Orgon's Obsession in Moliere's Tartuffe

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18 Viewpoints Fall 2010 In contrast to Cleante, Madame Pernelle, Orgon’s mother, represents irrationality with an unforgiving and judgmental attitude disguised as religious morality. In the opening scene of the play, she leaves Orgon’s home because she does not approve of the household members’ negative view of Tartuffe. Madame Pernelle asserts angrily, “And [Tartuffe] practices precisely what he preaches. He’s a fine man, and should be listened to. I will not hear him mocked by fools like you” (10). She also criticizes everyone for their “promiscuous entertaining” which she views as immoral although the audience understands that this is just normal socialization. Even towards the end of the play when Orgon tells her that Tartuffe has tried to seduce his wife, Madame Pernelle does not believe him and still insists that Tartuffe is a good religious man. As is this case with Orgon, the final antidote to unreason is not reason itself but seeing the truth first-hand. It is only when Tartuffe has taken Orgon’s property and tries to have him arrested that Madame Pernelle finally comprehends the despicable character that Tartuffe really is. Although Madame Pernelle is not proactively evil, she enables Tartuffe to successfully deceive her son. Two other victims of Tartuffe’s hypocritical actions include Mariane and Valere, lovers who struggle with their relationship due to Orgon’s deception and his breaking off of their marriage. At one point, Mariane is so horrified by the idea of having to marry Tartuffe that she tells Dorine, “I’ll kill myself, if I’m forced to wed that man” (54). Near the end of the play, Valere courageously does everything in his power to save Orgon from being arrested by bringing him a carriage and money with which to escape. Although Orgon is eventually cleared of the charges and does not need Valere’s help, he is extremely grateful and makes the announcement that he will arrange Valere’s marriage to Mariane. Here we can see that Valere’s true friendship and loyalty are contrasted with the false friendship of Tartuffe. Furthermore, Valere’s authentic and admirable love for Mariane contrasts with Tartuffe’s lust for Elmire, which leads to his ultimate downfall. A number of critics have discussed the unusual role of the King in the play as a center of correct authority within the larger treatment of reason and irrationality. For instance, in his 1955 article “Moliere and the Historian of French Society,” Leon Bernard states, The heroes of tragedy, Moliere said, could be drawn according to the fancy of the playwright, but the writer of comedy must be close to life. ‘The purpose of comedy,’ he has one of his characters say, ‘is to represent all the defects of men and particularly those of the present age.’ No class, no profession was spared in Moliere’s plays; only the person of the King was sacrosanct (Bernard 530). The character of the King is vital to the resolution of this play, although he is not a speaking character or a visible presence on stage. Just when Orgon is about to be arrested, a gentleman
19 Viewpoints Fall 2010 of the King’s guard is sent to tell Orgon that the King has pardoned him and will restore his wealth and property due to Orgon’s prior service, fighting loyally for the King in the civil wars. Moliere uses the appearance of the King at the end of the play to further emphasize that in the end, loyalty will be rewarded and betrayal punished. Many critics, however, see the introduction of the King as an artificial means of external resolution. In “Dramatic Justice in Tartuffe,” Elsa Vineberg states, The King’s justice, it is argued, may be thorough and effective, but it is so unexpected as to cast doubt upon the dramatic coherence of the entire comedy. Probably, Moliere himself is responsible for this reaction, having resorted to a deus ex machina that appears to defy internal resolution. By relying on a device which introduces a new character possessed of sweeping powers, he seems to be saying that there is a break between dramatically motivated expectations of justice and the King’s own dazzling display of power and omniscience (Vineberg 583). Having the King resolve everything in his grand and powerful manner was seen by many in the seventeenth century and by critics today as Moliere’s appeasement of the aristocracy and the King himself in the hope of lessening the sting of his satirical portrayal of religious hypocrisy. The King, in his wisdom and fairness, epitomizes the values of the age of reason. Moliere’s Tartuffe wrestles with issues of reason, irrationality, and obsession that we are still faced with today in 2010. Religious hypocrisy, as well as political hypocrisy, pervades our whole society, and in some form, presents itself in the news every day, often motivating contradictory and dangerous actions. We encounter so many false prophets and leaders in all sectors of our culture, and it is often difficult to tell the sincere and genuine from the masked and deceptive. We should still look for the simple virtues advocated by Moliere through the character of Cleante and always be willing to look for the truth behind the facade.
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Orgon's Obsession in Moliere's Tartuffe

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