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Discuss Tartuffe as a satirical play
Analysis of Moliere Tartuffe as a satirical play
Analysis of Moliere Tartuffe as a satirical play
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What if in some points in our life we got to look at ourselves through someone else’s eyes; good or bad? How would we evaluate ourself? Through some of the events portrayed in Moliere’s Tartuffe, we see two characters becoming numb to the way they act. Everybody has a blind side and sometimes near disaster is the only thing that will open their eyes. When you are too busy trying to impress others, you blind yourself to your own insecurities. Being young and somewhat blind to the world around you, blinded by your own hopes and dreams to the point you refuse to deal with issues right in front of you, you set yourself up to fail. Become more aware of the heartache you felt the last time you experienced disappointment and you will discover your …show more content…
Part of becoming an adult is to see your flaws and correcting those. This kind of honesty is the greatest protection you can have against others taking advantage of your weakness. If you find them, and expose them to yourself, then it becomes virtually impossible for others to exploit those weaknesses. Like the world in which we live in today each character in Moliere’s Tartuffe are blind to their own faults but easily see the faults in others. So much of what the world is about today, I think this is good inside Moliere puts in his drama just so we could see how we act too. Thankfully despite the weaknesses of the people he rescues, the omnipresent King figure, sees all, knows all, and carries out justice. The kind reveals their blindness, allowing each of the characters to grow through the experience. When a character in the play “Tartuffe” talks about seeing, they aren't talking about actually seeing, but understanding or believing. The problem in the story concerned with not seeing, which is what starts this sequence of events. Orgon refuses to see the fact that Tartuffe is a hypocrite and won't believe it until he sees it with his own eyes near the end of the play. To see how loyal Orgon is to Tartuffe, just look …show more content…
Metaphorically speaking Orgon is becoming numb to what he is doing to his family by his obsession with Tartuffe.The first evidence we have of Orgon’s obsession with Tartuffe is in Act I, Scene IV, when Orgon comes back from being away for a while. Orgon’s brother-in-law, Cleante, wishes to talk to him, but Orgon replies by saying, “Excuse me, Brother; just one moment” (20). He then dismisses his brother-in-law because he wants to learn of any family news; however, it is not his family that he wants to hear about but rather his new guest, Tartuffe. At first, Dorine, the family servant, assumes that Orgon would like to hear about his wife when she answers, “Your wife, two days ago, had a bad fever, and a fierce headache which refused to leave her” (21). Normally, in a situation where a husband learns that his wife is sick, the husband would ask more about her condition and likely show sincere concern, particularly if the illness is of a serious nature. Orgon, on the other hand, is no longer a “normal” husband, due to his obsession with the sly and malicious Tartuffe. It is almost as if a spell has been cast upon Orgon that allows him only to be concerned with Tartuffe. Orgon responds to Dorine’s statement by asking about the object of his obsession, “Ah. And Tartuffe?” (21). Dorine replies, “Tartuffe? Why, he’s round and red, bursting with health,
Tartuffe is the embodiment of the seven sins masquerading as the exact opposite. His gluttony is on display in scene four when Dorine informs Orgon of his overconsumption. Tartuffe has blinded Orgon to his nature and made him disregard his wife’s wellbeing. Lust and Envy are most likely his greatest follies, leading to his ultimate downfall. Tartuffe accepts Orgon’s daughter as his bride and lust after his wife. Tartuffe makes no attempt to deny the engagement which was conscripted because of his position to Orgon. Tartuffe under the guise of making sure Elaine stay pure reporting her every movement to Odom uses the opportunity to confesses she is his “peace, my solace, my salvation on you depends my bliss-or desolation.” (3.3.79-80) He demonstrates his pride when attempting to seduce Elmire comforting her concerns by telling her “if Heavens is all that holds you back, don’t worry. I can remove that hindrance in a hurry.” (4.7.95-96) Tartuffe so entranced with getting what he wants, he makes the same mistake as Lucifer, calling for action against Heaven. Tartuffe is the embodiment of sloth, acting indifferent towards others in his pursuits; from Elaine being ill to feigning defense of Damis. Tartuffes’s final stop on the “how damned are you” show culminates with wrath and greed. When he is confronted by Orgon after lusting for his wife, Tartuffe divulges his intentions to acquire all Orgon’s
Moliere’s Tartuffe assumed set of social conventions were shaped by all the characters within the play, however the authoritative figure was established depicted by the father, Oregon. Oregon’s character assumed the role of king or lord of his household. He believed that as the head of household, he had the right to rule over his kingdom as he saw fit. His kingdom had to run smoothly in order for it to be effective. No matter how harsh, unfair and painful it was for his, wife daughter or servants.
He refuses to accept the fact that Tartuffe is an imposter and is more of a hypocrite than a reverent man. " My mother, children, brother and wife could die, And I'd not feel a single moments pain.oh, had you'd seen Tartuffe as I first know him, your heart, like mine, would have surrendered to him". Orgon makes this completely irrational declaration regarding Tartuffe. This nonsensical statement proves just how deeply fixated he was with believing that Tartuffe was a righteous and honest individual.
In Tartuffe, Moliere creates a play that is interesting in so many ways. His comedy reflects a lot on the role of men and women within a family. During this time, it was common for the man to be the head of the household and women to be submissive to the men. Men held the power in the family and made all the decisions. In this play, a man's point of view is the only view that matters. All else do not serve an importance. His lack of trust and awareness for other people's feelings and needs has caused great conflict in his family. The actions taken by Orgon and his family members express how this play views marriage and relations between men and women. It is a extremely different view (in some cases) of marriage today in average American family.
In Tartuffe, the nobility (mostly Orgon and his mother) is depicted as being fools because of the way they are easily tricked by the “holy impostor”. When Madame Pernelle praises Tartuffe for being a good holy man, her grandson Damis says “No, look you, madame, neither father nor anything else can oblige me to have any regard for him. I should belie my heart to tell you otherwise. To me his actions are perfectly odious; and I foresee that, one time or other, matters will come to extremity between that wretch and me” (Act 1, Scene 1). This representation of the nobility places them exactly where Louis intended. Spielvogel says that Louis removed the nobles from the royal council and lured them to be part of his court as a way to keep them occupied with trivial matters and out of important roles in politics
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.
This was the age of reason. People at this time began to apply rational thoughts to figure out and understand nature and to guide their human existence. In Moliere’s Tartuffe, this ideal is expressed through the character of the king. In the end, Tartuffe has brought an officer of the king back to take Orgon away. However, in Tartuffe’s attempt to get Orgon arrested, the king saw through him and reasoned that Tartuffe was the one to be accused and put to trial.
To begin, Moliere uses the wife, Elmire, to demonstrate an example of deception. She has such a desire to prove to her husband that Tartuffe has feelings for her and isn’t as pure as he thinks. Taking matters into her own hands, Elmire sets up a plot to deceive Tartuffe and catch him red-handedly. She attempts to make him believe that she too has feelings for him, forcing her husband to hear the whole truth. In scene 4.5 of Tartuffe, Elmire says “Most important, I am completely free to show my ardor for you, finally”. This is textual evidence
During the play, Orgon's wife Elmire appears and Tartuffe, believing them to be alone, makes a proclamation of love towards her and suggests them to become lovers. Damis, Orgon's son, who witnessed such acts overhears and tells his father; however, Orgon denies such a thing could ever happen. He is so blinded by his outlook on Tartuffe that he believes his own son to be evil and disinherits him, leaving Tartuffe the soul heir and land
Tartuffe creates most of the obstacles for himself, as opposed to Candide who runs into them parse. Tartuffe creates every obstacle he has for himself, from beginning to end. With that being said, he creates the obstacles for Elmire and Orgon and at the end of the play the obstacle creates itself for him from someone else and that’s where his optimism subsides. The obstacles that he doesn’t create at the beginning of the story are the characters who don’t believe him such as; Damis, Dorine, Elmire, and Cleante. They create a diversion for Tartuffe that ends up being useful in the long run. Tartuffe is more of a plan person, he creates plans and then uses them to get what he wants. That’s where his optimism subsides. He creates the plans in hopes of them succeeding. That’s what optimism is. That’s what Tartuffe’s optimism is. He chose the people who wanted to pick out and how he wanted to go about it and started from there. Tartuffe creating the obstacle of him admitting his feelings for Elmire, “I felt that I must hide from this temptation:/You. My feelings threatened my salvation” (41). This moment
In Moliere’s Tartuffe, the most important male characters in the play (Orgon, and Tartuffe) appear to be good men to some. Orgon thinks that Tartuffe is a good man and even tries to make his daughter Mariane marry him. Everyone thinks that Orgon is a good person, when in reality he is not. Orgon is stupid and oblivious. He almost forced his daughter into marrying a creepy pervert who does not care about religion or morals. Tartuffe tries to have sex with Elmire, Orgon’s wife. He has no morals and does not care for others. Both of these men are misunderstood in that people think they are good. In these two characters, Moliere is mocking the gaps in other people’s judgement.
She believes that their distaste for Tartuffe stems from his ability to condemn their sins and point out their moral flaws. At Dorines’ intimation that Madame only spends her time so harshly criticizing the world around her due to her fear of abandonment, Madame Pernelle takes her leave, reminding them that they should count themselves fortunate to have such a holy and blessed man such as Tartuffe present among them. Upon her departure, the remaining family puzzles at how their grandmother, as well as their father, could be so blind to Tartuffe’s insincerity, recounting the many instances in which Tartuffe deceived Orgon and Madame Pernelle with his charms. As Cleante leaves to rest, Damis asks her if she would inquire as to the status of Mariane’s marriage to Valere because, should they not wed, Damis would then not be able to marry Valere’s
"Ah. And Tartuffe?"(21). When she tells him of Tartuffe's unconcern and zealous consumption in spite of Elmire's condition, he says, "Poor fellow!" Poor Orgon is so caught up in his own
Orgon is deceived because he cannot or refuses to see Tartuffe for the con artist he is. Tartuffe is hugely successful for most of the play because he is so good at wearing a mask of piety to cover his deception. Orgon regards Tartuffe as his religious guide and is blind to the fact that Tartuffe is deceiving him.
There is much injustice in the play Tartuffe. This injustice as well as the justice that triumphs often comes through the use of language for the purpose of establishing either law or love. Sometimes a character takes on this language by association with other characters, and other times in reaction to the use of this language by other characters. Regardless of the source, language is a common medium for the expression of justice or its opposite. This language is used by characters as a result of the conflict that a male feels as described by Lacan, which more often that not, results in the expression of injustice. The expression of injustice is language-based because the male, by being exposed to language, is thrust into a world of alienation, and has experienced injustice from his first experience with language.