Act III opens in a manner parallel to Act I. In the earlier act, we saw the two friends, Alceste and Philinte, talking and discussing certain problems. In Act III, we have another set of acquaintances, but this time they are fops, Acaste and Clitandre. One of the main concerns in the play is sincerity in human relationships. In Act I, Alceste represents one view in stating that one must be completely frank at all times, whereas Philinte suggests that other people's feelings must be taken into consideration. For all the ostensible antagonism between Alceste and Philinte in Act I, however, we can see that beneath the exterior arguments, there is a true friendship. Although the parallel between Act I and Act III is largely on the surface, in the third act, we do not have the sense that the two fops possess that essential quality of true friendship. There is a difference in the depth of character, and the subject matter is considerably more superficial than was the subject of the conversation between Philinte and Alceste. The scene in the third act, furthermore, ends with a bit of clever dialogue wherein both characters feign their real views and content themselves with expressing the artificial superficialities associated with society. The implicit contrast between the two sets of characters serves to raise Alceste and Philinte in our estimation.
The technique of the scene where Célimène characterizes Arsinoé is the same technique used earlier in Act II, where people are ridiculed but when they appear are then welcomed with exuberant graciousness. In the speech just prior to Arsinoé's arrival, Célimène launches into another of her verbal portraits as she paints a picture of Arsinoé as the insidious hypocrite. Yet Célimène's views and her subsequent actions prove her to be just as hypocritical. In the actual stage presentation, we would see that Célimène is being very spiteful and nasty about Arsinoé, but when the character actually arrives, there would be a sudden transformation in the physical actions of Célimène. She would then be all smiles and would flutter around the new arrival, trying to show how utterly concerned she is with Arsinoé; therefore, in addition to the hypocrisy of her statements, her actions would reveal even more of the hypocrisy to the audience.
