Why Moliere Faced Criticism with His Tartuffe - Essay Example

As the play unfolds Tartuffe succeeds in convincing Orgon to allow him to stay in his house indeterminately. He is opportunistic as he manipulates the allegiance accorded to him by Orgon to manipulate him to his own advantage.

He starts his schemes by pretending to be a staunch Christian and managed to fool Orgon into believing every word he said (Steiner and Wilbur 35). Tartuffe tries to seduce Elmire, although she is frustrated by the foolishness of her husband, she does not give in to his advances. Unsuccessful he convincedOrgon to terminate the engagement of his daughter to a young man called Mariane whom she is madly in love with. The daughter refuses to get married to this hypocrite, but she is in a dilemma because she believes that a daughter should obey her father (Steiner and Wilbur 55).

The maid, who is convinced that Tartuffe is only after the family’s fortune, makes sure that Valère and her lover are back together. In the play, she is the only one who sees through Tartuffe’s malevolence right from the start. She turns out to be a very intelligent character in the play although ironically the maid is perceived to be a very insignificant job in society (Steiner and Wilbur 95). Paradoxically the Church is misrepresented by the character of Tartuffe who turns out to be one of the main characters in the play.

The actors try to bring out the theme of the play strongly by mastering the lyrics and context. Although they have the challenge of being inexperienced, they also manage to bring out the character traits of the key thespians. Conversely, it can be observed that there is poor coordination between the actors when they are on the stage portrayed by their slow response to the action. The tone of the dominant grandmother betrays her age making the play to be unrealistic and lose its originality. The play set is in Paris, France, where the writer was criticizing the leadership in churches.

Due to the critical nature of his text, he faced a lot of criticism from society and the clergy. His work was even obliterated by the public at that time. However, his work is in later years recognized by society as his criticism is taken positively to be used even in schools (Steiner and Wilbur 35).