despite the fact that Molière was absent from the French capital for about 15 years, Paris is an inseparable part of Molière and Molière is an inseparable part of theHistory of Paris.

If you want to explore Molière's Paris on foot, you'll run into a problem. There are quite a few places related to Molière and his plays, spread out across the 1st-6th arrondissement and even the 16th arrondissement. Therefore, it's not possible to create a single itinerary that will include all of these places without requiring you to walk miles upon miles or constantly enter and exit the city.the metro.

Therefore, today let me offer you a short itinerary following Molière, which will focus solely on1st arrondissement of Paris, And along the way, you will discover the places where he was born, baptized, married, performed, and died. I promise to tell you about the other places associated with Molière and his plays in my special lecture on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the great playwright's birth (more on that later).

The life story of Molière

Before we begin our trip to Paris in the footsteps of Molière, it is important to learn a little about the history of his life, which, as you will see, is intertwined with the history of the city.

Jean Baptiste Poquelin was born in Paris on January 15, 1622 (where exactly was he born? We'll talk about that later) to a wealthy bourgeois family. His father was the royal upholsterer of Louis XIV And he was able to give his son an excellent education, including studies at the Collège de Clermont (now the prestigious Louis Le Grand School), where he studied philosophy, among other things.

It is also important to note that this was probably where he began his theatrical career, by participating in plays put on by the students of the educational institution. The stage bug that the young Jean-Baptiste contracted at that college (or perhaps even earlier) caused him to give up a career as a royal upholsterer or lawyer, and to establish a theater together with the Bejart family in 1643.

The first theater founded by Molière (Illustre Théâtre) is located in6st arrondissement of Paris In which the young playwright presented tragedies. This theater was unable to cope with the competition from the Hôtel de Bourgogne and the Théâtre du Marais, and about a year later Molière's theater went bankrupt and he himself was thrown into prison due to a debt to a candle merchant.

During this journey, Molière began to abandon the genre of tragedy and turn to comedy. At first he imitated the style of commedia dell'arte and later began to develop his own unique style. Despite the considerable time he spent outside Paris, few plays have survived from this period (the most famous of those that have survived is "The Doctor in Love").

And here let me take a short break and highly recommend that you watch the film “Moliere,” from 2007. It is an entertaining and well-made film, which deals with that period of wandering and presents an explanation (completely invented and not historically accurate) of how Moliere’s great comedies were created, including “He too is among the nobles,” “Tartuffe,” and others. Here is a “coming soon” video that will immediately introduce you to the film’s plot:

In 1659, Molière returned to Paris and gained the support of Philip I, Duke of Orléans, brother of Louis XIV. The patronage of the royal family allowed him to present the comedy “The Ridiculous Precious Ones” (Les Précieuses Ridicules) at the Petit Bourbon Palace, which I mentioned in the article about theParis OperaThis was the first time that Molière presented social satire, and the success of the play led him to embrace the genre and make it his calling card.

In January 1661, Molière's troupe moved to the theater building inPalais Royal (Please do not confuse this theatre with the building of the Comédie Française which was built many years later.) Molière continued to write several plays each year, which were usually performed there or in the king's various palaces (especially inPalace of Versailles(The process of its transformation from a hunting lodge to a magnificent palace took place during these years.) This is also the year in which the king becomes Molière's main patron, and a friendship is formed between the two that will last almost until Molière's death.

Over the next 12 years, Molière created his most famous plays and collaborated with two of the greatest musicians of his time, Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and later, Marc Antoine Charpentier. If you would like to listen to some of the musical works created in honor of Molière's comic plays, you are welcome to enter the article French Baroque Music That Will Make You Think Its Creators Have Gotten Mad.

The need to constantly write new plays, direct, act, and of course maintain the financial health of the company took a heavy toll on Molière's health, and it began to deteriorate during the early 17s.

In February 1673, Molière presented his last comedy, “The Imaginary Patient,” at the Palais Royal. According to the famous myth, Molière died on stage, while playing the hypochondriac Organ. However, to be precise, Molière, who had been suffering from tuberculosis for many years, began to cough on stage, lost consciousness, went home, and died there on February 17, 1673.

Because the church establishment would not allow actors to be buried in “normal” cemeteries (i.e., those consecrated by the church), Molière’s wife had to plead with Louis XIV to use his influence to allow her husband a normal burial. Eventually, a compromise was reached and Molière was buried in a cemetery near the church of Saint-Eustache, but in an unconsecrated section reserved for stillborn babies who had not been baptized.

But if you thought that Molière found his final resting place there, you were wrong. In the early 19th century, the cemetery was established in eastern Paris. Pere Lachaise And since no self-respecting bourgeois agreed to be buried there, the cemetery management decided to move the bones of several “celebrities” there, such as Abelard and Heloise, in order to make the place more attractive. Molière was one of those “celebrities” whose rest was disturbed, and his bones were transferred to Père Lachaise, where his grave can be found to this day.

A Paris itinerary following Molière

Now that you know the story of Molière's life, it's time to begin our tour. Please take metro line 4 and get off at Étienne Marcel station. Not far from the metro exit you will find our first stop.

Hôtel de Bourgogne

On today's Rue Etienne Marcel, stood the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, from which the tower of Jeanne without fear remained, which you can read about in the article Parisian SecretsLater, during the 16th century, the first Parisian theater company began to present religious plays here and later also comedic plays.

However, over the years, due to financial difficulties, the theater management began renting the building to Commedia dell'Arte troupes, which arrived from Italy starting during the reign of Catherine de Medici.

The young Molière, who lived not so far away (as you will see shortly), visited the theater quite a few times with his family, and it is very possible that this is where he first caught the "acting bug" (even before his studies at the Collège de Clermont).

The Hôtel de Bourgogne troupe became one of Molière's greatest competitors over the years, especially after his return to Paris, but following his death in 1673, some of the actors from Molière's troupe left and joined the Hôtel de Bourgogne. In 1680, Louis XIV decided to unite Molière's troupe with that of the Hôtel de Bourgogne and the Marais Theatre, and together they became the Royal Comedy Troupe, which would later become the famous Comédie Française.

Saint Eustache Church

From Etienne Marcel Street, go south towards Montreuil Street (Rue Montorgueil), until you reach the Church of Saint-Eustache. Although this church was built in the heart of the wholesale market of Paris (La God) It quickly became very popular among the fat and slim of Paris.

Since Molière was born not far from there, he was baptized in this church, and since the house where he died is also not that far away, it is not surprising that his funeral service was held here and that he was buried in the church cemetery in 1673.

I highly recommend that you not only look at the church from the outside but also go inside and enjoy the grandeur and splendor. If you are lucky, someone will be practicing the organ during your visit and you can enjoy heavenly music (if you are less confident in your luck, you are welcome to go to the article Classical music in Paris and check what concerts are taking place there while you visit the City of Lights).

The house where Molière was born

After you've finished visiting the Church of Saint-Eustache, you're welcome to continue south to rue Pont Neuf 31. There you'll find a sign claiming that Molière was born here, and above it you'll even find a beautiful bust of him. But make no mistake. This is not true at all! Moliere wasn't born here..

How do I know? Note the birth year indicated on the sign (1620). This is the wrong year, as Molière was born two years later!

To find out where the house where Molière was born stood, you need to turn west at 96 rue Saint-Honoré. There you will find a more modest sign indicating the place where the wooden house where Molière was born stood.

Note that this is not the building where Molière was born, but a later building built in 1802. Molière's house, like almost all of Paris' wooden houses, was demolished long ago, but a replica of it was rebuilt for the 1889 World's Fair (which brought us, among other things, the Eiffel Tower) Unfortunately, I do not know what happened to that copy and whether it was destroyed, like a large part of the buildings created in honor of the exhibition, or whether it was sold to someone.

Church of Saint Germain l'Auxerois

Continue on rue Sainte-Honoré and head south onto rue de Louvre, which later becomes Rue de l'Admiral Coligny. There you will find the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

This is a very old church, which served as the royal chapel when the royal family lived inLouvre PalaceThe church later entered history because it was here, on August 24, 1572, that the signal was given for the outbreak of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, during which thousands of Protestants in Paris were massacred.

This is probably a lie intended to discredit Molière, who had quite a few enemies (from rival troupes to churchmen who were angry with him over the play Tartuffe). It makes more sense that she was Madeleine's younger sister and therefore not Molière's daughter. Either way, Armande became a successful actress in her own right and appeared in quite a few plays until her death in 1700.

After you've finished visiting the church, you can look west and see the Louvre's colonnade. This is where the Hôtel du Petit-Bourbon once stood, where Molière put on his first play since returning to Paris in 1659.

The Palais Royal

Retrace your steps to Rue de Rivoli and walk west until you see the Palais Royal on your right. Here, on the eastern side, stood the Palais Royal Theatre where Molière performed his plays from 1661 until his death in 1673.

After Molière's death, the place passed into the control of Jean-Baptiste Lully, Molière's former partner, who had fallen out with him a few years before his death and took the opportunity to expel his troupe from there in favor of the opera house he himself founded. This opera house burned down in 1781 and the Duke of Orléans decided to take advantage of this to change the structure of the palace and build a theater, in its western part.

Today it is the home theater of the Comédie Française troupe, the name given to Molière's troupe in 1680, so that finally, after more than one hundred and fifty years of wandering, it can be said that it has returned home.

The house where Molière died

After you've finished strolling through the Palais Royal and peeking inside the Comédie Française (there are occasional Guided tours on site) Turn onto Rue Richelieu and walk to number 40. There you will find the house where Molière lived from 1672 until his death.

In order to mark the place where Molière lived his last years, it was decided to name a street near Richelieu Street after the playwright, and at number 40 of that street, you can find a magnificent fountain, built in 1844, with a statue of the great playwright on it.