Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews February 4, 2023 January 28, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Like Philinte, Éliante is well adjusted. She generally avoids gossip—in contrast to her cousin, Célimène—and she seems content not to be the center of attention. Éliante distinguishes herself from Philinte with her wit and her shrewd observance of human behavior. Where Philinte might abstain from comment, Éliante jumps in with a well thought out opinion. She delivers an intelligent critique of the way men behave when in love, and she offers a balanced analysis of Alceste's behavior. Éliante also stands up to her cousin when Célimène requests that Éliante choose a lover for her. Éliante refuses, forcing Célimène to get herself out of her own mess.
Éliante's only noticeable weakness lies her ambivalence towards Alceste. She appears to feel some sort of obligation to Alceste, even agreeing to become his lover so that he might avenge Célimène's deception. Ultimately, though, Éliante decides that her heart lies with Philinte. Indeed, Éliante and Philinte are the perfect match in many ways. Just as Philinte is the only completely respectable man in the play, Éliante is the only woman not guilty of obvious hypocrisy and deceit. With their moderate behavior and true—or so we are led to believe—devotion to one another, Éliante and Philinte represent a moral and social stability lost to the rest of the Court. In the pairing of Éliante and Philinte, Molière offers a new spin on the traditional happy ending. Although the ostensible "hero"—Alceste—cannot find happiness, the real heroes do. They remain selfless to the end, following Alceste off to keep him from leaving.
Please wait while we process your payment