Tartuffe By Moliere Essay, Research Paper

Moliere?s neoclassic comedy, Tartuffe, is a prime example of his expertise in

the comedic technique. The plot is one that keeps the reader or viewer

interested and aware. It begins with Madame Pernell visiting her son?s house

and reprimanding all of them but their boarder, Tartuffe. She believes Tartuffe

is a man of astounding character. The members of the house, however, disagree

and say that Tartuffe is deceitful and a fraud. After Madam Pernell leaves,

Dorine and Cleante, the maid and the brother-in-law of the main character, Orgon,

discuss Tartuffe and both agree that he has captivated Orgon. Damis, Orgon?s

son, wonders whether his father will allow Mariane, Orgon?s daughter, to marry

Valere, who she is in love with, because Damis is in love with Valere?s

sister. Orgon comes and tells Mariane that he wants her to marry Tartuffe

instead of Valere because he wants to ally Tartuffe to his house. She is so

shocked that she does not say anything. Cleante tries to tell Orgon about

Tartuffe?s misleading personality, but Orgon does not want to hear it. Valere

finds out about this proposed marriage, and Dorine promises to help Mariane and

Cleante expose Tartuffe for the hypocrite he is. Meanwhile, Damis has a plan to

hide in a closet to try to expose Tartuffe?s hypocrisy. He hears Tartuffe

profess love to Elmire, Orgon?s wife, and suggests that they become lovers.

Damis comes from the closet and threatens to tell Orgon what he has said. Damis

then tells Orgon, and Orgon is so blind to the truth, that he believes his own

son is evil and disinherits him. Later, when Orgon and Tartuffe are alone, Orgon

tells Tartuffe of his plans to make him his sole inheritor and his son-in-law.

After this, Cleante tries to talk to Orgon about Tartuffe and he confronts

Tartuffe in front of Orgon. Tartuffe just dodges the questions, though, and

leaves as soon as possible. Elmire then convinces Orgon to hide and find out for

himself about Tartuffe, so he does so. Tartuffe comes to see Elmire and once

again professes his love. Orgon hears it all, comes from the closet, and bans

Tartuffe from his house. Orgon, however, has already signed over his house to

Tartuffe and Tartuffe threatens him with this. Orgon is afraid because he has

given Tartuffe some secret papers that could ruin his position in the court.

Tartuffe comes back later with officers of the court to try to get Orgon?s

house, but the king has seen through Tartuffe and sides with Orgon. Tartuffe is

ordered to be arrested and the story ends. This production seems to be about the

blindness of Orgon and how easily a person can deceive another. Tartuffe has

fooled nobody but Orgon ? the man who has the power and wealth in this

situation. The characters in this play all play a certain role in the plot.

Elmire, Orgon?s wife, presents a reasonable attitude towards life and the

situation. She was the only one able to convince Orgon to see for himself that

Tartuffe was a hypocrite. She wants nothing but to save her husband from

Tartuffe?s control. Damis, Orgon?s son, is the unlucky soul to take the

blame for his father?s misjudgment of Tartuffe. In trying to help his father,

he loses his trust and his ties to him. He wants to keep Tartuffe away from his

family, but the only thing he succeeds in doing is losing his inheritance.

Mariane is the lovely daughter, who is going to be forced to marry a man she

does not love or even like. She is part of Orgon?s plan to make Tartuffe a

member of the household, whether she likes it or not. She just wants to marry

the man she loves. Cleante is Orgon?s brother-in law. He tries to get everyone

to view the situation with calm and reason. He wants the best for Orgon and his

family. Tartuffe is the imposter who weasels his way into Orgon?s inheritance

and then betrays him. He is only looking for the money and is a very greedy man.

Orgon is the central character that comes under the influence of Tartuffe. His

only want seems to be to make Tartuffe an ally to his house. He is blind to the

real situation and seems to have no common sense and no trust in his family and

what they are telling him. He is duped by Tartuffe, and is only saved by those

he would not listen to before. He is a complex man who makes the story what it

is. Tartuffe is a man of deceit and lust. He lusts for money and this is what

becomes his final downfall. He is the villain of the production, which is

obvious to both the audience and those in the story, except for Orgon and Madam

Pernell. He is a master of disguising his true self. As a religious devotee, he

convinces Orgon and Madam Pernell that he is a pious and humble man. He is a

superior in the fact that he can recognize his victims weaknesses and play on

them. He exploits these flaws for his own advantages. Tartuffe is far from a

simple man. He is very alert and uses all methods possible to reach his goal. In

the production we watched the actor playing Tartuffe brought these

characteristics to life. He was very successful in portraying the extreme

insincerity of Tartuffe. His behavior portrayed one who betrays. There was such

a complete change in attitude and behavior when he would be with someone such as

Cleante than when he was with Orgon. His voice would become more sincere

sounding (even though we know it truly was not) and he would soften his whole

personality when he was with Orgon. I found it remarkable how accurately he

portrayed Tartuffe. I believe he was extremely successful in bringing

Tartuffe?s character to life.