Molière, Rapper of the 17th Century
I found that this was an interesting play: not only because of its form (a translated play which maintained the decasyllables, and rhymes), but also the ways Molière uses to criticize. Indeed, the comic dramatist used a form of irony in this play. For instance, Dorine is more reasonable than Orgon (who is so blind about the situation, and unwilling to question himself), and Cléante is more virtuous than Tartuffe (this latter is supposed to be a virtuous and pious man, but is a hypocrite instead). An example of Orgon’s lack of reason is when he makes a generalization about holy men p.188, l.34, or pp.150-151,where Dorine is being sarcastic and more reasonable than Orgon. Also, I liked Dorine’s sarcasm, like for instance when she uses “Poor man” p.190, l.18. By using this switch of traits of characters, Molière leads the reader to the moral of the story, which is that one should not judge a book by its cover, and instead of following foolishly, one should think critically, which is one of the pivotal values of the Enlightenment.
By making Tartuffe a hypocrite, Molière is able to criticize the Church. This left me thinking: how was Molière able to show Tartuffe without being censored? It turned out that the king was supporting him. This left me dubitative, for at the time, the Church was very powerful, and the king was said to be God’s representative on Earth. So by criticizing the Church, Molière is indirectly criticizing the monarchy. However, I believe that Louis XIV liked the play because it was flattering (calling the king the “Prince of reason”). This way of flattering reminded me of Jean de la Fontaine’s fables (where the king was always the mightiest of animals), as well as Patrice Leconte’s film, Ridicule (where courtiers flatter, but cheat as soon as people have their back turned, just like Tartuffe, whose name means “to cheat”)
Another issue that I thought of was a political one. In fact, Tartuffe’s hypocrisy reminds me of the hypocrisy and demagogy of some politicians who use religion as a political tool, so they can achieve their personal goals, and attain positions of power.
In fine, through the use of an improbable set of character traits, Molière is able to criticize the Church, and the king in an indirect way. This kind of criticism can be compared to direct criticism (like the one seen during the arab spring for instance), and one can ponder which one is more beneficial.
4 responses so far
You mention that Louis XIV probably approved of the play because it was flattering to him. I think it’s interesting that Moliere made the King a voice rather than a physical character. By making this choice, Moliere may have encouraged Louis XIV to see the play’s character from an outside perspective.
Perhaps easily persuaded by the king’s characteristics established by the voices of others (e.g. The Exempt), Louis XIV may have been more susceptible to favoring the play. Conversely, if Moliere had included the King as a first person character in the play, Louis XIV may have been more inclined to be picky with relating to the character because he would have a hard time displacing himself from the character’s role. For example, if the king’s character directly spoke to another in a certain tone that Louis XIV felt “wasn’t him”, Louis XIV may not have approved of the “fictional” character. By encouraging Louis XIV to subconsciously view the role of the king from an outside—yet still relatable—perspective (through the grapevine), Moliere safely secured describing the character as attractive as Louis XIV would have found to be personally pleasing.
I agree with the point you made regarding Dorine’s sarcasm and how much it contributes to the tone of the play. I found her to be the most entertaining character, which is ironic considering she is only Mariane’s maid. In most plays and literary pieces servants and maids are of lesser importance, and yet Dorine was portrayed as a clever woman who helps resolve the main conflict. I particularly enjoyed act 1, scene 4 (pg. 150), which is the first time Orgon enters and we witness his interraction with Dorine. This entire scene drips with sarcasm, and leaves readers in disbelief with Orgon’s blindness and irrrationality. He only shows concern for Tartuffe, despite hearing his wife has been extremely sick, while the religious hypocrite enjoyed his meals and wine. Dorine then responds by saying “…Madame needs me. I’ll go and let her know how anxious you have been about her health, and that you prize her more than all your wealth.” (pg. 151).
I agree that Dorine played a pivotal part of the comedic element of this drama, but I hope you are not forgetting to give her credit as a character with a deeper role than that. She acts as the voice of reason through out the play while representing the ideals of newer enlightenment thinking. From her social standing we can also make an assumption of Molière’s views of class stereotypes.By reversing her roles with the master of the house, Orgon, and Mariane, he is making a statement that even the servants of the time were smarter than those who held power.
I also agree that he is making a critique on the Church of the time, but not of the church as a whole. I think he is attacking the people who speak of piety but do not actually act in that way – the real religious hypocrites of the time. He does have Dorine point out that Valere most likely does attend church, but not with the intent of being seen as Orgon does. At the end of the play Orgon is also chastised for saying that he will no longer trust any religious person again, and is told not to blame the institution for the actions of a single corrupt agent.
I agree. I found it very strange that he got away with writing such a play. The fact that he was endorsed by the King was very surprising; it literally made me wonder, “How stupid was this king, exactly?” It’s very clear that the play is mocking the lifestyle and the actions of the elite, including the king. For him to not have noticed is almost as shocking as when Marie Antoinette supposedly told the peasants to eat cake after learning that they could not eat bread.
I agree that Cléante is more virtuous than Tartuffe. When the real piety challenges fake piety, the latter finds no ground to stand, but escapes. There are two scenes that Cleante reasons and tries to reveal Tartuffe’s hypocrisy. In both scenes, Cleante challenges Tartuffe by raising questions that Tartuffe could hardly answer by his hypocritical statement. In scene 4.1, p. 178-180, as Tartuffe pretends to be a pious prayer who ” holds world’s wealth no sway”, now he takes all Orgon’s wealth, which is supposed to be inherited by Damis. The reason why he takes the inheritance actually holds no water. he says that he does not want to see the wealth falling into the wrong hands. Facing the strong reasoning that Cleante puts, Tartuffe cannot prevail, but ” excuse my hurrying away”. In the last scene, p. 196, Cleante unmasks Tartuffe’s hypocritical statement of ” duty to our monarch”. After hearing Cleante’s strong reasoning, Tartuffe could not response, but having the exempt stop Cleante.