SOURCE: “Molière in the Post-Structuralist Age: L'Impromptu de Versailles,” in Theatre Journal, Vol. 34, No. 3, October, 1982, pp. 373-83.

In the following essay, Lindsay provides an in-depth look at Molière's L'Impromptu de Versailles, commenting on possible reasons why the play has been overlooked.

Molière's L'Impromptu de Versailles (The Rehearsal at Versailles) has not, over the critical ages, received much attention. Traditionally considered a marginal element in Molière's repertoire, the Impromptu has in the main been a singularly, even signally neglected work. For in the vicissitudes of literary history since the classical era, the fortunes of Molière's plays have provided an accurate gage of critical changes through successive generations. In The Misanthrope, for example, the honnête homme Philinte flattered the classical era's notions of restraint, moderation, and social adjustment, while the Romantics saw in Alceste a noble and kindred spirit whose keen sense of personal...