Literary Criticism Of Tartuffe

In Tartuffe, Moliere's use's plot to defend and oppose characters that symbolize and ridicule habitual behavior's that was imposed during the neo-classical time period. His work, known as a comedy of manners, consists of flat characters, with few and similar traits and that always restore some kind of peace in the end. He down plays society as a whole by creating a microseism, where everyone in the family has to be obedient, respectful, and mindful of the head of the home, which is played by the father Orgon. Mariane shows her obedience when she replies "To please you, sir, is what delights me best." (Moliere 324,11) Shortly afterwards, Orgon commands Mariane to take Tartuffe as her husband even though she is not interested in him at all.

        Moliere rocked the 17th century French world with his comedy "Tartuffe" in 1664. Although, religious factions kept the play banned from theatres from 1664-1669, "Tartuffe" emerged from the controversy as one of the all-time great comedies. Tartuffe is a convincing religious hypocrite. He is a parasite who is sucking Orgon, the rich trusting father, for all he is worth. Orgon does not realize that Tartuffe is a phony, and caters to his every whim. For instance, he reneges on his promise to let his daughter Mariane, marry Valere. Instead he demands that she wed Tartuffe, whom she despises. He also banishes his own son, Damis, from his house for speaking out against Tartuffe and

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere was one of the greatest writers of the seventeenth century, being considered by many the greatest author of French comedy. In his plays, called “comedies of manners”, Moliere satirizes the morals and social conventions of his contemporaneous human society by using stock characters. In Tartuffe, a comedy of five acts, the main topic is the analysis of religious hypocrisy and leader figures of the seventeenth century, portraying Tartuffe in contrast with personages like Orgon.

Man’s condition reflects in Tartuffe; because he shows how people trust to easy. The same condition is still seen in our 21st Century because we still have people afraid to make a change and stick with it. Orgon was too trustworthy and that affect his ability to see what was really going on. Tartuffe knew he had Orgon and he didn’t care. You have some people all for themselves and it doesn’t matter how no one else feels. My aunt reminds me of Orgon because she allows her imagination to take over. She really can’t see what’s really going on. I think Damis best represent me because I am quick to blow up if I don’t agree. I always say treat others right; so I know I wouldn’t want no one to use anyone. There will always be a condition in today’s

Surprisingly, Moliere made the decision to use deus ex machina in Tartuffe. Whether the decision was made in order to please Louis XIV or if this decision has literary genius behind it has been vehemently debated. Moliere describes this scene best himself by stating, “With one keen glance, the King perceived the whole perverseness and corruption of his soul, and thus high Heaven’s justice was displayed: betraying you, the rogue stood self-betrayed. The King soon recognized Tartuffe as one notorious by another name, who’d done so many vicious crimes that one could fill ten volumes with them and be writing still” (Damrosch 69). Moliere also discusses that Orgon will be forgiven of his debts and recover his estate once again. A final triumph by Tartuffe would betray the comedic aspect of the play by leaving the imposter victorious over a disheartened family (Zwillenberg 584). Furthermore, Moliere decided in favor of justice, which during this era, could only result from the grace of the King, personified by Louis XIV. “The tension between our knowledge of the behavior of real kings and ideal justice we expect from God can find release only in disbelieving laughter” (Simonds 85). This concept shows hypocrisy on yet another level which merely perfects Moliere’s cause, which is to exemplify the hypocrisy in every level

Myrna Kogan Zwillenberg’s article “Dramatic Justice in Tartuffe” examines the all-powerful king’s theatrical resolution of the story of “Tartuffe”. Zwillenberg writes “It is so unexpected as to cast doubt upon the dramatic coherence of the entire comedy” (583). Zwillenberg concludes that the “deus ex machina” (583) ending not only brings closure to the stories of Orgon and Tartuffe, but also restores the comedic equilibrium that is upset by Tartuffe throughout the play. I agree in full with Myrna Kogan Zwillenberg’s assertion that the conclusion to “Tartuffe” brings a fitting end to the play in both dramatics and comedy.

People view the church as if it is being hypocritical of its people. Ultimately there was a distrust of institutional religion. The story begins with the characters divided among the house. Orgon and Madame Pernelle, who is Orgon’s mother, are sided with Tartuffe, who is the hypocrite. The opposing view is everyone else in the house that dislikes Tartuffe and wants him to leave for good. The church is represented by Tartuffe, the people who like the church are symbolized by Orgon and his mother, and everyone who is oppose are embodied in he remaining characters. It can be seen that Orgon only cares about Tartuffe when he says, “[…] Has all been well, these two days I’ve been gone?/ How are the family? What’s been going on?” Dorine replies with facts of the house and all Orgon can say is, “Ah. And Tartuffe.” Even when the news about Tartuffe is good yet the family is ill and all Orgon can utter is, “Poor fellow!” This shows how much the church has corrupted its people (Molière

The main subject of Tartuffe is religious false reverence, and the character of the Tartuffe most epitomizes this quality. He over and again claims to be a genuine Cristian when he really is a fake. He indicates to be ethically better than others, when in actuality he acts ethically by attempting to allure Organ spouse, for instance organ sibling Cleante is the good inverse of Tartuffe. Tt the point when Madame Pernelle depicts every relative regarding his or her connection to the unit. They are largely inseparably entwined in the house, and the selling out of one part Orgon has caused or threatens to cause unexpected troublesomeness for them all. Orgon's most noteworthy sin, truth be told, isn't in valuing Tartuffe yet in dismissing his family

Since his wife holds a higher prestige than Dorine, the amount of consideration he has for her is enough to involve him into a plan that exposes the true intentions of Tartuffe. Still before that is in action, Elmire struggled to direct the situation into her own hands, and receive the necessary attention from her husband. She counteracted all of his excuses for Tartuffe to the point that she demands evidence to show the veracity, “You’ve been too long deceived, and I am tired of not being believed. For our contentment, without more ado, you shall observe all we’ve been telling you” (Act IV.Scene 4.1349-1352). In the suggestion of her strategy to substantiate the legitimacy of the real Tartuffe, she is “tired of not being believed”, and guilts her husband into giving her a chance to prove herself right. She has not been treated with the most respect from her husband, and persuades him to “observe all” in order to prove him wrong and “too long deceived”. In the end, Orgon only realizes his own aloofness, and believes all the rumors and warnings from his own

He is also concerned with the wedding of his daughter to the extent that he makes eleven decisions to change the wedding when he feels that the man his daughter is going to marry is not the right person for her. He also decides to give much of the family property to Tartuffe despite the several red lights he has had about his trusted friends. He only has a change of heart when he himself witnesses Tartuffe seducing his wife and that is when he changes his attitude to him. As noted by the playwright himself, the play Tartuffe attacks the vices that were happening in the Enlightenment period by the use of satire and other forms of art to bring out the vices

Moliere's Tartuffe is a satire based on religious hypocrisy. Every character is essential in Tartuffe. All of the characters play an important role, but it is easy to say that Tartuffe and Orgon are the main characters. First, we must know the definition of satire. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, satire is defined as "literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn" ("satire"). In other words, a satire is defined as literary work that uses humor to point out the foolishness of a person or just in human nature. Religious hypocrisy can be self-defined as a false assumption of a person. What follows are examples of how I believe Tartuffe exposes humor

The context surrounding the period in which Tartuffe was written in, the 17th Century is remembered as being a time of extreme power for the French Monarchy. King Louis XIV and Cardinal Richelieu transformed France’s feudal monarchy to an absolute monarchy. What must also be noted about this time is the fact that the Catholic Church and Politicians had a great deal of power over authors and playwrights. In this time of social and religious persecution, Molière created Tartuffe , a comedy dealing with hypocrisy and to a great extent, religion and how religion can be used in a negative way, to mask sin. The play is known to be offensive towards the Catholic Church and religion in general. When it was first performed in 1664, it was censored,

While reading the text or watching the play performed, it is easy for the audience to become frustrated by Orgon. After all, Tartuffe’s hypocrisy seems so obvious to the audience and the majority of Orgon’s relatives. Yet, Orgon is willing to give up his wealth and even disown his family in lieu of upsetting his cherished houseguest, leaving the audience to wonder why. It is no accident that Orgon finds himself at the mercy of the charismatic Tartuffe, as his beliefs and motivations led him to be so easily exploited.

Part Three: Short Answer Response Even though both Tartuffe and Orgon can be said to have personalities or qualities that can identify them as unreliable characters, they still have some differences in some aspects. It is very easy to say that Tartuffe is a hypocrite and liar; however, that is not the same for Orgon. In the past, Orgon had been a royal servant of the king and had served him well. Right before the opening of the play, he was a respectable man who was honored by his family and friends. However, later in the play, he does not behave well.

If I was to choose a character in Tartuffe who served as the hero of the play, I would choose Elmire, who is Orgon's second wife. Elmire sees through Tartuffe's deceit and attempts to open her husband's eyes to see the reality of the situation at hand. In the beginning of the play, Elmire played more of a docile role, but in the later half of the play she emerges as a character of remarkable intelligence and ends up becoming the primary character that foils Tartuffe's scheme to steal from their family. Tartuffe's attraction to Elmire equips her with a strategy she can use to expose the evil nature of Tartuffe to Orgon. Elmire expresses her intellectual capacity by forcing Orgon to watch Tartuff flirt with her and telling him to get under a