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Tartuffe
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Religious Hypocrisy and Its Effect on Others
In 17th-century France, King Louis XIV was known as the God-given king of a Catholic nation that had just recently let the Protestants unite peacefully with the rest of the nation. Influenced by the religious people around him, Molière constructed a satire of the overly pious with the character Tartuffe, a name that implies “hypocrite” or “imposter.” Throughout the play, Tartuffe behaves with extreme virtue on the surface with immoral intentions erupting underneath, ultimately inciting chaos and immorality around him, especially in Orgon.
When Tartuffe appears in Act III, his first act is to cover up Dorine in order to avoid “sinful thoughts.” Here, he encourages a mask of sorts for Dorine. Then, in a matter of minutes, his hand is “feeling [Elmire’s] gown; the stuff is very soft” (92). His flirtations with Elmire lead to chaos, including Damis’s shattered relationship with his father. To fix the mess that Tartuffe started, Elmire feels compelled to lie about her feelings for Tartuffe and flirt outside her marriage to show Orgon Tartuffe’s true self.
Orgon is so taken in by Tartuffe’s long, showy prayers on his knees as well as his “deep-drawn sighs and great ejaculations” that he begins to treat Tartuffe as a false god (31), a clear violation of the Ten Commandments. Dorine says that “Orgon calls [Tartuffe] brother, loves him a hundred times as much as mother, son, daughter, and wife” (22). Orgon’s actions confirm Dorine’s statement when he chooses to believe Tartuffe over his son and wife in Act III, even forcing his son to vacate the house. The rest of the family helps to counsel Orgon back to the right and just path away from Tartuffe, especially Cleante, who questions, “Will you find no difference between hypocrisy and genuine devoutness? And will you treat them both alike? (33).
It takes a five-act play before the wholeness of Tartuffe’s hypocritical mask falls apart and Orgon is able to again prioritize his family, who can finally unite under the happy and morally sound circumstances of Mariane and Valère’s wedding.
The Comedic Potential of the Unconventional Family Unit
At Tartuffe’s core is the family unit, full of disparate members with particular quirks, given their influence from Commedia dell’arte stock characters, and opposing viewpoints as well as varying genders and social classes that make it ripe for comedy. Orgon’s particular family is made up of his mother, maid, brother-in-law, and wife, who is stepmother to his adult children, all of whom have an active voice in what happens in the household.
At the top of the play, matriarch Madame Pernelle labels the family “perfect pandemonium” and has an admonishment for each one, giving the characters much potential for physicalized facial reactions and commentary. After Madame Pernelle’s exit, Elmire’s rational brother Cleante tells feisty maid Dorine, “I won’t escort her down, for fear she might fall foul of me again” (21). These three characters are not blood related but are connected out of their love for the core family unit, particularly their concern for Orgon’s absurd obsession with Tartuffe.
In Act II, when a stubborn Orgon tells an emotional Mariane that she must marry Tartuffe instead of Valère, wily Dorine is present, interjecting her thoughts on what a bizarre decision this is even though it is not in her job description. The scene visually presents a conversation between Orgon and Mariane with Dorine comically inserting herself on the side or in the middle, expressing her concern for the happiness of Mariane (a fellow woman living in patriarchal society): “There, there, don’t take your father seriously; He’s fooling” (46).
A family unit can be defined in various ways, and this particular hegemony of characters leads to a comical dysfunction that invokes prior theatrical traditions and perpetuates a sense of universality. By watching each character, audiences today can perhaps find connections to their own personality traits.
Like Father Like Son
Orgon and Damis are ruled by their tempers throughout the play, suggesting a genetic connection between the males of the family. Often, they are both at the ready to ball up their fists and fight. These two characters also find themselves hiding and then bursting forth from a space, just as their anger bursts forth from their mouths in their strong words to other characters in the play.
In Act III, Damis hides without Elmire and Tartuffe knowing. Witnessing Tartuffe seduce his stepmother enrages him. Emerging from the closet, Damis shouts, “No I say! This thing must be made public” (99). Then, he proceeds to tell Orgon what he saw upon his arrival. Orgon matches his son’s anger level and responds with “Off with you! Leave my house this instant, sirrah, and never dare set foot in it again” (107). Because of his status as the father, Orgon’s anger has the final say.
In Act IV, after Orgon witnesses Tartuffe’s betrayal, he crawls out from under the table and busts out with, “That is, I own, a man…abominable!” (135). Even at the end of the play when the officer has punished Tartuffe and is leading him away to prison, Orgon, in his anger, still wants to get in a punch or a kick. His emotion desires a physical action.
Based on the two examples above, it seems that the characters’ tempers flare when indiscretion, particularly between Elmire and Tartuffe, takes place. This hotheadedness appears to be confined to the father and son without passing on to Mariane, perhaps suggesting that a hot temper is a masculine trait that accompanies the power men wielded in 17th-century France.
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