Nicole Lloyd
Nicole Jobin
HIST 1012
2 February 2016
Tartuffe Essay In reading and watching the 17th century French play Tartuffe, written by Moliere, I was sucked into the depths of the Restoration Period and was able to get a glimpse of what life was like in Europe around 1660. This play was written during a time in which women were unfortunately considered inferior to men, and were often found objectified by men in all aspects within society. During this period, women were expected to perform and fulfill typical duties within a household as wives or mother figures, while the men continued to control the rest of society and its inner workings. A particular character that stood out to me with the knowledge of this background information was …show more content…
Tartuffe is one of the main characters, and the majority of the plot is based around him and his conniving, manipulative, and hypocritical actions. The interaction between Elmire and Tartuffe is quite interesting and ends up eventually switching the entire scheme of the play. In act 4, scenes 4-8, Elmire tells her husband Orgon that she will prove to him that Tartuffes intentions to marry his daughter are not pure. Elmire accomplishes this devious bust through a carefully thought out scheme that will catch Tartuffe red handed right in front of Orgon. As she calls for Tartuffe, she tells Orgon to quickly get under the table and to listen to the astonishing interactions between herself and Tartuffe above. Elmire, being quite the actress, was able to get Tartuffe to believe every last word that rolled off her tongue, and admit everything that she needed him to in order to solidify her proof. She did such a good job in fact, that by making him so hungry with desire in the heat of the moment, she got him to reveal the exact statements she needed to confirm her claim that he is indeed a big hypocrite. Tartuffe, without hesitation, came onto Elmire with a sole drive for pleasure, exemplifying how men objectify women, while completely disregarding the current situation between himself and Marianne. Not to mention that Elmire has a husband, Orgon, which adds to the
Nicole Jobin
HIST 1012
2 February 2016
Tartuffe Essay In reading and watching the 17th century French play Tartuffe, written by Moliere, I was sucked into the depths of the Restoration Period and was able to get a glimpse of what life was like in Europe around 1660. This play was written during a time in which women were unfortunately considered inferior to men, and were often found objectified by men in all aspects within society. During this period, women were expected to perform and fulfill typical duties within a household as wives or mother figures, while the men continued to control the rest of society and its inner workings. A particular character that stood out to me with the knowledge of this background information was …show more content…
Tartuffe is one of the main characters, and the majority of the plot is based around him and his conniving, manipulative, and hypocritical actions. The interaction between Elmire and Tartuffe is quite interesting and ends up eventually switching the entire scheme of the play. In act 4, scenes 4-8, Elmire tells her husband Orgon that she will prove to him that Tartuffes intentions to marry his daughter are not pure. Elmire accomplishes this devious bust through a carefully thought out scheme that will catch Tartuffe red handed right in front of Orgon. As she calls for Tartuffe, she tells Orgon to quickly get under the table and to listen to the astonishing interactions between herself and Tartuffe above. Elmire, being quite the actress, was able to get Tartuffe to believe every last word that rolled off her tongue, and admit everything that she needed him to in order to solidify her proof. She did such a good job in fact, that by making him so hungry with desire in the heat of the moment, she got him to reveal the exact statements she needed to confirm her claim that he is indeed a big hypocrite. Tartuffe, without hesitation, came onto Elmire with a sole drive for pleasure, exemplifying how men objectify women, while completely disregarding the current situation between himself and Marianne. Not to mention that Elmire has a husband, Orgon, which adds to the