Reading a comedic political satire adds so much positive tension in reading a play from the 17th century. Tartuffe, by Moliere takes place in France during the 17th century. Tartuffe is a French farce which exemplifies as over exaggerated, critical towards the upper class, comedic and pertains to religion, economics/poverty. Tartuffe is a comedy that points out a man's imperfections and weaknesses as a subject matter for laughter and ridicule. Moliere’s unique choice of using stock characters contributed to the technical development of the work. Specifically, Dorine holds the role of the Zanni. The Zanni is the servant who gives comedic relief. Madame Pernelle can fit the category of the pantalone. The pantalone is considered as the merchant …show more content…
When Dorine and Marianne talk back and forth about Marianne having to marry Tartuffe. Dorine’s character gets developed when she states her position in society. Dorine says, “I am your servant”(Act II, Scene III). Through characterization and stichomythia we see Dorine’s character get developed and her stating her position in the society paints a vivid picture for us. We as the audience get more introduced to Dorine’s character and we realize that she isn’t ashamed to admit that she is a servant. Although Dorine is a servant she gets so much voice and power to interject everyone and put herself on a higher pedestal. A minor character such as Dorine characterizes herself as a servant but we realize that she has a significant amount of voice for simply being a …show more content…
Pernelle who is at the top of the social pyramid. While doing so, Dorine reveals the truth about Tartuffe. In the beginning of the play M. Pernelle characterizes each character by saying who they are and their flaws, on top of that Dorine attains this same power of voice when she states her opinion about Tartuffe. Dorine says, “it is a downright scandal to see a stranger exercise such authority in this house, to see a beggar who, when he came, had not a shoe to his foot, and whose whole dress may have been worth twopence”(273). Through dialogue between M. Pernelle, and Dorine, Dorine states her opinion about Tartuffe, characterizing him and giving an opinion M. Pernelle wouldn’t like to hear. Dorine being the minor character she is, reaches the same level of voice as M. Pernelle. This contributes to the development of Dorine’s character. Her characteristics and her level of power for merely being a servant extravagant. A servant in a play doesn’t usually have as much power to speak as Dorine does in Tartuffe. Additionally, Dorine not only portrays as the servant that has the power to mirror M. Pernelles power of voice, but with this she reveals the truth behind Tartuffe. In her dialogue between M. Pernelle she states, “he passes for a saint in your opinion; but believe me, he is nothing but a hypocrite”(Act I, Scene I). Through dialogue, Dorine states clearly that
The most obvious weakness shared between Orgon and Madame Pernelle is gullibility. The trait of gullibility can be seen as a family trait as suggested in an essay on "Tartuffe" : "His mother shares his capacity for self-delusion even after Tartuffe has been found out ("We cannot always judge by what we see")" (Weals). Orgon believes because Tartuffe claims to be a man of God, he should put everything he has into Tartuffe's hands. He proves how much he believes this after Damis tells him that Tartuffe was flirting with Elmire. From this accusation Orgon replies to Damis: "I disinherit you; an empty purse /
Madame Pernelle shows the family trait that she shares with her son when she states: "He's a fine man, and should be listened to. " (I, i, 44), while speaking of Tartuffe. Although they share this trait throughout the play, Orgon's eyes are finally opened at the end of the play while his mother is still held by the farce of Tartuffe. Although Tartuffe is portrayed as the main character of the play, Orgon is the character who should really be paid attention to the most. As suggested in an essay on "Tartuffe" audiences who concentrate on the character who titles the work may miss the author's point: ".vitriol and spleen vented on one man suggests that Moliere's satire of Orgon, nevermind Tartuffe, was steeped in truth.
Tartuffe is nothing more than a traveling confidence man who veils his true wickedness with a mask of piety. Orgon and his mother Madame Pernelle are completely taken in by this charade. On the other hand, Cleante, Elmire, and Dorine see Tartuffe for the fake that he really is. Cleante is Orgon's wise brother who speaks elegantly about Tartuffe's hypocrisy. Through Cleante, Moliere most plainly reveals his theme.
In The Trickster of Seville and His Guest of Stone, Tirso de Molina, a catholic monk, writes a play set in the 15th century in order to critique the aristocratic and patriarchal social order of the Golden Age of Spain. Molina focuses his play on the life of a sinner and the inescapable consequence that comes from living a sinful life. The protagonist of the play is Don Juan, a nobleman and womanizer who gets pleasure from dishonouring women by seducing them through trickery. Don Juan freely leaves multiple women in dishonour including the duchess Isabel, Thisbe, Amnita, a bride to be, and Ana. Being part of the nobility allows him to pleasure himself in taking women’s virtue without fearing punishments or lack of assistance from his lackey
Another defining characteristic is the desire for equality and dignity for all, the thought that all have a set of basic human rights. The Enlightenment also challenged many of the former ideologies, one of which was ignorance. Tartuffe exemplifies these characteristics through the character Dorine. Dorine is Mariane’s lady-maid, in other words, someone with a low social standing because she is a member of the working class, and presumably ignorant because of this low social status. However, in the story, she is much smarter than Orgon and also a lot more reasonable. This shows that it does not matter what social class one comes from to determine their level of intelligence. Her closeness and acceptance by the family, with the exception of Orgon, shows that people can be viewed for their own worth and value. Dorine is someone from a lower social standing than the family, but yet, is able to socialize and befriend the family she works for.
After spending more than half of the play looking down on her employee, the madam decides that she wants to switch places with her maid as part of a game. It is rather ironic how much the play follows the story line of the princes and the pauper. Where two women of different social standing switches places with each other, in order to experiences how their other side lives. It is arguable comedic that the women are able to assume their roles without much effort. The madam really acts the role of the maid, she acts how she believes the stereotypical maid should be, she sits behind her employer and begins to pay more attention to her son. Whereas the maid, clearly states to her employer that it’s not her job to pay attention because she is a “lady”. She puts her the tanning lotion, sunglasses and begins to
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare is a play that is ahead of its time in its views toward gender roles within society. Katherine is a woman who is intelligent, and is not afraid to assert her views on any given situation. She is paired with another obstinate character in Pertuchio. The Marriage formed between the two is a match made in heaven for two reasons. First Because Katherine is strong enough to assert her views, and more importantly, she realizes when she should assert them. The second reason the bond survives is that Petruchio is strong enough to accept the fact that Katherine has a mind and, more importantly he loves her for that reason. Petruchio cleverly weaves the relationship into the framework of society without compromising the integrity of the relationship. Petruchio does this by comparing Katherine’s at attitude to repulsive clothing. Carefully and calculatingly, Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who witness it.
William Shakespeare’s plays often put emphasis on the role of female characters and their influence on the male protagonists. This statement rings true whether it is regarding the impact of Ophelia’s insanity on Hamlet, the devastating results of Romeo’s love for Juliet or the shocking behaviour of Macbeth under Lady Macbeth’s control. Women have always been an integral part of Shakespeare’s works. Similarly, it is no different when concerning the women in the playwright’s quintessential tragedy, ‘Othello’. The play features only three women throughout its course, with each of them representing various levels of class, virtue and intelligence. Desdemona is aristocratic, virtuous, and tenacious; Emilia is a middle class maid, who is manipulated by Iago and loyal to Desdemona; and Bianca is at the bottom of the pile, being described as a frivolous “strumpet” - due to her occupation as a courtesan.
It is in the duality of Orgon, the believing subject, and Tartuffe, the manipulating hypocrite (or impostor), that Moliere takes his digs at the extremes of enthusiastic belief. Tartuffe plays the role of a man whose greedy actions are cloaked by a mask of overwhelming piety, modesty and religious fervor. Orgon is the head of a household who has taken Tartuffe in. We laugh at Orgon because everyone else (except his mother) knows that Tartuffe is a fake. All of Orgon's relatives warn him of Tartuffe's gluttony and of the false nature of his pious proclamations. When Dorine tries to tell Orgon about Elmire's illness, all Orgon can say is,
Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing is, on the surface, a typical romantic comedy with a love-plot that ends in reconciliation and marriage. This surface level conformity to the conventions of the genre, however, conceals a deeper difference that sets Much Ado apart. Unlike Shakespeare’s other romantic comedies, Much Ado about Nothing does not mask class divisions by incorporating them into an idealized community. Instead of concealing or obscuring the problem of social status, the play brings it up explicitly through a minor but important character, Margaret, Hero’s “waiting gentlewoman.” Shakespeare suggests that Margaret is an embodiment of the realistic nature of social class. Despite her ambition, she is unable to move up in hierarchy due to her identity as a maid. Her status, foiling Hero’s rich, protected upbringing, reveals that characters in the play, as well as global citizens, are ultimately oppressed by social relations and social norms despite any ambition to get out.
The play Tartuffe is a comedy written by French playwright Moliere. Most of his plays were meant to critique common behaviors he saw in his society. In Tartuffe, he is criticizing those people who pretend to be very pious and religious, when in fact, they are simply pretending devotion to God to further their own personal desires.
The female characters in Molière’s Tartuffe display feminist behaviors years before the feminist movement emerged historically. Many of their actions, words and behaviors are completely out of character for women of their time. Moliere makes a strong statement with this play by presenting female characters that go against convention. The gender inequality when the Enlightenment began was extreme. The women in this play try to fight against this inequality and in the end it is the patriarch of the family that is fooled by Tartuffe yet most of the female characters remain un-fooled throughout the play. Two of the female characters in this play, Doreen and Elmire play significantly different roles in the home. They have different personalities, different household duties and drastically different social standing. As different as these women are, they both show signs of early feminism. To various degrees they fight for want they believe is right. Dorine speaks her mind openly and does not hold anything back. Elmire is sneakier and uses her sexuality to get what she wants.
This argument was because Mariane wouldn’t stand up to her father when she was told she was to marry Tartuffe. Mariane truly loved Valere. Dorine was the only one to stand up to her father and be Mariane’s voice on marrying Tartuffe. Dorine eventually forgave her for not using her voice. She and Mariane devised a plan that would result in the marrying Valere her true love. Mariane didn’t want to marry Tartuffe she thought he was a pig and that he was fake.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin or better known by his stage name, Moliere, first began performing the play Tartuffe in 1664. The play was received very well by the public of Paris and was also performed for King Louis XIV even though the subject manner was considered controversial for the time. The time period in which Moliere wrote the play in was during the Age of Enlightenment, which was a time when people were beginning to actually think for themselves rather than blindly accept the traditional views. It was also an attempt for people to develop as individuals and become more than just nameless subjects under a monarch. Tartuffe is social commentary on the period before the Age of Enlightenment with a message encouraging individualism and reason. Moliere no longer accepts that people should obey traditions simply because they are traditional and he uses his power and status to fight for the common person that he saw as voiceless against the throne. He uses the situations in the play to shed light on the problems that people face and uses the characters to highlight the problem’s of society that have been transformed into normality. The characters in Tartuffe are used to personify problems within Europe and through them Moliere is able to shift the European peoples’ views during the time of the Enlightenment towards a more free thinking society.
Tartuffe “the Hypocrite”, is one of the most popular comedic plays and was written by Moliere. Throughout the historic play, several different themes are depicted and interpreted through a variety of characters. One of these themes is foolishness. Foolishness is depicted mainly by the character Orgon by his ignorant and gullible characteristics. Another theme interpreted through the characters is religion.