Hypocrisy In Tartuffe

Words: 1329
Pages: 6
Open Document
Much in line with the Neoclassical ideas prevalent during the Age of Enlightenment, Moliere’s Tartuffe challenges the traditional socioeconomic structure of mid-17th century France. By his use of satire, as well as references to classical literary devices, Moliere exposes hypocrisy in both the Church authority and the royal hierarchy. However, Moliere’s most radical device is his use of female characters as prominent voices in Tartuffe. Moliere portrays his Enlightenment ideology through the unique characterization of three main female characters. Dorine, the servant, represents the voice of reason; Cleante, Orgon’s wife, represents doubt in the social standard of wifehood; and Madame Pernelle, Orgon’s mother, represents the aspects of irrationality …show more content…
Firstly noted, Madame Pernelle’s obsession with maintaining societal structure highlights her dedication to the establishment. At the start of the play, Madame Pernelle expresses her disdain with “the way this house is run,” and her complaints with the other house members outline the ways in which society expects them to act (15). Dorine, as the servant, should not have opinions; Damis, as a prince, should uphold his role as heir to the throne; Mariane, as a princess, should be a “fragile flower” and refrain from individual thought; and Elmire, as a queen not connected by royal blood, should stay subservient to her husband (15). Moliere satirizes the establishment’s illogical prejudice by having Madame Pernelle underestimate the rationality of her subordinates solely based on their social status. Thus, Madame Pernelle serves as a representation of the status quo by directly counteracting with Moliere’s Enlightenment ideology, portrayed through Dorine and Elmire.
Additionally, Molere utilizes Madame Pernelle to expose the irrationality of blind faith and the hypocrisy prevalent in the Church system of the time. Madame Pernelle displays her ignorant acceptance of religious piety when coming to the defense of Orgon’s decision to trust
Show More

Related Documents: Hypocrisy In Tartuffe

The Hypocrisy In Moliere's Tartuffe

fooled by fake people and that can see right through them. Tartuffe is a play about a wealthy man name Orgon who is being fooled by Tartuffe. In Moliere’s Tartuffe, Dorine is considered the “The Mouthpiece” as she cannot tolerate the hypocrisy, deception, and gullibility of the characters affected by Tartuffe’s lies. Dorine was the sassy maid of Orgon’s daughter Mariane. She was one of the ones who weren’t fooled by Tartuffe’s hypocrisy. Tartuffe put on a great show for Orgon and Madame Pernelle at all…

Words 310 - Pages 2

Religious Hypocrisy In Tartuffe

In Moliére’s drama, Tartuffe, the idea of religious hypocrisy is mocked and exaggerated, in the relationship of Tartuffe and Organ. Tartuffe acts as a religious advisor to Organ, the head of the household and owner of the estate. Organ and his mother Madam Pernelle believe Tartuffe to be a man of holiness and zeal, but the rest of the members of the house know him as the hypocrite he is (Moliére 57). Organ seems to be more concerned with his precious Tartuffe than his own family. When he comes home…

Words 1316 - Pages 6

Religious Hypocrisy In Moliere's Tartuffe

An author’s work serves as a window of insight for the reader; for example, the author of The Song of Ch’un-Hyang revealed women’s issues in 18th century Korea, and the author of Tartuffe, Moliere, expressed the issue of religious hypocrisy. The arrangement of the characters and the story itself conveyed their themes perfectly, allowing the reader to view into the author’s time period and analyze the society, the ideals, and issues mentioned. This is done through utilizing literary devices, ranging…

Words 1302 - Pages 6

Docu: Hypocrisy and Tartuffe Essay

Conflicts in Drama: The Character of Orgon in "Tartuffe" Tartuffe, the main character of Moliere’s comedy under the same name, became a symbol of hypocrisy. The comedy was written in the 60-s of the XVII century but the problem it arises is still very topical for today too. From the point of view of the Bible, hypocrisy is one the nastiest of the human vices. The Bible states that it is better to have a straightforward enemy than a hypocritical friend. Most often hypocritical people…

Words 1072 - Pages 5

Hypocrisy In Madame Perliere's Tartuffe

like sinners while making Tartuffe as a saint. She calls out Dorine for talking too much, Damis for bring a dunce, Mariane for pretending to be innocent and pure, Elmire for bad behavior, and Cléante for taking worldly advice (Act 1, lines 7-40). What I see is that she is just constantly confessing their sins rather than helping their sins. She refuses to listen to other people's opinions, conserving her own beliefs about Tartuffe. Instead of trying to figure out if Tartuffe is a good man, she accepts…

Words 640 - Pages 3

Essay on Darmatuge Tartuffe

Dramaturge Research As the Dramaturge, the first thing that I did was to find different pictures from other productions of Tartuffe. These pictures represented the different costumes, set designs, furniture and decorations that have been used over time. I thought that these would be important for my team members in order for them to have a visual idea of what has been done before, so that we know how to proceed in our own production. It also important to note that since we had changed our production…

Words 699 - Pages 3

Tartuffe Essay

Cleante: A True Enlightenment Man Moliere’s Tartuffe is from 17th century France, during the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason. The type of Enlightenment in the western culture differed from the Eastern Asian philosophies. Enlightenment thinkers put faith in reason and analysis in the Western culture. Tartuffe was born to a culture that valued the age of rationalism, or practical thinking, which had gradually departed from religious beginnings. Furthermore, people in Paris were interested…

Words 1059 - Pages 5

Hypocrites In Tartuffe

story, Tartuffe, written by Jean-Baptise Poquelin, known by his pseudonym Moliere, there were numerous situations in which the characters believed that Tartuffe was acting as a hypocrite. The word “Hypocrisy” is a special word in this story due to the fact that hypocritical activities plays an invertible role throughout the story. Tartuffe uses different techniques to display the hypocritical actions such as deceivance, manipulation, and being a con artist. In Moliere literary work Tartuffe, Orgon’s…

Words 445 - Pages 2

Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz Literary Devices

story or a poem. When you close read or analyze you are paying closure attention to the meaning and details behind each sentence. This will help a person have a better understanding of the text. The two that have stuck out to me this semester are Tartuffe and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. With theses reading I wanted to find a deeper meaning to what they were writing. Even though many of these stories are written in different time periods and are completelty…

Words 797 - Pages 4

Enlightenment: Revelation and Moliére Essay

basically the use of humor to point out the weaknesses, irrationalities, and hypocrisies of people and society. In Moliére's case, as well as other playwrights and authors, satire allowed him to say things that would normally be censured or get him in serious trouble with the king, all because he was funny. 2. Explain how Moliére's Tartuffe embodies the period of the Enlightenment and how he uses satire in the play. In Tartuffe, Moliére emphasizes reason and discernment, key characteristics of the…

Words 893 - Pages 4