Browning

Jared Browning
Professor Lynch
Literature 202
27 March 2011
Irony
Pretending to have certain virtues, values, qualities, and beliefs in order to deceive
those around oneself is known as hypocrisy. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere wrote a short
story depicting hypocrisy in 1664 titled Tartuffe. Tartuffe presents readers with the
dilemma of confronting hypocrisy amongst family members; at the same time the story
hit on sensitive issue during this era, religion. Moliere was ridiculed for his writings
about religion in Tartuffe, as a result he was deemed an outsider due to his critics
opinion, and subsequently could have faced death. In order for one to determine whether
the main characters of Tartuffe should be concidered hypocrites one must examine the
view of religion during the time the story was written, exam the main characters values
and beliefs, and then determine whether the main characters true values and beliefs
changed or remained constant throughout.
During the time Tartuffe was written religion was beginning to change. Citizens of the world
began to question the validity of religion; not for the first time, but openly for the first time. In the
17th century violent religious wars begin between the Catholics and Huguenots (Thompson). One
of the main groups opposed to Molieres story were the Company of the Holy Sacrament; they
believed in placing men of the Lord in households, one can only imagine how this story made
them feel (Thompson). This group in particular was extremely hostile toward Moliere for
presenting this story; the preface of the story as described by Moliere depicts the extreme
religious groups hatred towards his writings.

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Religious sects were able to persuade and influence many theatres to ban the playing of
Tartuffe. They feared repercussions due to what the story presented; the story depicted
hypocrisy in religion. Additionally, these religious sects thought comedy concerning religion was
preposterous. After all, how could one make fun of something so vital to their way of living at the
time? Due to the influential power these sects had, Moliere had to plead his case to the King at
the time, Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King (Damerow). Louis XIV enjoyed Molieres
writings, as long as he did not make of fun of Kings (Thompson). The King determined
Tartuffe not to be an attack on religion, but religious hypocrisy; the church however, saw it as
an insult on spiritual directors/preachers (Thompson). Although the King enjoyed Tartuffe he
did side with his advisors as to not allow the play to be shown.
It could be said that Moliere took advantage of religion at the time. Up till this point no one
dared to question religions validity; the church was appalled by Molieres depiction of religion
and feared others would take his stance concerning the issue. Due to fear of reprisals against the
church, the church petitioned for the story to be banned. Religion is what kept the nations
together at this time, and its easily understood that the church would fear repercussions from
Molieres depiction of the main characters religious beliefs and the hypocrisy used through
religion to obtain personal desires.
In the opening act of Tartuffe the scene describes the sons, daughters, servant, and Madame
Pernelle (Orgons mother) discussing Tartuffes presence in their fathers household. Madame
Pernelle believes Tartuffe is a saint, the grandchildren on the other hand can see through Tartuffe.
Madame Pernelle believes Tartuffe was sent to them to show the family the righteous path to the
Lord, That Heaven has sent him to forestall its wrath, by leading you, once more, to the true
path (Moliere 306-361). Madame Pernelle makes a feeble attempt to convince her grandchildren
of the good in Tartuffe. In acts one and two the grandchildren are disgusted at how easily their
father and grandmother have fallen prey to Tartuffe. It's not clear as to why they feel this way;

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they merely describe how their father Orgon serves Tartuffe hand and foot. One would think from
the words of the children that Orgon has been tricked by someone claiming to be close to God.
Orgon is introduced in Scene 4; when he arrives the children inform him that his wife came
down with an illness. As they explain her status, he continually asks about Tartuffe. Orgon seems
to be focused on Tartuffe more than his ill wife. Cleante and Orgon begin their discussion in
Scene 5 concerning Tartuffe. Cleante believes Orgon has been fooled by Tartuffe; Orgon believes
Cleante is mistaken and should watch his words. Cleante plead his case, informing Orgon of
Tartuffes deception utilizing other examples of Holy men. He explains how holy men do not
boast, judge, or ridicule; holy men are humbled and speak words of kindness to all they come in
contact. Orgon believes Tartuffe is a holy man, he thinks this due to how he speaks of religion and
points out when others are sinners. It seems as though Orgon has been led astray by the words
and actions of Tartuffe, causing him at the beginning of Act 2 to inform Mariane of his plans for
her to wed Tartuffe. Mariane is distraught not only because her fathers wish is for her to marry a
man she despises but also due to the fact she is in love and Orgon has already given her hand to
Valere.
Act 3, Scene 2 begins with a conversation between Dorine and Tartuffe, the first scene with
Tartuffe. Tartuffe enters the room and immediately hands Dorine a handkerchief to cover her, he
claims the sight of her uncovered skin leaves him with unclean thoughts. For Tartuffe to be such a
holy man, it seems as though his defenses are quite weak, his beliefs and values appear to be
weaker than he claims. Scene 4 begins with Tartuffe and Elmire (Orgons wife) having a private
conversation, where again Tartuffe seems unable to control himself. He comments on her beauty
and at one point touches her gown. Tartuffe then proclaims his heart to another without saying her
name, the heart he so wishes to have is that of Orgons wife, Elmire.
Damis, Orgons son, overheard the conversation between Tartuffe and Elmire; he feels there is
no other choice but to inform Orgon of what Tartuffe has done. Damis informs Orgon of the
conversation and Orgon immediately begins to question Tartuffe. Tartuffe admits what he has

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done, however, he admits his sins sarcastically. Orgon does not believe what Damis has told him
and banishes Damis from the house and from their family. Orgon disinherits Damis on the spot,
believing he has ill will towards Tartuffe. Tartuffe and Orgon continue their conversation once
Damis has departed. Tartuffe explains as the great Holy man he is, he has already forgiven Damis
and wishes Orgon to do the same. Tartuffe proposes a solution; the solution is that he must leave
the house for the family does not want him there. Orgon demands that Tartuffe stay, and banishes
anyone who speaks poorly of Tartuffe and seeks to make Tartuffe his heir and give everything he
owns to Tartuffe in writing to make it official.
Orgon in Act 4, Scene 3 informs all of his family of his wishes. He wishes the hand of his
daughter to Tartuffe as well as all of his possessions. The family protests to what he has done, yet
Orgon runs the household much like a dictator would and silences all that oppose. At the end of
Scene 3, Elmire confesses that Damis was telling the truth. She devises a plan with Orgon to lure
Tartuffe into touching her and speaking to her as he did in the previous conversation, Orgon hides
under the table. The plan they devised worked as planned and Tartuffe is confronted by Orgon
again. When Orgon demands Tartuffe to leave, Tartuffe tells Orgon to leave, after all Orgon gave
everything to Tartuffe, thus making Tartuffe the master. For such a holy man, Tartuffe seems to
have tricked the very people who sought to help him. Tartuffe used something dear to the heart of
Orgon, religion, to earn his trust. It was not until now that Tartuffes true colors come out.
The three main characters in the story were Madame Pernelle, Orgon, and Tartuffe. Madame
Pernelle was mentioned only a few times throughout the story but her presence is felt throughout.
Orgon is led to believe he is head of household; however, this is only because Madame Pernelle
allows him to think this way. Behind the scenes Madame Pernelle controls what happens amongst
the family. In certain light, one could say Madame Pernelle is a hypocrite. She wants her son to
make decisions concerning the family; however, her guidance leads Orgon to unknowingly do as
she wishes. She favors Tartuffe and wishes for the rest of the family to do the same, unfortunately
she is their grandmother and they are more receptive to Tartuffes deception than Orgon. After

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Orgon informs her of the Tartuffes atrocities, she refuses to believe. She cannot fathom how such
a holy man could deceive the family. Once Madame Pernelle finally sees what Tartuffe has done,
she then speaks poorly of Tartuffe; this is hypocrisy because she uses religion to place herself
above others only when it is convenient for her, when inconvenienced... she is no better Tartuffe.
Orgon is found at times to be a hypocrite throughout the story as well. This could be in part to
the situations he finds himself in due to his love for Tartuffe. As head of the house he has the right
to make decisions for the family; however, he should listen to those whom he shares the house
with. He was hypocritical in revoking his daughters hand in marriage to Valere. Such holy man
would have explained his expectations in further detail rather than going back on his word due to
rumors. Rumors which I imagine were created by his dear friend Tartuffe. In Orgons eyes
Tartuffe can do no wrong. When confronted with the initial situation involving Elmire, Orgon
refused to believe Damis. He became consumed with anger and banished Damis from the home
and his deed. If he were as holy a man as he says, or if he found Tartuffes mentoring as
invaluable as he claims, he would have forgiven his son. His anger only hurt him in the end when
he signed his property and possessions to Tartuffe.
During the second conversation between Elmire and Tartuffe, Orgon hides under the table so
he can overhear the conversation. It is most unfortunate that Orgon is unwilling to believe his
wife and must make an elaborate scheme in order to learn the truth. This is hypocritical of a
husband, how can he demand respect and honesty from his family and wife, when he is unwilling
to believe anything they say. If Orgon is a man of his word, when Tartuffe betrayed him he should
have given Tartuffe the deed and his possessions as he had promised. On numerous occasions
Orgon wished to withdraw his words and actions; it was no different when Tartuffe demanded
Orgon and his family depart the property. Once this occurred Orgon wanted his family to listen to
him and believe him. After so much deception on his part as well as Tartuffe, how can Orgon
rightfully expect his family to listen to him? They listened because they were not hypocrites, they
listened for the love of their father, and they knew Tartuffe had deceived him.

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The story revolved around the individual known as Tartuffe. Tartuffe cannot be seen as a
hypocrite because he stayed true to himself throughout the story. Tartuffe was in essence a
conman. He used deception to deceive those around him who admired and viewed him as a man
of the Lord. He found Orgons strength and made it his weakness. He used Orgons strength and
deceived him with it, Orgons strength was religion, and Tartuffe gave Orgon that which he
desired to see. From the initial time Orgon and Tartuffe met, Tartuffe displayed himself as a man
of the Lord. His story initially consisted of wealth at one time, but claims to have given his
belongings and money to those less fortunate. He was highly critical of everyone he came in
contact with; he criticized them for being sinners. One cannot think Tartuffe masked his
deception, Orgon merely refused to see or believe a man of the Lord could do such a thing.
Tartuffe deceived Orgon at the beginning of the story, then again when confronted with touching
his wife, and then again when Orgon signed his possessions over. Tartuffe played along with
Orgon until Orgon trapped him in the second conversation with Elmire. At that point in the story
Tartuffe made his true persona known; hypocrite he was not, liar and conman he was.
The world revolved around religion in the 17th Century. Moliere wrote his book based on this
touchy subject, which clearly offended many. Molieres goal was not to offend but to entertain
and make light of how some people use religion to deceive people into giving them what they
want. These individuals proved to be hypocrites by speaking the word of the Lord, yet deceiving
others for personal gain, which made them sinners. The story Tartuffe depicted Orgon and his
mother Madame Pernelle as hypocrites, one could also claim Tartuffe to be a hypocrite; however,
Tartuffes true character was shown in the final scene and from the officer whom arrested him.
This was not Tartuffe's first time using deception for personal gain, he had done the same thing
before, making him more of a con-artist than a hypocrite. If one reads Tartuffe, understanding
religion during the 17th Century and critically views the characters as portrayed by Moliere, one
would be able to come to the conclusion that Orgon and his mother were indeed hypocrites.

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Work Cited
Damerow, Harold. "The Seventeenth Century."Faculty.ucc.edu. UCC.EDU, 29 Apr 2003. Web.
23 Jan 2011. <http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/17th_century.htm>.

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Moliere, Jean-Baptiste. "Tartuffe." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Sarah Lawall.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2001. Print.
Thompson, Diane. "Tartuffe Study Guide." World Literature II. (1999): Print. 21 Jan. 2011.

1. What was your purpose? What effect are you trying to achieve?

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I believe my purpose for this paper was to describe three of my fondest memories and
inform my audience about some of my life experiences. My effect would be the
informative approach. Share a little information about my life.
2. What was interesting about the process you went through in writing this paper, and
what did you learn from it?
The interesting process for me has always been finding something I am passionate about t
enough to write about. Each time I write I struggle to find the correct words, mainly when
it comes to a structured paper. I tend to write how I speak. This is often effective but not
appropriate in a formal setting.
3. What was the most difficult aspect about this paper, and what did you learn from the
attempt?
The most difficult aspect of writing this paper has been utilizing transition words, not
sentences. It was also difficult to structure the paper. I learned from the examples and
information you provided if I follow a template and use the three part thesis statement the
paper forms its structure itself.
4. What do you see as the strengths of the paper, and what would you try to do if you
were to revise it more?
I think the strength of the paper is the honesty and the passion. If I could revise it more I
would lengthen the paragraphs (probably not correct) and provide more experiences from
those fond memories.
5. Whats not part of your paper that you think might help a reader understand or
appreciate it more? What didnt you put in?
I think if I could add some of the more inappropriate things to the paper, such as some of
the things Jake and I did when we lived together. I did not add humor. I am a military
instructor and I reach my students through humor. I feel as though humor could add to the
paper but too much may take away from it.
6. What kind of grammar or formatting feedback would you like from your instructor?
I think I struggle with finding the right words. How to better convey myself would help
tremendously. I believe writing more papers will help me produce a better product. I also
struggle with punctuation, not periods or question marks, but commas and semi-colons. If
I could get someone to dumb it down I may grasp it. Sentence structure is another issue I
believe I have to face; again breaking it down may help.
7. When using APUS Online Library article databases, did you evaluate the credibility of
the sources you chose?
Yes.
8. Are your memo and essay in correct MLA format?
I certainly hope so since I recently finished ENGL 101
9. Did you save your file using your last name and the name of the assignment?
Yes I did

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10. Are you free from contractions? Are you in the correct person?
Yes and yes.