Tartuffe Character Analysis

The role that King Louis XIV plays in Tartuffe, although not a character himself, affects the whole outcome of the play. King Louis XIV was an absolute monarch and was responsible for restoring order in society. The age of reason, 1660-1805, was a time to restore order while finding humor in those who stray away from order. King Louis was responsible for ensuring the safety and order of the country, and we come to learn that his power spreads much further than suspected. By divine right and being an offstage presence, King Louis XIV has the ability to control and assist everyone, whether it is warranted or not. Moliere was specific in mentioning King Louis’ power over the country to foreshadow his role in Tartuffe. Instead of appealing to the King to save the day in a believable fashion, Moliere creates a comical play to allow the audience to come to the realization themselves.

Established within Act Three are Tartuffe’s true motives, which reveals his disgraceful nature and his desires of lust towards Elmire.(Wilbur) Such as, Tartuffe states during scene three, “I thereupon surrendered to your beauty...Love without scandal and, pleasure without fear.”(Wilbur) This scene holds a significant impact in the play, by confirming that the family’s complaints against Tartuffe have been justified and that Orgon is certainly being manipulated. As well as, this recognition of Tartuffe's false nature reveals the severity of Orgon’s arrogance. Moliere highlights within the second half of the play, the extremes of pride and how mankind struggles to face it.

I am a white gay man. Before I begin my analysis, I want to recognize the parts of my privilege. I am not going to be using any other lense other than my own, therefore I thought it was important to preface that before I started my research. This essay will be about gender and race, and the intersectionality of it through Tartuffe (1664) and The Octoroon (1859).

In the play, “Tartuffe”, by Moliere, 17th century European society is satirized by personifications of standards at the time. This includes Mariane, the damsel in distress and obedient to her father, Orgon, who puts too much trust in religious figures, and most importantly, Dorine, the saucy, feisty, bright maid. In Moliere’s “Tartuffe”, Dorine is affected by the standards of being a servant, but she defies these expectations by being the voice of reason in the midst of the crisis, taking matters into her own hands to stop Tartuffe, and having close relations with Mariane.

Cleante and Dorine represent the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers. Cleante was not fooled by the Tartuffe, and recognized him for who he was, right off the bat. He politely and carefully tries to warn Orgon of who is messing with. But Orgon does not listen to him. Orgon says to Cleante, when Cleante is trying to talk some sense into him, “If only you could know him as I do, you would be his true disciple, too. The universe, your ecstasy would span. This is a man… who… ha!... well such a man. Behold him. Let him teach you profound peace. When we first met, I felt my troubles cease. Yes, I was changed after I talked with him. I saw my wants and needs as just a whim! Everything that's written, all that’s sung, The world and you and me, it's all dung! Yes, its crap! And isn’t that a wonder! The real world- it’s just some spell we’re under! Hes taught me to love nothing and no one! Mother, father, wife, daughter son- They could die right now, I’d feel no pain.”(Moliere 152). Cleante simply replies, with sarcasm, “What feelings you’ve developed, how humane.”(Moliere 152) Cleante uses such sarcasm responding to Orgon, because, he sounds ridiculous, and Cleante knows it. Cleante is able to think for himself, rather than looking to someone else for answer, and he tried to solve the problem by talking to Orgon about his admiration for Tartuffe. Dorine seems to be the most

In fact, the text before the actual story explains that Molière uses satire and humor to “comment on his own immediate social scene, imagining how universal patterns play themselves out in a specific historical context” (Molière). Because of this, the king of France was made by the Catholic Church to have Tartuffe banned. He is seen, at first, by some of the household members, specifically Orgon and his mother, Madame Pernelle, as this pure, kind-hearted man. As the story progresses, it slowly becomes apparent that Tartuffe is not the person some characters have made him out to be. For example, the first time we get a feel for the idea is in scene 1.4 where Dorine begins to list off Tartuffe’s action as Orgon asks, “Ah, and Tartuffe?” (Molière). The responses were: “Rosy-nosed and red cheeked, drinking your wine,” “…Not holding back, he ate with great delight, A brace of partridge, and a leg of mutton. In fact, he ate so much, he popped a button,” “…Tartuffe slurped down red wine, all at your cost” (Molière). Orgon always responded, “Poor man!” While all of his actions may have not been a sin, they would be uncommon to see in someone that is a self-proclaimed religious devotee. This is where the notion of false piety takes shape. In scenes 4.6-4.7, Orgon finally sees Tartuffe for who he really is, but he is not holding back after being exposed. He explains that Orgon’s property is now his own and that Orgon must repent because he has offended Heaven by offending him. A statement like that seems it could come from the mouth of an

Tartuffe was written during the enlightenment era, which was around the 17th century by Jean-Baptiste Molière. The Enlightenment era was considered the age of reason. Political and social issues were being questioned. People started to move away from religious views. The enlightenment thinkers believed that each person should think for themselves and not believe everything based on religious beliefs. The citizens started to bring into the light the abuse of the clergy. This is evident in Tartuffe. The power of deception is seen throughout the play. Deception is not always bad. Some characters used the theme of deception and reason to uncover Tartuffe’s mask. The characters Dorine, Elmire, Damis,

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Moliere uses satire to emphasize the truth about Tartuffe’s lust for Elmire. In act three, scene three Orgon is hiding underneath the table and hears Tartuffe and Elmire’s

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Molière shows the negative and adverse consequences that can arise when Tartuffe, an imposter, enters a household and ruins the family dynamic present in it before his arrival. From the very moment Tartuffe appears he interfers with the concept of the family as as a stable unit, thus undermining the family structure. Orgon, the household of the family, puts him before his family,

Comedy plays an important role in the majority of Molière’s writing. It sets the tone for the play, entertains the audience and most importantly helps the playwright to achieve their theatrical objectives. In Le Tartuffe the nature of the comedy used is satirical. This essay will examine why Molière was inclined to use this style of comedy and how the comedic techniques accentuate the main theme of the play.

In a sense, the play is a tragedy of the traditional society. It is a tragedy for the society represented by Torvald because that society had been confidently dealing with women in that manner which it regarded as correct and just. Now that a woman has suddenly given it a blow at almost its bases — the religion, traditional values, education, the institution of marriage, and so on — the society is facing a crisis, or a tragedy. If all the women, who are of course treated no better than this, do the same, the whole of the social system would collapse. And the impact would be basically the tragic destruction of the man's basis of happiness.