My brain hurt’s from all this enlightenment lol
Tartuffe Preface (Norton Anthology 2nd Edition)
”..which these gentlemen do not care about at all, but that of Moliere makes fun of them, and that is what they cannot bear.” The preface is of Moliere defending Tartuffe against those who condemn it. Ultimately, the true main reason for their censure is that they cannot tolerate being the target. They can criticize everyone for everything but when they are being criticized they are not able to handle it. The bully can not handle being bullied.
Moliere (Northon Anthology 2nd ed)
“Son of a prosperous Paris merchant” I thought “to comment on his own immediate social scene” is what Moliere seemed to do in Tartuffe. Moliere might have created this play as reference to his own life as a wealthy merchant’s son, and based it on actual events that happened in his youth. “Orgon… seeks ways to preserve control” The explanation given seems logical but I do not really believe it. “Madame Pernelle…. thus fostering her illusion that she still runs things.” I felt this was kind of the way Madame Pernelle was when Dorine argues that the neighbor is just jealous of Elmire because she is old, no longer has beauty, and is jealous of Elmire. Madame Pernelle is old and no longer has what she did before, and continues to want to claim what she had lost. “..king orders everything, as though a benevolent god had intervened.” Many kings, emperors, rulers, had claimed divine power, in the past, and some still do today. It would not be surprising for the king to be viewed in this way. “Moliere’s defense of his intentions(not to mock faith but to attack its misuse), it is not hard to see why the play might trouble religious authorities.” I believe Moliere does both mocking and attack the misuse of faith, in Tartuffe.
Tartuffe
My opinion on Tartuffe is negative. I dislike the play and would not recommend it to other people to read. Overall, I had a lack of interest or was indifferent. I did like some parts of the play, and liked Dorine, but not enough to outweigh the dislikes. The parts of the play that I did like were Act 2, Scene 1 to Scene 3, and mainly Dorine. The reason for liking those parts is also mainly because of Dorine. Dorine is fun and enjoyable to read about. If not for Dorine, I would have gone mad. There is much of the play that I disliked. I hated the characters of Orgon, Madame Pernelle, Flipotte, and Tartuffe. Most of the scenes were not interesting or to my distaste. I am anti-religion, and generally do not like readings regarding religion. Even though Tartuffe is a play that is mocking blinded-by-faith religious people, and showing how people take advantage of others’ faith, I still don’t like reading about them. The way Madame Pernelle and Orgon acted caused me aggravation because I dislike unreasonable and irrational people. Tartuffe is a despicable person for abusing religion and taking advantage of other people’s faith. Most of the scenes were not interesting to me, or made me feel angst.
Audio
TARTUFFE IN 5 STEPS
STEP ONE –
WHILE HEAD-OF-THE-HOUSEHOLD ORGON IS AWAY, HIS MOTHER MADAME PARNELLE TELLS THE HOUSEHOLD THEY ARE IMMORAL AND ARE GOING TO HELL…
UNLESS THEY LISTEN TO THEIR HOUSE-GUEST, TARTUFFE, AND REFORM AS HE SEES FIT.
STEP TWO.
ORGON RETURNS HOME. HIS ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD TRIES TO CONVINCE HIM THAT HIS HOUSE-GUEST IS A FRAUDULENT, HYPOCRITICAL FIEND WHO THROUGH FALSE PIETY HAS TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF ORGON AND HIS HOME.
ORGON REFUSES TO BELIEVE WHAT HE IS TOLD NO MATTER THE PROOF.
ORGON REMAINS IN TOTAL DENIAL.
STEP THREE.
ORGON RUINS HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH SEVERAL FAMILY MEMBERS. HIS SON DAMIS – ORGON GIVES ALL THAT DAMIS IS TO INHERIT TO TARTUFFE. DAMIS WANTS TO KILL TARTUFFE.
VALERE – ORGON DECIDES HE WILL BREAK HIS WORD AND INSTEAD OF GIVING VALERE THE HAND OF HIS DAUGHTER MARIANE, OFFERS IT TO TARTUFFE. MARIANE – ORGON MAKES HER SWEAR TO HONOR HIS WISHES AND THEN TELLS HER SHE IS TO FORGET VALERE AND MARRY TARTUFFE.
STEP FOUR.
MARIANE AND VALERE ARE AT ODDS.
BOTH ARE HURT AND PRIDEFUL. NEITHER WANT THE OTHER TO MARRY SOMEONE ELSE, NOR DO THEY WANT TO CONFESS THEIR HEART’S DESIRES TO EACH OTHER. ENTER DORINE, MARIANE’S LADIES MAID. SHE MAKE’S THEM LISTEN TO HER
AND THE THREE OF THEM WORK OUT A PLAN TO DELAY THE WEDDING OF MARIANE AND TARTUFFE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. MARIANE AND VALERE ARE NO LONGER AT ODDS.
DAMIS STILL WANTS TO KILL TARTUFFE.
STEP FIVE.
ORGON IGNORE’S HIS WIFE ELMIRE’S DECLARATION THAT TARTUFFE IS AFTER HER ROMANTICALLY. HOWEVER, ORGON ALLOWS HER TO SET UP A STING OPERATION TO HAVE ORGON CATCH TARTUFFE IN THE ACT.
ALL GOES ACCORDING TO ELMIRE’S PLAN. ORGON COMES TO GRIPS WITH REALITY…
BUT REALIZES TOO LATE THAT ALL HE OWNS INCLUDING HIS DAUGHTER NOW BELONGS TO THE RELIGIOUS HYPOCRITE, TARTUFFE.
TARTUFFE GOES TO THE KING TO DEMAND ORGON’S PROPERTY BE RELINQUISHED TO HIM, BUT THE KING SAVES THE DAY BY HAVING THE EXEMPT IMPRISON THE FRAUD AND THEREBY RESTORING ORDER TO ORGON AND HIS HOUSEHOLD. VALERE AND MARIANE ARE ALLOWED TO BE MARRIED.
ORGON IS NOW HAPPY AS A CLAM!
DAMIS PROBABLY STILL WANTS TO KILL TARTUFFE.
THE END
All images and GIFs found on Google.com
PROFILE
Born on January 15, 1622, in Paris, France, Moliere eventually started his own troupe, the Illustre Théâtre. He became renowned for directing and writing works like L’École des femmes, Tartuffe ou l’Imposteur, George Dandin and Le Misanthrope, indicting hypocrisy and giving depth to comedic characters though also facing criticism. Moliere acted in his works as well. He died on February 17, 1673.
– Biography.com
Quick Facts!
Name: Jean-Baptiste Paquelin
AKA: Moliere
Occupation: Theater Actor,
Playwright
Birth Date: January 15, 1622
Death Date: February 17, 1673
Education: Lycée
Louis-le-Grand
Place Of Birth: Paris, France
Place Of Death: Paris, France
The King Prohibits Performance!!
“The king at once perceived the genius displayed in Tartuffe, and was also clear-headed enough to see that it was aimed exclusively against hypocrisy; but from the moment it made its appearance in Paris another and heavier storm began to rage over the head of the dramatist. According to his assailants, he had at length thrown aside the mask altogether, and under pretense of exposing hypocrisy was seeking to undermine the foundations of religion itself. Roullés, the curé of Siant Barthélemy, took upon himself to damn the author of Tartuffe on his own authority, and another virulent denouncer of the play was the bishop of Autun, supposed to be the original of the stage imposter. The agitation steadily increased until the king deemed it prudent to prohibit the performance in Paris of a play which he had unreservedly approved.”
The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 7. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 181-183.
Tartuffe Extended Ending
This extended ending is much more to my liking than the way it actually ended. There is a scene where you get to see Dorine, Mariane, Damis, and Valere in a state of happiness. The only scene that actually feels good throughout, without any real unpleasantry. The ending lets you to imagine and speculate on the happenings that will come next. Will Orgon repeat the history with Tartuffe? Will Orgon learn from his mistake and not be as taken awry? Will the story go in a completely different direction? This ending leaves a cliffhanger that makes you wanting for more.