Tartuffe As a Social Type
Moliere created Tartuffe as a character that meant to depict one of the most widespread problems of the French society in 17th century – religious hypocrisy. The name Tartuffe translates as a liar from one of the French dialects. However, over the centuries this name became a common name for all kind of double-faced social types of behavior and hypocrisy. Catholic Church and Monarchy defined every level of French social structure in 17th century and as such Moliere’s Tartuffe is a person, who exaggeratedly using these strict morals and principles of religion in order to present himself as a “saint,” and thus, to manipulate his way in society.
Throughout the play Tartuffe has clearly defined characteristics. He has distinctly stated goals in his life. In the beginning of the play we are told that he started out as a starved “wretched pauper” (p.356), transforming himself throughout the play towards the last scenes, where he nearly reaches his goal and becomes “a lord and master” (p.359) of Orgon’s estate. It is undeniable, that Tartuffe is smart and very determined in his ambitions. But foremost, he possesses excellent psychoanalytical skills. He shows good knowledge and understanding of social structure and people’s character, which instantly helps him to identify weaknesses in others and how to manipulate them towards his own interest. The most obvious example is his relations with Orgon. Orgon is a wealthy patriarch, whose opinion is the only one that matters in the family. Therefore, Tartuffe’s first milestone goal is to be adored and highly praised by Orgon, despite other family members’ opinions.
Orgon’s life is determined by his religious beliefs. He looks at religion as a way to become a better human being. Thus, having such a “saint” as Tartuffe as a mentor brings Orgon to a whole new level of existence: “under his tutelage his soul’s been freed from earthy loves, and every human tie” (p.320). The rich patriarch unconditionally follows all of Tartuffe’s precepts, which leads Orgon to showering his “saint” with gifts, offering him his only daughter as a wife, assigning him his son’s inheritance and even letting Tartuffe be in an intimate proximity to his own wife. But Tartuffe doesn’t stop there. He plans his game a few steps ahead. Besides all the luxury he receives, Tartuffe also secures his positions by obtaining compromising information about Orgon. Tartuffe knows Orgon’s secret regarding a “certain strong-box,” that Orgon agreed to hide for his friend. By manipulating another trusty patriarch’s weakness, “vexed conscience” about the papers inside the box, Tartuffe effortlessly gets the compromising documents in his possession.
Still, another interesting Tartuffe’s characteristic is revealed in the last scene of the play, where he comes across as a chameleon. As it was mentioned in the beginning of this post, there were two ruling powers in French society: Church and Monarchy. Throughout the play Tartuffe hypocritically uses religion to achieve his goals. However, in the very end he takes 180-degree turn and becomes a devoted servant to the King and states, “that obligation is so paramount that other claims, besides it, do not count” (p.361).
Such well-portrayed Tartuffe’s social type, which was typical in 17th century, remains highly relevant in modern society. People continually hypocritically use religion and politics as armor in their lives. A vivid example of it would be such a debatable religious movement as Scientology, which often recognized as a cult and associated with money and power.