"The Misanthrope" is a central work of French classicism and one of the great comedies of world literature. Its character as a comedy is quite controversial, as Rousseau indignantly points out that here, in a tragic inversion, all standards condemn virtue to failure and expose it to ridicule. However, it is precisely this "openness" of meaning that elevates the play beyond its world and makes it constantly and universally reinterpretable.