Le Misanthrope stands at the exact center of Molière's life's work. He was in the middle of his journey – “in a dark wood where the straightway was lost.” This chapter will deal with that dark wood, that lost straightway, that is the subtext behind this magnificent play.

In March 1665, Don Juan closed at the Palais-Royal after only fifteen performances, in spite of a very strong box office. No reason has ever been given as “the” reason. There are many guesses, among them that Molière was ill or that La Grange had an uncontrollable cough. Some more likely reasons are: pressure put upon the king by the French nobility who didn't like seeing even a Spanish aristocrat going down in flames; or by the clergy who were outraged by the blasphemy in the Poor Man scene; or quite probably, both. A clue may have been given a few months after the second forced closure in a year of a major play: Molière was summoned by the king to Versailles and was told a new title had been created for the company, “La Troupe du Roi,” which would bring with it a handsome stipend and the king's protection. Maybe that was the “deal” the king made to compensate for the closing of two controversial plays in a row because they roused the indignation of highly placed members of the church and the nobility.