Molière's Tartuffe reveals how a religious hypocrite — an imposter — almost succeeds in his plot to jail a naive friend and his family and thereby cheat them out of their home. The social comedy, which satirizes false piety, hypocrites, and certain aspects of the Catholic Church, was perennially banned. Molière had to use his influence with King Louis IV to get permission for the 17th-century French play to be performed in public.