Orgon is marked as the fool of the play as he is completely under the spell of Tartuffe, the con man. It seems as if he is not only a gullible fool but also a hypocrite, perhaps even more so than Tartuffe himself. Orgon is attracted to Tartuffe’s supposed utmost devotion to everything Holy. However, Orgon shows signs of being anything but a man of God just as Tartuffe soon shows himself to be less than devout. He claims to be someone who keeps a Holy household and follows the spiritual laws. However, we see scenes where he has fits of rage. He also shows no love and respect for his own wife and family, as well as being anything but understanding towards those who disagree with him. It is interesting that everything he is claiming to stand for and forcing his family into, is contrary to the actions he is carrying out to stand for Tartuffe. …show more content…
In this situation, Tartuffe could almost be described as a sort of false idol for Orgon. He sees him as someone that can do no wrong and he follows him with blind faith, making everything in his possession available to him. When considering if Orgon was always a hypocrite or simply made into one by Tartuffe’s influence, the answer can be found when he discovers Tartuffe’s true identity. Even after the spell Tartuffe has cast on him is dismantled, Orgon shows hypocritical
Orgon felt pity for him so he decided to let Tartuffe stay in his house. Yet, the moment he moved in everyone saw right threw him, everyone except Orgon. He thought Tartuffe was a righteous holy man. The family
The play successfully conveys this message because Tartuffe is a first-class villain. He is as manipulative as Lady Macbeth, as greedy as Prince John, as underhanded as Modred, and as clever as Darth Vader. Through his every word and deed it becomes more apparent that he is thoroughly bad. More specifically, he not only wants to marry Orgon's daughter, but wants to defile his wife as well. He is not satisfied with living off of Orgon's wealth but wants to possess it. At no time in the play does Tartuffe resemble a truly pious man. The play never mocks God, but only those who use his name to prey on unsuspecting fools.
The central theme of Tartuffe is the exploration of religious hypocrisy in contrast to true Christian virtue. Tartuffe is a hypocrite because he creates an outward appearance of extreme piety and religious devotion, while secretly leading a life of crime and immoral behavior. Throughout the play, various characters refer to Tartuffe as a hypocrite and can see clearly that he does not practice what he preaches. For Example, Tartuffe instructs his servant to tell anyone who asks that he is busy giving out charity to the poor and downtrodden, where as in fact he was attempting to seduce Elmire. Other principal themes throughout the play include Dichotomy of man and mask, where Orgon found Tartuffe on the street as a homeless man preaching of religious faith but he was nothing more than a religious hypocrite. Another theme is the struggle for economic power, where Tartuffe comes from being a homeless man to attempting to become the owner of all the property of Orgon. At the very end of the play there is seemingly another small theme called Deus ex Machina, it is shown when the officer comes in to the play to execute the eviction order, and instead of taking away Orgon, he takes away Tartuffe because of him now being the owner of the property. Then the king, who in Deus ex Machina is considered the god, finds out what Tartuffe
The extreme level of Orgon's devotion to Tartuffe is obvious. At the end of Act I, Scene 2, Dorinne, the maid, remarks on Orgon's complete infatuation with Tartuffe. She tells Clèante, Orgon's brother-in-law that "he's quite loss his senses since he fell / Beneath Tartuffe infatuating spell. / He calls him brother, and loves him as his life, / Preferring him to mother, child, or wife. / In him and him alone will he confide; / He's made him his confessor and his guide" (18). While this appears to be an exaggeration on Dorinne's part, it is soon clear that she is correct. Throughout Act I, Scene IV, Dorinne tries repeatedly to tell Orgon about his wife's illness. He never once expresses concern or sympathy for his own wife Elmire. In contrast, Tartuffe has been eating enough for several men, drinking wine heavily, and sleeping soundly. However, every time Dorinne begins to talk about the fever and headaches, Orgon repeats, "Ah. And Tartuffe?" or "Poor fellow" (20-23). Furthermore, Orgon himself even admits openly that through Tartuffe, his "soul [has] been freed / From earthly loves, and every human tie: / My mother, children, brother, and wife could die, / And I'd not see a single moment's pain" (25). The blindness Orgon exhibits, therefore, robs him of every human sympathy. The loving husband and father
It is obvious to see at this stage in the story that many of the characters are in disbelief that Orgon wishes Mariane to marry Tartuffe. Several of the characters have confronted Orgon about his decision and have given their own opinions on Tartuffe is blindness. There have not been any positive comments or statements made about Tartuffe to Orgon but Orgon stubbornly believes that Tartuffe is a heaven's blessing. As the story progresses, Orgon is left with no other choice, but to believe what is being said. But Orgon learns such wisdom at a near-tragic cost.
Tartuffe is the ultimate hypocrite in this play due to his immoral actions that go against the Catholic ethics, which he preaches. Though he asserts to be religious, righteous, generous, he is in fact, deceitful, avaricious, and immoral (Cashman 80). Tartuffe hypocrisy is contagious, dangerous, and has a negative impact to those surrounding him; it affects Orgon by destabilizing his entire family and making them believe him as a supposedly spiritual man. Furthermore, those who result in believing him grow into pretenders. For example, Madame Pernelle who preaches Christian kindness, assaults her house help, whereas, Orgon commits wickedness against his household. Notably, some characters, such as Elmire, Dorine, and Cleante are strongly against Tartuffe’s hypocrisy. Both Dorine and Cleante employ rhetoric linguistic to attempt to contradict Tartuffe, and although their opinions are coherent, it is hard to triumph against him. Elmire notes, “You see him as a saint. I’m far less awed…in fact, I see right through him. He is fraud” (1.1.23). This aims to expose Tartuffe for what he truly is, by exploiting his lust for her to attest his insincerity to his spouse Orgon.
From this scene, there is clear evidence showing how Tartuffe is a hypocrite. Here, he preaches about the importance of chastity; however, in the scene that follows, he goes against this statement when he tries to pursue Elmire. Tartuffe tries to persuade Elmire to cheat on Orgon, but she comes up with a plan to expose Tartuffe's true personality to Orgon as well as to show him how Tartuffe was trying
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. Orgon's command shows how men are dominate
Orgon's family and friends believed by now that there was no hope in helping him realize the deceit that was going on right under his nose. Orgon decided that giving his daughter to Tartuffe would be the ultimate gift, and hearing this Elmire decided that it best to try to reason with Tartuffe to make Orgon keep his promise to Valere with his daughters hand in marriage. Orgon's character is drawn as that of being naive and ignorant, and displays this when he refers to Tartuffe as blood and tells the story of Tartuffe when he first met him with him asking for money, and then saying he only needed a little not the large amount Orgon gave. " nd how austere he is! Why, he can detect a moral sin where you would least suspect."(Moliere 26). In Elmire and Tartuffe's meeting Damis hiding behind the curtains hears the foul confessions of the holy one's love for Elmire and decides to come our and catch him. Damis tells Orgon of Tartuffe's confessions and the manipulator that Tartuffe is convinces Orgon that is just a plot against him. Orgon as angry as he is makes a stupid mistake "This very day, I'll give to you alone Clear deed and title to everything I own"(Moliere 48). This mistake alone cost Orgon his son, and his family's support. Elmire's plan to call out Tartuffe one more time in front of Orgon to show there was a wolf among them worked, and Tartuffe showed his true colors for Elmire by asking for acts of true caring if her feelings were true for him made
But once Tartuffe is unmasked and his hypocrisy discovered, Orgon reverses himself and determines to hate and persecute all pious men. Orgon in the play seems to represent man's extravagant and uncontrollable nature, which never takes the right and rational direction, but instead, constantly shifts between absurd extremes.
Tartuffe’s Orgon is probably one of the most naïve characters to have graced a play. His never-ending belief that Tartuffe is some God among men is ridiculous. Orgon believes that Tartuffe is actually, “no loftier soul since time began” (Moliere 114). His son did not even have a chance to reverse the way he felt about Tartuffe. After pleading Orgon to come to his senses, Orgon immediately shuns and scours Damis for trying to falsify Tartuffe’s divine nature. He responds to his son with “Ah, you deceitful boy, how dare you try to stain his purity with so foul a lie?” (Moliere 134).
At this moment, we see that Tartuffe is two-faced and he knows that Orgon will believe what he has to say considering he is a saint. Orgon confronts Tartuffe and in disbelief Tartuffe admits what he has said and continues to tell Orgon what a bad person he is. Orgon then is disappointed with Damis for telling a "lie" and questioning Tartuffe's purity. Orgon is too blind to see that Damis is telling the truth, because he is so sure that Tartuffe could not commit such a sin. As the play continues, in Act IV Scene III, Elmire offers for Orgon to hear for himself.
He is at the beginning of the play seen as a God like figure, particularly to Orgon and Madame Pernelle, by this he is strong and inspirational, however, when he does realises he has been found out for being in the wrong, his persona changes to guilty and even vulnerable. This is shown in Act III scene 6 when Damis accuses Tartuffe of trying to seduce Elmire, Tartuffe uses reverse psychology to win Orgon over by confessing the all things awful, to an extent in which Orgon begins to sympathise with him. It is clearly shown that Tartuffe goes to the absolute extreme when he apologises to Orgon;
She sees through Tartuffe’s deceit and tries to explain that to Madame Pernelle in the opening scene. “So you think he’s a saint. That’s what he wants. But he’s a hypocrite and merely flaunts This so-called godliness” (Molière; 1.1.73-75). We see this again when she gives Cléante additional insight into Orgon and Tartuffe’s relationship and how Tartuffe is using Orgon. “But what’s evil Is seeing the deception and upheaval Of the master and everything he owns. He hands him money. They’re not even loans—He’s giving it away. It’s gone too far. To watch Tartuffe play him like a guitar!” (1.2.37-42). Time and time again Dorine interjects herself to steady the madness around her. After Orgon tells Mariane that she will marry Tartuffe, Dorine intervenes and encourages Mariane and Valère to remain faithful to their love for each other until she can find a way to keep Mariane out of the arranged marriage to Tartuffe. “Here. Take each other’s hand and make a link. You love each other better than you think. . . This marriage to Tartuffe would be a crime, We have to stop it. . . He’ll take the pressure off, thereby freeing All of us to find a workable plan To keep you from a marriage with this man” (2.4.113-131). Without Dorine’s persistent involvement the play would of ended in a different