Abstract: The three tragedies of Tristan L'Hermite studied draw on a rich visual imaginary, which includes the motifs of the gaze, light, ostentation, and dissimulation. The thesis is that these images represent the degeneration of a Machiavellian power emancipated from common morality, specifically religious morality, becoming irrational and murderous Machiavellianism. The tragic optics thus aim at disillusionment by revealing to the public the bodily, psychic, and social wellsprings of tyranny.
