Glénat editions publish the second volume of Moliere, entitled “The Tartuffe Scandal”. Vincent Delmas and Sergio Gerasi, screenwriter and designer respectively, recount the setbacks of the tutelary figure of the Comédie-Française, penniless, prey to threats from the clergy and more or less abandoned by his troupe and the King.
On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Molière’s birth, Vincent Delmas and Sergio Gerasi have undertaken to deliver a triptych on the man who remains unquestionably one of the most eminent authors in the history of France. “Le Scandale Tartuffe”, the second volume, introduces a character with a sharp, daring pen, wielding double-bottomed satire like a cleric. They oppose him with a well-ordered Church, composed of a reserved cardinal, a combative archbishop and believers crying blasphemy, some of whom would dream of seeing the playwright placed at the stake. The King may laugh at the satirical features of Molière, he has no choice but to compromise with a still all-powerful clergy. He ends up banning the play, leaving the author in a delicate economic situation: his performances are becoming rarer, and the young Racine is also preparing to turn his back on him and join the competition.
Nothing, decidedly, then smiled at Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (his civil name). He loses a child, Louis, sees his wife turn away from him and question his choices, suffers criticism from his troupe. Penniless, threatened by power and the clergy, he persisted in playing a play that was nevertheless banned, to which he admittedly made minor changes, but insufficient for it not to be interrupted by order of the government. In an album with a well-controlled narration, Vincent Delmas and Sergio Gerasi sacrifice nothing of the context of the time and paint the portrait of an author seeking to awaken consciences, to use his freedom of expression, even if it means offending holders of a power, executive or spiritual, which according to him should in no way encroach on his literary prerogatives.
Beyond its historical interest and the romantic spirit that animates it, “Le Scandale Tartuffe” obviously has very current resonances, ranging from caricatures of Charlie Hebdo to movies such as fuck me Where The passion of Christ. Molière appears there as an entire artist, without concession, absolutely obsessed with his art and the way of exhibiting it to the public without undergoing censorship. A sequence testifies to this better than any speech: we see, on different occasions which follow one another vignette after vignette, the author lost in his dreams, while the events of everyday life unfold before his eyes. There is also this wish of Armande, his wife: she expresses the desire that her attachment to freedom (to write, to perform, to denounce) be indexed to that of staying alive.
The latter will undergo in its deepest intimacy the conservatisms which then strike European society – and which afflict Molière and his work. A late revelation will in fact corroborate all that had already been observed with regard to Tartuffe and its reception by the most dogmatic clerics and faithful. There is nothing anecdotal about the episode, since in addition to shedding light on his time and the habits of the bourgeoisie, it testifies to the discreet faculty that Vincent Delmas and Sergio Gerasi have of giving breadth to their talk. And the refined designs, generous in detail, obviously do not spoil the pleasure of reading.
See as well
Molière: The Tartuffe ScandalVincent Delmas and Sergio Gerasi
Glénat, September 2022, 48 pages
“The Tartuffe Scandal”: Molière facing the devotees | LeMagduCine