The Exempt as an Angel After seeing the original version of Moliere’s Tartuffe, in which Tartuffe kept Orgon’s possessions and escaped punishment, King Louis XIV ordered it changed. The new ending featured a now-famous deus ex machina in which one of the king’s officers, referred to as the Exempt, arrested Tartuffe and set everything right on the king’s behalf. In an effort to take covert revenge on the king for his censorship by facetiously comparing him and the God of the state religion, Moliere wrote the Exempt’s character to represent a Biblical angel coming to Earth to carry out and praise the will and the power of God. Even though the Exempt was the one physically present to arrest Tartuffe and save the family from a very dire situation, …show more content…
Even if one assumes the stated abilities of the king merely to be virtually infallible intuition, the manner in which the Exempt describes and praises them still elevates them to a godlike pedestal. The Bible specifically orders people not to “put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing” (Psalm …show more content…
Shortly before Orgon saw his true nature, Tartuffe began to make statements condemning people and offering his personal ideas of what God’s will should be as if they were the genuine judgements of God. Insinuating that anybody that opposed him opposed God, Tartuffe told Cleante, “Heaven’s best interests will have been served, / When wrongdoers have got what they deserved” (Moliere 49). Tartuffe had just manipulated Orgon into disowning Damis and then claimed to have had no part, because it was the will of God. After Cleante called him out on it, he responded by saying of Damis, “Heavens does not ordain that he live here” (Moliere 49). When he later tried to seduce Elmire and she told him she feared the punishment the sin would bring, he said he “knew how to exorcise those fears” and that heaven would approve because he had “pure intention” (Moliere 55). He said, “To sin in private is not to sin at all,” and that he could take her sins and punishment upon himself (Moliere 56). It is well established in the Christian beliefs that France followed that only God could forgive sins and that it did not matter where they were committed; everything he had just said was blasphemous (Mark 2:7). By claiming that he could accept the punishment for her sin, he claimed the ability to perform a feat only Jesus himself had done (1 Peter 2:24). Tartuffe praised and elevated himself to a godlike
In the plot, Cleante is Orgon’s brother-in-law and his main characteristic is being the person who plays the voice of reason in the chaotic situation. To prove this, the journal article titled “The Explicator,” describes Cleante as having the “‘ability to see things clearly is reflected in his ironic comments to Tartuffe’” (Saur 10). Because of this characteristic, Cleante can be viewed as the character who channels Moliere’s thoughts regarding religion. In the journal article, Saur discusses the extent to which Cleante is a “‘mouthpiece of the author’” (9). Saur’s comment can be proven true with relative ease. For example, Cleante discusses with Orgon about Tartuffe, stating “I’m talking about those sanctimonious fellows who use religious zeal to fatten their bank accounts, who attach themselves to the Court while preaching austerity, who adjust their piety to fit their vices. (Moliere 18). In this excerpt, Cleante refers to Tartuffe as a deceptive person who manipulate others by using religion as an excuse. As discussed previously, Moliere makes reference to the real life counterpart, the Cabale des Devots, who uses Christianity as an excuse to carry out their devious plans. In addition, The author inserts himself indirectly into the story by utilizing Cleante as a way to address his opponents’ criticism.
Tartuffe, a con artist, knows that if he can give an answer to the ultimate question then he must be of great importance. Tartuffe uses the established hierarchy and ideology of Orgon’s faith to mold himself into an exemplified “holy” individual. Blinded by his own faith Orgon fails to see through the carefully crafted facade. Tartuffe’s holiness resigns Orgon to, “my heart…surrendered to him” (1.5.24) certifying Tartuffe’s influence over Orgon. When questioning Tartuffe, the other characters are questioning Orgon’s faith. Once established an authority figure’s power will be met with confirmation bias. Nothing will convince Orgon of the deception, rather he will rationalize anything he is told. Tartuffe uses Orgon’s faith to manipulate him into evicting Damis who accused Tartuffe of infidelity by a display of faith: “I beg you on bended knee, to pardon him.” (3.6.40-41) This reaffirms Tartuffe’s holiness to Orgon and through this
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.
Out of the plays that we could have chosen to produce, I have decided to go with Molière’s, “Tartuffe.” This play is a comedy that comes from 17th century France and is heavily influenced by two large sources of experience for Molière. Those sources are the rules and structure for a play put in place by the French academy and the lessons of improvisation taught by the Commedia dell’Arte. This piece is written in fives acts that are in a unique alexandrine style of verse which have 12 syllables in a line and usually ends with rhyming words. The reason I chose this play is because, in my opinion, things like television, movies, plays, and other forms of media and entertainment are meant to transport you away from all the bad things happening in real life and focus you on something fun and/or interesting. I find this play to have a lot of fun moments that can be mined for even more comedy and I think it has the good chance to keep a large audience entertained for a long period of time. To accomplish my goal I will use elements of situational comedies, France in the 1660’s, and one of Molière’s plays, “A school for girls.”
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.
what he was doing, but guilty of the act he commits. He is a good king
Therefore the King was not a victim of fate, as many scholars seem to believe, and that he was never completely controlled by it.
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.
The role of “king” was created and specially chosen by God to watch over and govern the people of his nation. He had to “minister justice and judgment to the people” but at the same time expected unconditional loyalty (2). No matter what actions the king performs and how he governs his people, every individual is expected to obey and accept the acts whole heartily because the word of the king is the word of God. The king is “God on earth, and loving father” who should have “loving and obedient subjects” that are blessed to have him as a king
The play Tartuffe is all about deception. Tartuffe is in fact French for the word “imposter”. Molière uses the character Tartuffe to show how easily somebody can enter your life and cause mayhem. The play takes place in the character Orgon’s house. Orgon is a wealthy father who owns the house where all the action takes place. He is basically obsessed with Tartuffe’s tales of being a “religious ascetic” (Texas A&M University). Orgon and his wife Elmire actually consult Tartuffe first before making any financial decision. This a...
idealistic belief in Tartuffe's saintliness that the reality of Tartuffe's actions goes right over his
First off, is the element of forgiveness. In a book of mistrust, poverty, and hate…forgiveness thrives in the world of Les Miserables. The first example of this was at the very beginning, when Jean Valjean stayed with the bishop. Valjean stole his silver…and ran off. He ends up being caught by police, but when the police questioned the bishop, he claimed to have given the silver to Valjean. Jean was confused…and the bishop claimed that with the silver, he had purchased the convicts soul, and had given it to God, and from that day forward, Valjean must be a good man. Another example of forgiveness goes two ways. Javert, in his relentless pursuit of Valjean, is captured by revolutionaries. In reward for saving the lives of a few of these revolutionaries, Valjean asks for, and gets, permission to take Javert outside, and kill him. Once outside, a small monologue occurs…and Valjean releases Javert, and lets him go free. Valjean just wanted to be left alone in peace, and hoped this act of kindness would change Javert, and make him realize that Valjean was no longer the man he was. The second way…is that in the end, after Javert finally captures Valjean, he lets him go. Since Javert had broken the law… that he loved so dearly, he kills himself shortly thereafter, by jumping into a river.
It is evident from such a diversity of sentiments that the work before us is complex enough to provoke a variety of reactions. On the one hand, Molière made The Misanthrope a comedy, not a tragedy. Alceste, despite his bold railings against the hypocrisy of society, often finds it impossible to set a heroic example in front of his all-too-"civilized" circle. He is no lone upholder of a noble creed forced to martyrdom for his beliefs; in fact, his announcement, at the end of the play, of the martyrdom he is imposing upon himself--exile to "some solitary place on earth/Where one is free to be a man of worth"{6}--makes him look less heroic than ridiculous.
Tartuffe, a comedic play written by the French playwright Molière, is about a seemingly pious man named Tartuffe and his dealings with Orgon and Orgon's household. Molière wrote the play for the purpose of revealing what people with absolute power and “divine power” can do with their power and in the play he both endorsed and critiqued absolutism and the "divine right" of "kings".