Was Molière criticized for being too harsh?
Harsh? I am merely honest! If the reflection in the mirror is unflattering, is the mirror to blame, or the visage it displays? Some indeed complained, finding their own pretenses too clearly illuminated. They cried ‘scandal!’ when I dared to portray the charlatan doctor or the religiously hypocritical schemer. But what remedy is there for obstinacy and vanity? One must show these characters as they are, not as they wish to be seen. The purpose of comedy, after all, is to correct manners by exposing vices through ridicule. If a man blushes, perhaps it is because he recognizes himself.