17th century literature:

Molière

[Part 2]

Molière's play Tartuffe (also sometimes referred to as The Imposter) is a masterwork by France's most celebrated comic playwright. Tartuffe is set in the realm of seventeenth-century Parisian high society during the reign of King Louis XIV. In Tartuffe, Orgon, a wealthy family man, takes in a stranger by the name of Tartuffe to stay in his home. Tartuffe appears to be an extremely pious and devout man of religion, and Orgon regards him almost as a saint. Orgon offers Tartuffe his best food and drink and places the needs of his guest above those of his wife and children. He plans to force his daughter to marry Tartuffe and to disinherit his son in order to make Tartuffe the sole heir to his fortune.

All of Orgon's friends and family regard Tartuffe as a con man who only pretends to be of the highest moral authority but who does not practice what he preaches. Orgon is warned that Tartuffe may be deceiving him in order to gain both financially and socially, but Orgon is blind to these warnings. Orgon finally learns that he has been betrayed by his guest when he overhears Tartuffe trying to seduce his wife. However, when he orders Tartuffe to leave his house, Tartuffe seeks revenge by trying to seize all of Orgon's property and to have Orgon arrested. In the end, through the intervention of the King, Tartuffe is arrested, and harmony is restored to Orgon's household.

The character of Tartuffe represents those members of society who preach religious piety but do not themselves live by the morals they try to force upon others. Because the play focuses on the issue of religious hypocrisy, it was highly controversial at the time it was written and was banned from public performance for five years.

Religious Hypocrisy versus True Christian Virtue

The central theme of Tartuffe is the exploration of religious hypocrisy in contrast to true Christian virtue. Tartuffe is a hypocrite because he creates an outward appearance of extreme piety and religious devotion while secretly leading a life of crime and immoral behavior. Throughout the play, various characters refer to Tartuffe as a hypocrite and can see clearly that he does not practice what he preaches. For example, Tartuffe instructs his servant to tell anyone who asks that he is busy giving out charity to the poor and downtrodden-whereas, in fact, he is busy trying to seduce the wife of his friend. Tartuffe also displays an outward show of religious devotion by assuming a stance of moral authority and telling everyone else in the household how to behave.

In contrast to Tartuffe's hypocritical behavior in regard to religious devotion, Molière offers a view of true Christian virtue in the character of Cléante. Throughout the play, Cléante expresses ideas about true Christian virtue as opposed to religious hypocrisy. Cléante points out to Orgon that there are many people leading truly virtuous lives who do not feel the need to prove to everyone else how devout they are.

Furthermore, Cléante points out that "The truly pious people ... are not the ones who make the biggest show." Cléante adds that "True piety's not hard to recognize"; he describes those genuinely moral people who, rather than showing off their religious devotion, "practice what they preach," in the sense that they "judge with charity and wish men well" and "mainly seek to lead a virtuous life."

Cléante comments that he feels no need to show off his religious devotion for others to see because "Heaven sees my heart." In the final moments of the play, Cléante again demonstrates his deeply felt devotion to Christian morality, particularly the value of forgiveness. When Orgon learns that Tartuffe has been arrested for a long list of crimes, he begins to voice his desire to see Tartuffe suffer for his betrayal. However, Cléante cuts Orgon off in mid-sentence in order to point out that he should not desire revenge against Tartuffe but should hope that Tartuffe will repent for his sins and even that he will be granted a lighter sentence by the King. Cléante thus voices the play's message regarding the difference between living a truly virtuous life and being a religious hypocrite who does not practice what he preaches.

Obsession and excess versus reason and moderation

The value of moderation and reason in all things, as opposed to excess and obsession, is an important theme running throughout Tartuffe. Tartuffe himself is a figure representing the dangers of excess; he is depicted as a glutton-a man whoeats and drinks immoderately at the expense of another man. Orgon is also a man of excess, although his excess takes the form of obsession. Orgon becomes so obsessed with Tartuffe that he loses all sense of reason and, as a result, nearly destroys his own family.

Even after Orgon learns of Tartuffe's true nature as a fake and a hypocrite, his first response is extreme; he determines that he will never trust another man again and will curse all those who claim to be virtuous. Cléante, however, represents the voice of reason in pointing out to Orgon that moderation in all things is better than extremes; he tells Orgon, "You are never content with moderation ... you fly back and forth between extremes." Cléante advises Orgon that the lesson to be learned from his experience with Tartuffe is not to curse all men who appear to be good but rather to carefully avoid all extremes of behavior and judgment and to act less impulsively. As with the matter of religious hypocrisy, Cléante voices a central message of the play, that moderation and reason in all things is better than extremes or obsessions of any sort.

Loyalty and devotion versus disloyalty and betrayal is another theme in Tartuffe. Tartuffe betrays Orgon's trust and friendship in every way. Whereas Orgon offers Tartuffe his friendship, his home, his food, his confidence, his fortune, and his daughter, Tartuffe uses Orgon for the purposes of his own material and social gain.

Tartuffe takes advantage of Orgon's generosity and devotion by trying to seduce his wife, seize his property, and have him arrested. Under the influence of Tartuffe, Orgon himself temporarily betrays his own family.

Orgon betrays both Mariane and Valère when he breaks off their engagement-to which he had previously consented-in order to make Mariane marry Tartuffe. Valère, by contrast, represents the virtues of loyalty, devotion, and friendship. Valère demonstrates his deep devotion and loyalty to Orgon when he takes a great personal risk in order to save Orgon from being arrested. Valère arrives at Orgon's house with a carriage and advises him to flee immediately in order to evade arrest. Valère also gives Orgon a large sum of cash to facilitate his escape and promises to accompany him on his journey. Valère thus risks being himself arrested for aiding Orgon's flight from the law. In the final lines of the play, Orgon states that he will reward Valère's "deep devotion" by planning his wedding to Mariane.

The theme of loyalty is also addressed in Tartuffe in terms of Orgon's regard for the King. In the end of the play, Orgon is pardoned by the King for concealing the strongbox of documents, because he had fought courageously on the side of the King during the civil wars in France (known as the Fronde). Thus, while Tartuffe in the end is punished for his betrayal of Orgon, Valère and Orgon are rewarded for their acts of loyalty and devotion.

Deception

Deception is a recurring theme in Tartuffe. Tartuffe himself is a master of deception, successfully deceiving Orgon into believing he is a virtuous man. Tartuffe is sometimes referred to by the title "Tartuffe, or "The Imposter."

An imposter is one who fools others into thinking that he is someone other than who he really is. Tartuffe turns out to be a sort of professional imposter who has committed a long list of crimes under various false identities.

As in many of Molière's plays, the symbol of the social mask is central to Tartuffe.

The mask symbolizes the ways in which people tend to present an outward appearance to others that hides their true nature. The mask is a recurring motif in Tartuffe through which Molière explores the theme of deception.

Throughout the play, various characters refer to the idea of the social mask in relation to Tartuffe.

He puts on a pious mask in order to gain financially from Orgon's devotion to him. Cléante later points out to Orgon that he has made the mistake of taking Tartuffe's "mask" of piety for the face of his true nature; Cléante tells Orgon that he must learn to distinguish between such false appearances and the true intentions of those around him.

After Orgon learns that Tartuffe has been tricking him, Cléante suggests that, in the future, he learn to "strip off the mask and learn what virtue means"-in other words, to learn to distinguish between outward appearances and inner character.

Censorship

Censorship and Molière's Tartuffe have run hand in hand since the very first production of the play, which scandalized ecclesiastical authorities to the point of banning the play for many years. Many studies on the work examine the trials and tribulations that Molière underwent in order to stage the work. Molière had to rework the play no less than three times over the course of five years in order to have the production finally staged.

However, in spite of Molière's extensive changes, there is still an allegorical criticism of authority, especially a patriarchal monarchy which runs throughout the play. Considering the era in which the play was staged, Molière could not have helped but step on a few toes in writing Tartuffe; the comedy, which originally poked fun at religion, when combined with the low regard for theater in general, was bound to cause offense no matter what the author's true intent.