Orgon's Obsession in Moliere's Tartuffe

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16 Viewpoints Fall 2010 In Act IV, Elmire devises a plan in which Orgon will hide under a table while she and Tartuffe have a conversation that will expose Tartuffe’s hypocrisy. It is the ultimate plan—one based on the age-old adage that “seeing is believing”—to put a final stop to Orgon’s mad obsession with the false fiend. With a little convincing, Elmire causes Tartuffe to come onto her once again in a sexual advance, thereby proving that he is a fraud. However, in Act IV, Scene V, Moliere’s humor is quite apparent as Elmire coughs several times, warning her husband that he should come out of hiding immediately and reprimand Tartuffe. Because of his blind faith in Tartuffe, though, Orgon still refuses to believe what he hears and does not come out after the first or even second time his wife coughs. Tartuffe’s hypocrisy must be fully exposed in order for Orgon to work his way out from under the table. When he finally comes out of hiding, he exclaims, “That man’s a perfect monster, I must admit! I’m simply stunned. I can’t get over it” (129). Although the play focuses on Tartuffe’s deception of Orgon, Tartuffe greatly affects the other characters of the play. Cleante, who represents the voice of rationality and reason throughout the play, is constantly in a struggle to help Orgon come to his senses. In Scene 1, Act IV, as Cleante talks with Tartuffe, Cleante uses logic to point out the hypocrisies of Tartuffe’s actions. Cleante argues, “Your reasoning is badly warped and stretched, and these excuses, Sir, are most far-fetched” (110). As Tartuffe tries to justify his taking Damis’s money and estate, he expostulates, “Lest so much wealth fall into wicked hands, lest those to whom it might descend in time turn it to purposes of sin and crime” (111). This quote, of course, is extremely ironic: There can be no more wicked hands that the money could fall into than Tartuffe’s. Cleante then reasons that Damis, being Orgon’s son, should be the first in control of the family’s money, and also, points that it is not a pious action to be the cause of a son’s disinheritance. Cleante advances the argument skillfully by evoking the principle of piety, “Does true religion teach that lawful heirs may freely be deprived of what is theirs?” (112). Cleante’s point is valid, especially given that Tartuffe has no claim to the family’s wealth and is merely a stranger who manipulates those around him. Cleante’s logical reasoning proves to be overwhelming, and consequently, Tartuffe interrupts him to say that he has “certain pious duties to attend to” (112), thus leaving the scene. Tartuffe realizes that his scheme is in danger and thus makes this hypocritical statement to escape the power of reason. Through the character of Cleante, Moliere expresses his own view of true Christian virtue as opposed to religious hypocrisy. Cleante explains to Orgon that many people lead lives of virtue but they do not constantly need to prove to everyone how devout they are. He makes the point that truly religious people do not make a big show, noting, “True piety isn’t hard to recognize…their virtue is acknowledged; who could doubt it? But you won’t hear them beat the drum about it. They’re never ostentatious, never vain, and their religion’s moderate and humane” (29). Towards the end of the play, Cleante demonstrates his deep devotion to
17 Viewpoints Fall 2010 Christianity, especially the value of forgiveness. When Orgon learns of Tartuffe’s arrest, he expresses his desire to see him suffer for his crimes of betrayal. However, the ever consistent Cleante points out that he should not seek revenge on the double crosser, but rather should hope that Tartuffe repents for his sins and receives mercy from the King. Through the character of Cleante we can see how true Christianity and rationality work so well together and can be in harmony in the age of reason, which is, likely, Moliere’s central position, one which his contemporary critics refused to accept. Although Moliere portrays Cleante as the voice of reason and rationality, Cleante is mainly ineffective in making Orgon see the truth about Tartuffe. In her short 2001 essay “Moliere’s Tartuffe” published in the Explicator, Pamela S. Saur argues that without the other characters, especially Elmire, the ending of the play would be quite different in that Tartuffe would be victorious over Cleante in the struggle to guide Orgon. Saur states, “Cleante's rhetoric and reasoning are ignored and even ridiculed by Orgon and his mother, Madame Pernelle; only the drastic wiles of Elmire, who gets Tartuffe to try to seduce her while her husband, Orgon, hides under the table, are effective in persuading Orgon of the truth” (Saur 9). The other characters that are considered the “good” allies of the play, except for Elmire, are also ultimately unsuccessful in helping to uncover Tartuffe’s true identity. We can see further that Moliere insists that class has little to do with intellect as Dorine has more sense and reason than Orgon. Even though she is inferior in terms of social position, she is superior in intelligence and is able to see through the hypocrisy and two-facedness of Tartuffe. Dorine is also not just a servant to Mariane but an honest companion as well. However, although it seems that Dorine, being the sharp and witty lady’s maid that she is, has a good chance of removing Tartuffe from his seat of power in the household, she only succeeds in saving the relationship between Mariane and Valere. Through the character of Dorine, Moliere makes sure that we have the right perspective. She is a realist who sees clearly and directly into the truth of what is transpiring between Tartuffe and Orgon. Orgon’s stubbornness, nonetheless, proves too strong for the cleverness of Dorine, the wisdom of Cleante, and even the persuasion of his own son Damis. Even though Cleante and Damis have the same goal of helping Orgon to come to his senses, Cleante represents wisdom and reason while Damis, through his youth and passion, is impetuous and hot-headed, threatening to cut Tartuffe’s life short. Cleante responds to this threat by identifying Damis’s behavior as merely the ignorance of young, impulsive manhood: “What a display of young hotheadedness! Do learn to moderate your fits of rage. In this just kingdom, this enlightened age, one does not settle things by violence” (140). Through this remark, we can see the Age of Reason in Cleante’s his measured, astute words.
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Orgon's Obsession in Moliere's Tartuffe

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