Molière

Tartuffe Tartuffe by Monsieur Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière is a religious satire that takes place in the home of Orgon, who is one of the main characters and a well-off man in terms of money, at least. The opening lines of the play place the reader in the middle of a family “discussion” about their house guest Tartuffe. However, the discussion is more of a quarrel about Tartuffe’s true character and the two opinions of Tartuffe can be seen immediately in the play as the grandmother, Madam Pernelle is thoroughly convinced that Tartuffe is a pious man while the other family members, excluding her son Orgon, know Tartuffe for the hypocritical tyrant that he is. The naivety, hypocrisy, deceit, and pride that are found in Molière’s Tartuffe highlight the faults that are found in society and the Catholic Church of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. To better understand…

Tartuffe is a theatrical production that is written and was first produced by Molière in 1664. It follows the story of a Parisian by the name of Orgon who happens to be the patriarch of a wealthy and influential family whose world is turned upside down when he decides to shelter a stranger by the name of Tartuffe. The events begin to unravel after Lady Pernelle who is Orgon’s mother chastises him for the sinfulness and depravity of his household; claiming no one recognizes the piety and holiness…

This backfires though and as soon as he tells Tartuffe to leave, Tartuffe immediatley refuses. Tartuffe says, “No, I’m the master,and you’re the one to go!/This house belongs to me, I’ll have you know,/And I shall show you that you can't hurt me/By this contemptible conspiracy,/That those who cross me know not what they do,/And that I’ve means to expose and punish you,/Avenge offended Heaven, and make you grieve/That ever you dared order me to leave(Moliere 131). Tartuffe speaks out to Orgon…

Tartuffe is widely considered Moliere’s finest comedic play, written in 1664. It was considered quite scandalous at the time and King Louis XIV censured it (Scott 2000). The play was subtitled ‘The Imposter’, or sometimes ‘The Hypocrite’. So deeply woven into our intellectual culture is the play, or rather its protagonist, that in both French and English ‘Tartuffe’ has officially become a word. The definition in English is ‘a hypocritical pretender to piety’. This essay will examine Moliere’s…

Tartuffe, by Moliere, revolves around a family structure where tensions escalate due the presence of hypocrisy within the household. This conflicting hypocrisy presents itself in the form of a man known as Tartuffe.(Moliere) While the family dynamic is being challenged by this man’s false nature, an even more concerning theme is initially introduced, this being the correlation between the patriarch and stability. Orgon, the father, is passionately in favor of this man’s false representation of…

In this essay, I will be focusing on the characters Madame Pernelle and Tartuffe. I will be analyzing their personal characteristics, as well as, their interactions with other characters. Also, I will provide evidence as to why they are stock characters and how they are important in the play Tartuffe. Before I get into the analysis, I will first give a brief background of the play Tartuffe and the significance of stock characters. The play Tartuffe was written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who was…

appearances, the evil wizard was able to hide the reality that he was truly a lion on a mission. Though the evil wizard was one of the most manipulative characters, Pigsy and the Dragon both deceived reality with their appearances. Pigsy fooled those of the woman he married into believing he was a hard working young man, but once his true identity of a pig was known they soon became fearful of him. Another instance was when the white dragon was punished for eating the white horse so he was…

fifteenth century, farce became its own genre, originating in France, with such plays as La farce de Maitre Pierre Pathelin dating all the way back to 1470 (www.bartleby.com). Instances of farcical elements, such as broad, ribald humor, physical gesture, and absurd situations will later be the heart of commedia dell’arte, and the core of Molière’s plays. In 1653 Molière’s troupe had their first success when he and the Bejarts performed at the provincial court of the prince de Conti at…

The play opens when Madame Pernelle chooses to go out in light of the fact that she finds their conduct improper and wanton. She sees her grandson Damis as an imp, and her granddaughter Mariane as excessively delicate. It is just the new houseguest, Tartuffe, who acquires her approval. Tartuffe has been welcome to stay by the house's expert Orgon, who is charmed by Tartuffe's appearing devotion. Whatever is left of the family accepts Tartuffe to be a cheat and a liar, however can't persuade…

Orgon, the head of the household in the comedy Tartuffe: a respected man by his friends and family and righteously served the King; he is a rational, sane man but questions emerge when he becomes ludicrous and he is not the same man as he was before. He demonstrates a form of satire because of his strong-willed mind of Tartuffe and then being tricked into the fraudly innocence of Tartuffe. His actions lead to different conflicts within the family which leads us to believe that he is careless…