The Misanthrope, considered by many to be the greatest achievement of the great French playwright, is at the same time a work of pivotal importance in French classicism, as well as in world literature in general.

The central character of the play is Alceste, one of the most emblematic and timeless figures in Molière's gallery: the uncompromising idealist and moralist who demands a social life free of hypocrisy and conditional lies, based on an unlimited and unconditional honesty regardless of the cost.

The presence of such a person in the French courtly society of the 17th century, the absolute embodiment of all the evils he detests, produces an explosive mixture and a series of farcical yet tragic complications that will ultimately lead to the bitter disappointment and ridicule of the hero.