Tartuffe Psychology Essay

A Reflection of Psychology in Tartuffe

In Moliere’s play, Tartuffe, the audience is exposed to a rich variety of characters that cause the readers to ask many questions. However, there is one character that seems to stick out the most. In Tartuffe, the audience cannot help but focus on Orgon’s actions and dialogue. For some, he could be seen as being manipulative. For others he appears senseless and absurd, or even obsessive. It is not unusual for audience members to have different perspectives about him among themselves. However, most of the time the audience doesn’t notice the abundance of psychological themes that revolve around Orgon in the play.

One of the more common initial views of Orgon is that he is idiotic. But why would Moliere make a character that is ridiculously oblivious to what’s going on under his nose? According to Kenneth Hada, in his critical essay, “Tartuffe”, Moliere had actually intended for Orgon to represent a lesson to the psychological state of France during the time it was published. Suchandsuch’s essay explains that the mentality of the people

Gaines is that Orgon and his mother “…live in a fear of a celestial anger that could strike at any moment a household unjustly happy.” (Gaines, pg. 323) In the back of their minds, they are afraid that if they don’t live a completely moral life, to the upmost pristine, that they will be punished by God. A possible justification for this type of thought process can be explained by the fact that they have had a blessed life. They are a part of the upper class and, as far as the audience knows, they haven’t had to experience the struggles that might be found in the lower classes, such as hunger. Since they have been grateful enough to have a fortunate life, it is understandable why Orgon and his mother feel almost guilty. But why did they have this notion of punishment in the first place? Again, this has to do with the push for impeccable Catholic