'The Misanthrope' in modern society

Can honesty co-exist with the wealth in upper-middle-class French society? When Molière, French playwright, actor and stage manager, wrote his most famous comedy of manners, "The Misanthrope," he posed that very question. Much like "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde and "The Rivals," by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the play takes a humorous look into the hypocrisy of the social elite. "The Misanthrope," a critique of French society and a commedia dell' arte, exploited the duplicity of the French elite through the quixotic behavior of Alceste, a man disgusted with the hypocrisy that surrounds him. \nThroughout the play Alceste, a gentlemen of leisure, considers himself to be an honest man and criticizes his peers. He makes a point to be honest whenever he can, even if it means being downright rude, which inevitably leads to his demise. Alceste's downward spiral begins when his rival Oronte reads him a poem and Alceste takes every opportunity to tell him he should not be writing. \n"You have your reasons; permit me to have mine for thinking that you can not write a line." \nThough Alceste stands on a soapbox of honesty, the irony is that his love interest Célimène is one of the most dishonest characters in the play. Alceste rationalizes Célimène's behavior by saying love is blind, making him the biggest hypocrite of them all. \nMolière uses Alceste as a foil character to reflect the hypocrisy of French society in the 17th century and uses Alceste's best friend Philante to reflect the egotism, jealousy and erratic behavior of Alceste. The entire play examines the hieroglyphic world of manners and questions if honesty is the best policy. In a world where intrigue and calculation takes the place of love and even the most moral characters accept it as natural, it begs itself to be adapted into a modern interpretation. "The Misanthrope," like the original screen play "Valmont," could easily be filmed in a present-day setting in New York or Connecticut with college-aged kids, similar to the movie "Cruel Intentions."\nWritten in 1666, the play is relevant today on a college campus because it also examines women and the facades they build in order to be accepted. Arsinoe, in love with Alceste, claims to be a pious woman but lusts after Alceste while condemning the flirtations of her opponent Célimène. One can easily see Célimène as the female player decked out in Michael Kors and driving a sporty BMW and Arinsoe dressed in simple but sexy Banana Republic driving a Mercedes-Benz. In Act 3, the two women get into a catfight and it is revealed that neither of their reputations is squeaky clean. Arsinoe is viewed as a lustful hypocrite while Célimène is looked at as loose for playing with the hearts of Alceste and Oronte. Who Célimène truly loves is never revealed, but the deliberate deceit of both characters is an obvious critique of 17th century women and women in general by Molière. \nThe humour in the play is that all of the characters are looking for love, but is true love not based on honesty? Molière examines love and who deserves it in the end of the play, leaving the reader to wonder if deceit pays off or if honesty conquers all.