Before Orgon was introduced to Tartuffe, he was a man who was believed to be sane and respected. Upon meeting him, Orgon turns into someone who his family and friends view as a foolish person. This may have been caused by Tartuffe. A main characterization that arises when mentioning Tartuffe is hypocrite. While he poses as a religious man, he is only looking out for himself and uses others’ weaknesses to his own advantage.

The relationship between Tartuffe and Orgon is one that is influential and manipulative. In 1.4 where Orgon returns and converses with Cleante, he is more concerned about Tartuffe’s well being than his own wife’s. Him repeating “Ah. And Tartuffe?” in this scene shows that Tartuffe is the only man that Orgon now cares about because of the affect he has on Orgon. While his wife was seriously sick, Orgon’s true view was exposed.

As the play progresses, it is seen that Orgon is truly losing his sanity. Forcing his daughter to marry Tartuffe is another ridiculous request that Orgon asks of in 2.1.
Mariane: I’m deeply greatful, Father for your love.
Orgon: That’s well said, Daughter; and you can repay me if all things, you’ll cheerfuly obey me.
Mariane: To please you, Sir, is what delights me best.
These exchange of words shows that before Orgon asked his daughter to marry Tartuffe, he first made sure that there was no way that Mariane would say no; if she were to she would be disobeying her father and a disloyal daughter. Forcing his daughter to lie about her feelings just so he could get what he wants just shows how he is no longer a good father and the man Tartuffe has turned him into. He is no longer the sane and respected man he was. Orgon not respecting his daughter’s feelings shows that he does not deserve to be respected himself.

Within his comedy “Tartuffe”, Moliere portrays a relationship based on underlying deception between the characters Orgon and Tartuffe. When Orgon first meets the religious hypocrite after a service, he immediately becomes drawn to Tartuffe’s ideals and practices. Orgon believes Tartuffe to be modest and have exemplary character, beginning when he hears Tartuffe say, “I am not worthy. I do not deserve your gifts or pity. I am here to serve” (1.5: 52-54). Orgon becomes infatuated with Tartuffe and invites him to move into his home. However, the other characters within the comedy see through to the real Tartuffe, who is a man using acts of deception and trickery to develop a relationship with Orgon, who gives him everything and remains a disciple to him.

Dorine and Cleante, both prominent characters within the comedy, have a clear understanding of Tartuffe and what he is doing to Orgon. Speaking about Orgon, Dorine says, “He is intoxicated with Tartuffe-a potion that exceeds a hundred proof, It’s put him a trance, this devil’s brew” (1.2: 13-15). Dorine is suggesting that Orgon is blind to the evil that Tartuffe is bringing into his life. Tartuffe claims to be a religious figure, and Orgon believes he is protecting his home from sin. However, it is explained that Tartuffe uses Orgon and his money, displaying his true character, which is one of greed and deceit. Dorine explains this trickery when she says “But what’s evil is seeing the deception and upheaval of the master and everything he owns. He hands him money. They’re not even loans- he’s giving it away. It’s gone too far, to watch Tartuffe play him like a guitar!” (1.2: 37-42)

Although the characters warn Orgon about Tartuffe, he continues to argue against them and defend Tartuffe’s actions. Cleante, speaking to Orgon, says that Tartuffe is a hypocrite and not truly devoted to religion. She says, “He’s a fraud, this man whom you adore” (1.5: 176). Orgon does not want to believe in Tartuffe’s greed, or think that he is being used by him in any way. Orgon defends Tartuffe when saying, “If you only could know him as I do, you would be his true disciple, too” (1.5:14-15). Although toxic, the relationship between Orgon and Tartuffe seems plausible considering Orgon’s character. Religion was an important aspect to his life, so it is understandable why he could be so easily deceived by a religious figure that he met during a time of worship and blessed him in the house of God.

Similar instances occur today, where we see people deceiving others and using them for things such as their money. Many people become blind to these acts, probably because they do not want to believe that someone, especially a close friend or family member, would try to take things from them using deceit.

We quickly learn in the beginning of Molier’s Tartuffe, that the character Tartuffe causes quite a lot of strife in Orgon’s family. In the first 2 acts, we learn that Tartuffe is a beggar that Orgon met in their church when Tartuffe went out of his way to be overly kind to the wealthy man. In what he believes to be the act of a good Christian, Orgon, takes the beggar into his own home and provides for him.

The two men have an interesting relationship. I believe that Tartuffe is abusing his religion-driven relationship with Orgon. Orgon believes that Tartuffe is incredibly devout, and that by taking him in, he will learn from Tartuffe and increase his chance of going to heaven. The quote, “You just don’t see him the way I do, but if you did, you’d feel what I feel, too. Every day he came to Church and knelt, and from his groans, I knew just what he felt. Those sounds he made from deep inside his soul, were fed by piety he could not control.” shows this idea better than I could explain. Tartuffe is playing into Orgon’s ideas about him perfectly. The beggar is merely using Orgon’s desire to increase his position in the eyes of his god to live like a nobleman for free. The quote, “She had a fever- And Tartuffe? He’s fine- Rosy-nosed and red-cheeked, drinking your wine. Poor man! And then, Madame because unable to eat a single morsel at the table. Ah, and Tartuffe? He sat within her sight, Not holding back, he ate with great delight, a brace of partridge, and a leg of mutton. In face, he ate so much, he popped a button. Poor man!” supports this idea because it clearly shows that Tartuffe, who was merely a beggar not so long ago, has no humility when indulging in front of Orgon’s sick mother.

After reading Acts I and II of Moliere’s Tartuffe, there are many things that can be perceived of the relationship between Orgon and Tartuffe. Orgon does not appear in the first two acts, but Orgon’s mother, Madame Pernelle, and other members of Orgon’s family say more than enough to draw a clear picture of Orgon’s relationship to Tartuffe.

Tartuffe is a religious hypocrite who has somehow been taken in by Orgon, and is treated by Orgon as a god, whom he worships. Orgon’s mother, Madame Pernelle, is also under Tartuffe’s spell, and lectures Orgon’s family throughout the first two acts on how they need “Monsieur Tartuffe”, and she goes on to say, “Don’t you see? He’s showing you the way to heaven! Yes! So follow where he leads! My son knows he is just what this house needs”. Madame Pernelle, like Orgon also clearly has way too much trust in Tartuffe, and her trust level is dangerous, because Tartuffe is in a position of power where he can do no wrong in the eyes of Orgon or Madame Pernelle. Act II ends with Dorine, Lady’s maid to Mariane (daughter of Orgon) telling Célante (Orgon’s brother in law), how Orgon has lost his mind since Tartuffe’s arrival, and how Orgon is “Intoxicated with Tartuffe”. Dorine goes on to say that Orgon, “Worships this imposter who He calls “brother” and loves more than one”. Dorine gives many reasons on how Orgon adores Tartuffe, and she even says, “He hands him money. They’re not even loans – He’s giving it away. It’s gone too far”, referring to how Orgon gives Tartuffe money. Throughout the first 2 acts there are many reasons why Orgon, and Tartuffe do not have a healthy relationship, but once Dorine mentions that Orgon is giving Tartuffe money, it becomes clear that Orgon and Tartuffe’s relationship is dangerous, and will probably not end well. This relationship seems plausible to me, because it is not uncommon for a person to be manipulated by another person’s charm, and end up being wounded in the process.

In acts I and II of Moliere’s Tartuffe  we are introduced to a family struggling to cope with their father’s recent behavior. Their father (Orgon) has changed recently due to his relationship with a religious worshipper named Tartuffe. Through Orgon’s relationship with Tartuffe he has adopted all the beliefs that Tartuffe holds and therefore implemented these beliefs on to his family against there will. In the play Dorine states” he is intoxicated with Tartuffe… Orgon carrases him, embraces him, and shows more love for him than any mistress knows (149).” This quote from Dorine perfectly describes the relationship that Tartuffe and Orgon have. Their relationship is more toxic than it is healthy. After only knowing Tartuffe for a short while Orgon begins to put him before his family. When Orgon returns home after two days away he has a conversation with Dorine, and even though his wife almost died while he is gone, he only seems to care how Tartuffe was during the two days. Orgon and Tartuffe’s relationship is fueled by underlying motivations from each. Orgon uses Tartuffe as a way to better himself for god and make him more religious, while Tartuffe is enjoying all the amenities Orgon has given him. Most people will say it is impossible for something like this to happen, but I disagree. I think this is a plausible relationship and could happen in real life. Orgon met a religious man who seemed to have all the answers to what life has to offer. Orgon may have had an emptiness within him that needed to be filled by something such as religion. People can be very vulnerable based on their situations in life. Orgon and Tartuffe’s relationship is similar to the way Isis recruits young kids from America. They target vulnerable people who need have a void in their life and need it to be filled.I have never been involved in a relationship like this but I do see how it could happen. People get effectuated with celebrities, athletes and even like in Moliere’s Tartuffe  a religious leader.

In the very beginning of the play, it is made clear that the relationship between Tartuffe and Orgon is piloted by underlying motivations. Tartuffe won Orgon over by simply bringing him holy water and blessing him. Orgon saw Tartuffe as a religious man that devoted himself to poverty and serving others. It seems Tartuffe filled a religious void that Orgon had and ever since then, Orgon always felt as though Tartuffe knew what was best for him. Orgon say’s “Then something happened I can’t quite explain. I rose to leave- he quickly went before to give me holy water at the door. He knew what I needed, so he blessed me.” Orgon invested a lot of trust into Tartuffe and viewed at him as a holy figure. He invited him into his home and blindly followed his advice as well as adopted all of his teachings. He says. “He’s taught me to love nothing and no one. Mother, father, wife, daughter, son- they could all die right now and I would feel nothing.” This drastic change in Orgon’s philosophy shows how willing he is to listen to Tartuffe. Tartuffe see’s how easy it is for him to manipulate Orgon and begins to use that to his advantage.

Tartuffe uses Orgon for his money and never ending generosity. Although Orgon feels that the relationship they’ve established is genuine, it is made clear by Orgon’s family members that Tartuffe is using him. For example, when talking about Tartuffe, Cleante says. “These men who take what’s sacred and most holy and use it as their trade, for money, solely. With downcast looks and great affected cries who suck in true believers with their lies.” Here, Cleante tries to convince Orgon that Tartuffe is only posing as the man that Orgon desperately wants him to be in order to gain his fortune. In a clever ploy to gain even more access to the family’s wealth, Tartuffe begins to convince Orgon in asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

The way Tartuffe deceives Orgon reminds me of a video I saw about a homeless man in Manhattan. A war veteran would tuck his legs into his pants to make it appear as though he is an amputee. The beggar would gain sympathy from bystanders and make a lot of money from them. Little did they know, the man’s legs worked perfectly fine, and he had never served in the army. This reminds me of the relationship between Tartuffe and Orgon because Tartuffe molds himself to be who Orgon wants in order to have access to his wealth.

In Tartfuffe, opportunism and hypocrisy are the fundamentals of the relationship between Orgon and Tartuffe. Tartuffe was a poor peasant before he came into Orgon’s house. On the contrary, Orgon was of significant possession as a merchant and the king server, which, thus, incentivized Tartuffe to approach Orgon in an effort to escape his poverty. Likewise, Tartuffe with his admirable piety became Orgon’s access to religion, as described in his conversation with Cleante in Act 1.5:
“He knew what I needed, so he blessed me.
I found his acolyte, he’d so impressed me,”

Despite Orgon’s conviction for Tartuffe, the bond between them had always been manipulated by Tartuffe’s hypocrisy. All but Orgon and Madame Pernelle were aware of this fact – the maid Dorine, the brother-in-law Cleante, the daughter Mariane, and the son Damis. Thus, Orgon’s extreme ignorance of Tartuffe’s deceptive scheme became the plausible yet ironical element throughout the play. Orgon vouched for Tartuffe’s holiness to a point where he lost all his senses. In act 1.4, after coming home from a two-day trip, the first thing that sprang to Orgon’s mind was Tartuffe. He continued to interrogate Dorine about the condition of Tartuffe, while entirely ignoring that his wife was indeed in serious sickness:
Orgon:… Now don’t hold back. Has everyone been well?
Dorine: Not quite. There was that hadache Madame had
The day you left. Well it got really bad.
She had a fever-
Orgon: And Tartuffe?
Dorine: He’s fine-
Orgon: Poor man
Obviously, in juxtaposition with Elmire, Tartuffe accounted for a larger part of Orgon’s concern.

In contemporary society, relationships that resemble that of Orgon and Tartuffe, are not unusual, yet difficult to detect. The definition of a true friendship is eroded in the world dominated by desire for money, power and superficiality. Friends become opportunists, which happens more than often in politics. Hilary Clinton, in her presidential campaign in 2008, underwent the worst stage of her political career, seeing her many counterparts, who previously received helps from the Clinton, cling to her competitor Barack Obama. The failure of Clinton’s campaign reaffirmed the detrimental consequences of relationships based on opportunism and hypocrisy on one’s life and career.

The author of Tartuffe, Jean-Baptiste Moliere positioned what he believed about religious devotion as hypocrisy as a theme into “Tartuffe.” Moliere sets Tartuffe as a religious hypocrite whom Orgon has fallen head over heels for, and as Dorine puts it “he is intoxicated with Tartuffe.”

Before Orgon met Tartuffe, he was a man “once rules this house in his right mind. In the troubled times, he backed the price, and that took courage” (1.2 line 10-12). In Act 1.5, Orgon tells Cléante how he encountered Tartuffe and how Tartuffe’s actions greatly affected him, and he believes that Tartuffe was sent from God to save him. Therefore, Orgon cares for him, gave him wealth and home. But his affection toward Tartuffe has gone beyond expectation. In Act 1.4, when Dorine was reporting how Marine has been while Orgon was away, Orgon paid more attention to how Tartuffe had been than his wife’s health. Tartuffe knows accurately how to get Orgon provides whatever he needs with his words and actions.

How has Orgon relied so much on Tartuffe? One assumption is that because Orgon has done something that is sinful, and he needs to be redeemed, and looking at Tartuffe’s “religious practices” makes him feel as if God redeemed him by taking care of Tartuffe. Why is Tartuffe accepting all the offers that Orgon has given? The obvious answer is because he comes from poverty and desires to have wealth and home. As a reader, one can see that these two characters are interested into benefiting themselves off in their lives, and can also be called as self-interests.

As one looks into the  depths of the relationship between Tartuffe and Orgon, it becomes apparent that one of the characters is wealthy and gullible, while the other appears to be conniving and manipulative. Orgon, a wealthy figure, is extremely vulnerable. He notices one act of modesty from a peasant, by the name of Tartuffe and is immediately left in awe.He is extremely convinced of how holy this man is, that he believed heaven spoke to him and said, “Just bring him home with you.” Ironically, he breaks a vow to wed his daughter to this old, impoverished man. This sudden change in thought in itself proves to be an unholy act. Considering vows and promises are to be  kept and acted upon. Another instance that shows how Tartuffe’s influence has changed Orgon for the worst is when he returns home and is told about the health of his wife. His first question is how Tartuffe is feeling. And when told about Tartuffe’s well condition, he responds, “Poor Man.” Almost as to express his infatuation for Tartuffe overcompensates his duty and obligation to his wife. The first two scenes do not accentuate Tartuffe’s impression of Orgon, but it could be implied that he’s smirking and rejoicing of how easy it was to bewitch a man who fails to use fair judgement and reason.It’s such a pity for Orgon to take this man’s fallen state and say, “What my special tasks has come to be: To end the embarrassment he feels and the sorrow he so nobly conceals.” However, what he fails to acknowledge is Tartuffe’s alternative reasons. Those of which are unclear to the reader as of yet, but align along the lines of upward social mobility. Overall, the relationship between the two can be depicted as parasitism, in which Tartuffe is feeding off of all that lies dear to Orgon and what riches he has amassed or been blessed with.

In this story we are placed in the setting of Orgon’s home, with his family which is made up of his wife Elmire, his two kids Damis and Mariane and his wife’s maid Dorine. In his home a new guest is creating tension with in the family and that guest’s name is Tartuffe. He is a religious man that Orgon brought into his home to stay with him and the two have developed a relationship which Orgon sees Tartuffe as his soul’s savior. This strong bond is made very clear when Orgon is confronted by Cleante, his brother in law, on his sudden and drastic change in behavior. Orgon responds to those accusation with ” Yes, I was changed after I talked to him. I saw my wants and needs as just a whim…The world, and you and me, well it’s all dung…He taught me to love nothing and no one! Mother, father, wife, daughter son – They could die right now, I’d feel no pain.” this clearly demonstrates the faith that Orgon has in Tartuffe teachings. So much so that when told that his wife was sick and near death in his absences, Orgon main concern towards the well being of Tartuffe, and when informed of how Tartuffe was well fed and in good health in a sarcastic manner he would respond with “poor man”. Orgon could see no flaw in Tartuffe and felt appreciative of how he has helped him become this new man in his life, ignoring the warnings of his family and dismissing them as jealousy.

Tartuffe was a charismatic liar that knew exactly how to prey upon Orgon feelings, although he could not fool the entire family, it was a not a necessary to do so. He deceived Orgon by playing the character of the humble preacher that was a victim to his faith. A poor man that only cared for the well being of those that are around him. His intentions become very clear when Orgon informs him of how he will become his sole heir, and he does not reject this gift instead saying ” Whatever heaven wants I can’t oppose” showing how money and material possessions are important to him. He finally betrays Orgon by trying to bed his wife, and Tartuffe shows his true colors by trying to take control of his house which Orgon gave him the deed and also trying to in prisoning him.

The relationship between Orgon and Tartuffe could be dismissed as an extreme, when in reality in our current history we have many examples of something similar. Cults have a reputation of brainwashing their victims with religious salvation, we picture extremes like the Manson family or the Havens Gate cult which murdered people and themselves by following their leaders orders. This strong devotion could be seen in the relationship between Orgon and Tartuffe but was only broken when seeing with his own eyes of the tertiary that was about to be committed did Orgon break free from this spell.