Essay #1: Renaissance and the Enlightenment

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Student Cid

Prof. Vicki Lague

LIT2120 Ref. #XXXXXX

October 20, 2014

Religion in Tartuffe

Religion can be the bastion of saints, or the mask of devils. It can be an unrelenting

force—for good, or evil. At the time of the Enlightenment, all of human society was undergoing

profound shifts in thought, and religion—a powerful force throughout Europe—was not exempt

from the great leap forward. In Molière’s Tartuffe, the theme of religion, and in particular

religious hypocrisy, is explored through the supposed holiness of Tartuffe, the praise he receives

from others, contrasted with the reality of his nature.

To begin with, a number of those around Tartuffe are obsessed with him, unquestioning

of his holiness. The play opens with Madame Pernelle defending Tartuffe, singing his praises.

She says, “He is a holy man, and must be heeded” (1.1.49). Tartuffe is treated as a saint by

Madame Pernelle; she directs venom towards Damis, her grandson. To him she says, “I can’t

endure, with any show of patience, / To hear a scatterbrains like you attack him [Tartuffe]”

(1.1.50-51). The great irony is that even as she praises Tartuffe for his supposed holiness, in her

act of disdain for her own grandson, and in her lack of patience and charity, she has made herself

a thoroughly unholy hypocrite. Molière draws out the truth with Madame Pernelle’s own words

and from the very start of the play makes clear that characters will step all over their own family

members without a second thought in defense of this, as yet mysterious, Tartuffe. In speaking of

Tartuffe with Cleante, a more reasonable voice, Orgon (Madame Pernelle’s son, father of

Damis), speaks with fanatical reverence. He says to Cleante, “Dear brother, you’d be charmed to

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know him; / Your raptures over him would have no end. / He is a man… who… ah!… in fact…

a man” (1.6.12-14). Orgon speaks of Tartuffe to the point of almost treating him as more than a

man. He stops short of saying that Tartuffe is more than a man but speaks of him almost as

though he were a God. He stutters and becomes almost nervous when speaking of Tartuffe, as

though he were mad. Tartuffe, the holy man, is praised and venerated. Orgon is so emotional that

he can't even rationally describe what he really thinks of Tartuffe. Sometimes, people become

convinced of what they've heard, but they don't even understand it on an intellectual level where

they can explain it themselves. Orgon's stuttering may actually be that sort of thing, where he's

emotional about Tartuffe, but by no means rational, and can't put his thoughts into words

precisely because they're not rational to begin with. His emotions have run away with him.

Making a simple stutter mean so much is a very subtle maneuver on Molière’s part.

Further on, the play reaches the heart of the matter in showing the audience exactly who

this Tartuffe, so loved by those obsessed with him, really is. The man praised by hypocrites like

Madame Pernelle, and the easily manipulated and fanatical Orgon, is a hypocrite in and of

himself. He is no holy man. Tartuffe attempts to establish an illicit relationship with Elmire,

Orgon’s wife. He attempts such a thing with the wife of the man who is so loyal to him,

impassioned in speaking of him. The key here is to remember that Tartuffe is a symbol of

holiness, of religion, and thoroughly trusted. Yet, holy as he is, wrapped up in the cloak of

religion as he may be, he is an evil man and a traitor. Tartuffe says to Elmire, “Madame, I am

overjoyed. / ’Tis sweet to find myself alone with you” (3.3.22-23). He reaches for Elmire’s hand,

puts his own hand on her knee, and caresses her dress. The man so praised and trusted, the

religious symbol of holiness upon whom every praise is lavished from the very start of the play,

is a demonstrable hypocrite unworthy of any trust whatsoever. When Damis, who has seen what

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Tartuffe has attempted, later attempts to reveal to his father the truth about Tartuffe, Orgon again

sides with the religious hypocrite. He is again blind, as some are with religion. Orgon dismisses

his son’s claims, and takes pity on Tartuffe, the traitor, the faux holy man. He disowns his son

and promises to sign over his inheritance to Tartuffe. The act finishes with Orgon’s words: “Poor

man! / We’ll go make haste to draw the deed aright, / And then let envy burst itself with spite!

(3.7.48-50).

Molière establishes Tartuffe from very early on as a sort of saint, according to the praise

of those who have vested much trust in him. Madame Pernelle, Orgon—they lavish praise on

Tartuffe. As the drama progresses, the audience encounters more and more of the reality of the

man. The reasonable doubts of anyone listening to such fanatical praise of another human being

are enough to set off alarm, suspicion, about this Tartuffe character. As the drama progresses and

the audience reaches the climax of the play, the truth about the faux holy man is revealed, and in

it, a truth about religion—that sometimes human beings are blind to the realities of religious

hypocrisy, and too willing too follow and obey those who they are told are holy. At the time of

the Enlightenment, such ideas must have been controversial, but in this day and age, Molière’s

take on the theme of religion is more vindicated than ever. The audience must be mindful that

Molière is not necessarily disparaging religion in general, but showing disdain for religious

hypocrisy, and in so doing, may be defending sincere religion. Tartuffe faces justice in the end,

once Orgon realizes the traitor he truly is. Tartuffe ultimately is exposed to the light, and seen by

Orgon for what he truly is. In the end, Orgon, most charmed by Tartuffe, says of him: “Nothing

more wicked e’er came out of hell” (4.6.1).

In sum, Molière’s revelation of Tartuffe as a hypocrite, by comparing the reality of

Tartuffe to the praises of those blind to his hypocrisy, is a condemnation of hypocrisy in religion

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at the time of the Enlightenment. In line with the thinking of the time, light had to be shed in

those dark areas where people were unwilling to look, and the truth had to be revealed. Molière

does this perfectly through the person of Tartuffe, exploring the theme of religion and in

particular religious hypocrisy by exploring the blindness of human veneration.

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Works Cited

Molière, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. Tartuffe. LIT2120 class handout. Miami Dade College. Miami,

FL. n.d. PDF file.

I, Jonathan Cid, confirm that this assignment is my own work and that I have documented all

sources that were used in this essay.