Molière

An actor as well as a playwright, the artist known as Molière experienced a great deal of success within his own lifetime, but faced severe societal prejudice as well. Despite being adored by both his patrons and the public, Molière faced opposition from the French government and the Catholic Church for his sharp, satiric works, several of which (including Tartuffe) were censored by the authorities. Although Molière came from a wealthy family, the French considered theater a shameful career, and the playwright was once imprisoned for his theater company’s debts. Having contracted tuberculosis when he was young, Molière collapsed onstage at age fifty-one while performing in his own play The Imaginary Invalid—he insisted on finishing the performance, but died later that night. Despite his renown, his status as an actor rendered him legally unfit to be buried on holy ground; only an intervention from the King himself allowed the playwright’s family to give him a nighttime burial in a Church graveyard.