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Moliere And Jean De La Fontaine: The Perfectly Imperfect Society

1358 Words6 Pages

The Perfectly Imperfect Society The 17th century was a time period when there was a growing gap between the aristocracy and the lower classes in France. France was established as the dominant European power during the reign of Louis XIV. Louis XIV, or the self-proclaimed Sun King, had a strong influence on the artistic culture of France. Namely, one of his main objectives was to build the culture of France in a way that would have a powerful effect on the rest of the world. Moliere and Jean de la Fontaine were two influential writers who were appointed to praise the Sun King and the French society during his reign. Namely, using ordinary characteristics possessed by many individuals, the writers succeeded to derive reactions from their …show more content…

It depicts a moral representing society under absolute monarchy. Namely, La Fontaine created the fable as a representation of the life of French people under the unlimited power possessed by the stomach, or Louis XIV. As is well known, The Sun King was very focused on his dancing and entertainments. This may have been part of the reason he was criticized by La Fontaine as a ruler who does not spend much time engaging in working for the general good of his society. For La Fontaine, royal power is what keeps the state together and his way of both mocking and flattering the court is visible in the fable. The fable is influential as it reveals an important political lesson, which is that the one in power is the head of society, while his people are the ones supporting his survival. Thus, even those below him in the hierarchy should be helped out in order to reach their full potential. La Fontaine depicts Louis XIV both as selfless, and as a selfish …show more content…

As a social climber, M. Jourdain 's imitations are absurd to anyone but himself. The political lesson implied in La Fontaine 's fable "The Stomach and its Members" is that sometimes the one holding power may be the only one tending to the demands of the society, as the other members may be too busy fulfilling their own, individual needs. However, he also praises the King by indicating that his presence is necessary for the country to operate in a proper way. Despite the differences between the two writers, the main purpose of their works was to praise the Sun King and his absolute monarchy. Failure to do so, often resulted in harsh punishments, such as being sent to jail. The special aspect about the two writers is that they dared to criticize the King and his society, despite those

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