The voices of reason in Tartuffe by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin - Essay Example

?Felicia Thomas Debra Dent English 202 April 11, The Voices of Reason in Tartuffe Tartuffe, also known as The Impostor or The Hypocrite, is a play written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in 1664. It is about a man who deceives a man in order for him to get want he wants, which is basically wealth (Walker, 1993). The original play was banned in Paris when it was first released, even if the King of France, King Louis XIV enjoyed it. This is because the clergy was highly offended by the way Moliere allegedly mocked religion. This is not so, as Moliere only targeted the self-righteous people who use religion to justify the immoral behavior. Because of the controversy, the King banned public performances of it. After several revisions, the King approved of its public performance again on 1669. This play became one of the most important plays in French Literature (Walker 1993). Because the play involves a man dressed in clothes, and saying words of a religious person, it was easy for people for people to believe in the causes presented by the man, not knowing if the things that the man preaches are indeed true. The play’s two characters Orgon and Madam Pernelle are the gullible people and throughout the play, they believe that Tartuffe is a true and honest man. The whole play revolves around that fact as the other characters convince them that he is a fraud. Orgon ultimately finds out for himself that he is fraud, but then serious consequences have befallen on him. Fortunately, since he is the servant of the King, he is saved. The play features several voices of reason in order for Orgon to be enlightened by Tartuffe’s deceit. Most of it comes from Cleante, Elmire’s brother and Dorine, Elmire’s maid. Cleante is the wise man of the play. He is also one of the most boring characters, albeit enlightening. In his lines, one would find clever observations such as: That is the usual strain of all your kind; They must have every one as blind as they. They call you atheist if you have good eyes; And if you don't adore their vain grimaces, You've neither faith nor care for sacred things (Act 1, Scene 6). This is his observation on very religious, zealous people, which happens to be Orgon and other people. These people, according to him, are self-righteous and narrow minded. For Cleante, these zealots look to themselves as if they are always right and the people who do not share their views are always wrong, or maybe inferior. These lines connote some kind of supremacy or superiority from these people. However nasty these lines sound, they are true. Most zealots are completely “blinded by their faith” and often do things that can harm them, because they are empowered because of their faith. Sometimes, these beliefs even go to the extreme, and these people, who would act on extreme beliefs, would be called extremists. They would do even the most horrendous acts for the sake of religion, not caring about the welfare of others. Another line of reason directed at Orgon is this: Just so I think there's naught more odious Than whited sepulchres of outward unction, Those barefaced charlatans, those hireling zealots, Whose sacrilegious, treacherous pretence Deceives at will, and with impunity Makes mockery of all that men hold sacred; (Act 1, Scene 6) This is another good observation from Cleante, who is very persistent to show Orgon what kind of man Tartuffe really is. This time, he is more specific to identify those who perform deceit to others so that they can get what they want. He calls them sacrilegious and treacherous, as well as charlatans. He claims that these kinds of people mock the thing that “men hold sacred”, which is religion. Bear in mind that Tartuffe does not want to mock the Church, rather those people who use the name of the Church for their own selfish reasons (Guicharnaud, 1964). This method of deception is indeed a mockery to real faith that other people practice when they practice their religion. Even with this statement though, Orgon was still not yet convinced of Tartuffe’s hypocrisy. Dorine, the maid of the family, also gives out some insightful observations to help her master realize how much of a fraud Tartuffe is. Like the rest of the characters, however, she is not quite as effective. This is one of her most clever lines: The humble ways of genuine devoutness /Brook not so much display of earthly pride/Why should he be so vain? (Act 2, Scene 2) She said this when she was trying to convince her boss, Orgon, on how she thinks Tartuffe is a phony. This is a voice of reason, not only lines that vouch for Tartuffe’s hypocrisy, because the real devout do not tell the world how devout they are. This is also reflective with Cleante’s lines that tell Orgon that the charlatans who use the religion are mocking what the men hold most sacred. With these lines, the readers/audience would know how proud Tartuffe the character is, providing insights to his character and also helping the audience decide for themselves, whether or not he is indeed a phony, using the maid’s observations. Apart from sharing her clever observations, this words from Dorine also serves as pointers as to her character. With these words, we see her as a strong character, even if she is just a maid of the family. This is significant because it shows the audience that common sense is not at all limited to the upper class; even the maids of the house can be very competent and shrewd. In fact, they are better than their bosses sometimes! Dorine, with these lines, also demonstrates the fact that she is against Tartuffe’s and Mariane’s proposed wedding: For to be true is more than woman can, With husbands built upon a certain plan; And he who weds his child against her will Owes heaven account for it, if she do ill. Think then what perils wait on your design (Act 2, Scene 2). This wedding was Orgon’s “brilliant” idea to make Tartuffe a part of their family. This time, Dorine was not thinking about Tartuffe’s hypocrisy but rather Mariane’s happiness. Mariane has been long engaged with Valere and she loves him with all her heart. Dorine knows that marrying Mariane off with Tartuffe would be a devastating blow to Mariane, as well as to Valere. This would make Dorine unhappy, and if she is married, would lead her to do ill, which mean she would cheat. She is convincing Orgon that his plan would put him in a bad situation because Dorine is sure that Mariane would cheat, even if it means cheating with a fraud, Dorine would take nothing of it. Another brilliant line from Dorine is this But what is love worth, if it has no courage? This line is said when she was telling Mariane and Valere Orgon’s plans that he would marry his daughter off to Tartuffe. They were decided that they would leave each other but Dorine prevented this by saying things about commitment, love, and finally this line. It is very true and reasonable and again, it shows how the maid is smarter than the people she works for. Not only that, this line shows that this maid has enough power on the family that she can actually change some political arrangements like marriage. His bigot's pride has triumphed all too long Over my righteous anger, and has caused Far too much trouble in our family. The rascal all too long has ruled my father, And crossed my sister's love, and mine as well (Act 3, Scene 4). These are the lines of Damis when he found out how Tartuffe had been seducing his mother, Elmire. This counts as a voice of reason because, finally, someone other than the usual reasonable characters, has seen through Tartuffe. However, this account is not enough for Orgon as he was still not convinced about what his son saw. His change of heart will occur when he hears Tartuffe flirting indiscreetly with his wife when he was hiding under the table. The voices of reason in Tartuffe come from various characters. These characters represent the different sectors of the society and their opinions, even if they have fairly different backgrounds, are quite similar. This means that common-sense is not limited to the intellectuals, but by everyone. Orgon and his mother were blinded by Tartuffe’s guise as being a holy man, maybe because of their desire to go to heaven, or fear to go to hell, as dictated by their beliefs. These beliefs fuel their behavior and their thinking, even blinding their eyes to such hypocrisy presented by Tartuffe. This is a very accurate reflection of the happenings in a society where religion is very important. Fortunately, this changed at the end when Orgon finally sees what Tartuffe actually is. This play does not poke fun at religion, but it does satirize people who have immense faith that they get blinded by certain behaviors, words, even clothing. They are the ones whose faith, even though it is very palpable, is weak, because they do not know what to believe, and they do not listen to their own voices of reason. Hence, the need for the voices of reason in this play. Works Cited: Guicharnaud, Jacques. Molie?re a collection of critical essays. Georgia Military College Sibley Cone Library. 2003. Web. April 4, 2011. James, Heather, Lawall, Sarah, Patterson, Lee, Mayer Spacks, Patricia, Thallman, William. Norton anthology of western literature, volume 2. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. Print. Moliere, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. Tartuffe or the hypocrite. Trans. Page, Curtis Hidden. Project Gutenberg. October 26, 2008. Web. April 4, 2011. Walker, Hallam. Moliere. Georgia Military College Sibley Cone Library. 2003. Web. April 4, 2011. Read More