Analysis of "Le Tartuffe" by Molière: Characters, Themes, and Religious Context
"Le Tartuffe," written by Molière in 1669, delves into themes of religion, hypocrisy, and the interplay of characters within a bourgeois household. The story revolves around Tartuffe, a hypocritical character who manipulates the head of the household, Orgon, while others like Cléante and Elmire serve as voices of reason. The younger generation, including Damis and Mariane, grapple with familial honor and personal relationships. Alongside the main characters, Dorine and Monsieur Loyal add depth to the narrative. The play explores the serious themes of religion, the masks people wear in society, and the theatricality of human behavior.
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Molire, Le Tartuffe, 1669 Defining France, week 14
Tartuffe Name = hypocrisy type character the d vot , the faux d vot Not a priest so he can marry
Orgon Bourgeois Desire to believe Insecure Long history of being religious, a good Christian like many in the audience
Clante and Elmire Cl ante: Voice of reason Sans cesse vous pr chez des maximes de vivre I, 1 Not comic Elmire: Orgon s 2ndwife Serious character Object of Tartuffe s desire
The Younger Generation Damis: Exiled Importance of family honour Mariane: inefficace? Threat of her marriage Val re Mariane s lover
Other characters Dorine: Voice of reason along with Cl ante suivante Subversive but acts in the family interest From outside the household: Monsieur Loyal L Exempt
Major Themes Religion Hypocrisy Household Masks Theatricality
Religion To enjoy Tartuffe it is important to know that to Moli re s contemporaries every aspect of religion was an absorbing topic, but that one did not write about it in a comedy. Gaston Hall, Moli re: Tartuffe (Southampton: The Camelot Press, 1977), p. 7 French Wars of Religion, 1562-1598 Dragonnades Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685
Religion Jesuits and Jansenists Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement Survey of nation s morals directeurs de conscience Richelieu and Mazarin Banned 1660 Role in Tartuffe s censorship in 1664? Charpy de Sainte-Croix and Bendinelli
Religion How to practice religion: Religion is serious Hair shirt, his scrounge, the whip Que vous alliez v tue ainsi qu une princesse , I, 1 Actors excommunicated Pascal hair shirt and belt with inward iron spikes
Religion and Hypocrisy Voulez-vous qu il y coure vos heures pr cises, | Comme ceux qui n y vont que pour tre apercus? II, 2 Religion vs. fa ade of religion Use of religious language gallant, poetic and religious language for seduction, III, 3 Hypocrisy a mortal sin
Satire Gros et gras, le teint frais, et la bouche vermeille. I, 4 Hyperbole and satire Tradition continued today
Household Orgon 358 lines, Dorine 339 Father as head of household Faites que votre fils se taise ou se retire , V, 4 Jacques Guicharnaud Orgon s entourage reacts to him rather like subjects would toward a king [devoted] to a bad minister. Cited in Gaston Hall, Comedy in Context: Essays on Moli re (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1984), p. 145
Masks and Theatricality Elmire s second encounter with Tartuffe En mettant le th tre sur le th tre, Moli re peut, par un proc d d ironie dramatique, d montrer le m canisme m me de l illusion : l apparence se r v le comme le seul moyen de montrer la v rit . C est toute la force du th tre qui, se donnant pour illusoire, ne ment pas et dit le vrai. Jean Serroy, Pr face , in Moli re, Le Tartuffe (Paris: Gallimard, 2014), pp. 7-30 (pp. 24-5).
Masks and Theatricality Hypocrite to impostor L Exempt Deus ex machina/Rex ex machina
Molire and Classicism Central tenets: unities, alexandrine, acts and scenes, vraisemblance, biens nace Alexandrine: Verse to imitate real life 5 acts to ennoble the play? Hint of tragic?
Molire and Classicism Unity of place: household Unity of time: trois heures , mentions of time throughout the play Unity of action: around the character Tartuffe
Molire and Classicism Vraisemblance Then vs. now careful in our perceptions Biens ance Declaration, 16 April 1641, forbade actions malhonn tes , paroles lascives ou double entente qui puissant blesser l honn tet publique . Tartuffe s seduction of Elmire as shocking Obedience to the rules vs. their expansion
Comedy The comedy of gesture The comedy of the language The comedy of characters The comedy of the situation The comedy of manners or la com die de m urs
Comedy of Gesture (Mariane se recule avec surprise) II, 1 il fait mime de grande r sistance II, 4 (Elle recule sa chaise, et Tartuffe rapproche la sienne) III, 3
Comedy of Gesture Damis in the cupboard III, 4 Orgon under the table as Tartuffe attempts to seduce Elmire, IV, 5
Comedy of Language Language: what it says vs. what it means, III, 4 Henri Bergson, Le Rire. Essai sur la signification du comique (1900) Repetition: Et Tartuffe? , Le pauvre homme! I, 4
Comedy of Character Conflict: Orgon vs. Dorine Orgon vs. Cl ante Tartuffe: those for and against him Exaggeration: Orgon s readiness to believe Reflexion on our own weaknesses
Comedy of Situation Reversal of situations Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World (1941) Carnevalesque
Comedy of Manners Com die de m urs Characteristic traits of social class, stock characters Satire: parody, burlesque, exaggeration, irony Com die vs. comedy
