StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Moliere's Tartuffe - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
That Moliere created his famously controversial work, Tartuffe, during what Morizot has characterized as an "Age of Quarrels" (2006: n.p,) is well-known; what demands a more precise analysis is how Moliere crafted his play in order to contribute his own observations and opinions to these quarrels and conflicts in a French context…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.8% of users find it useful
Molieres Tartuffe
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Moliere's Tartuffe"

Download file to see previous pages

Religion, as portrayed by Moliere, was another type of absolutism that stifled critical thought and freedom of expression. For purposes of this essay, it is Moliere's interposition of a sort of religious absolutism into a familial absolutism that best illustrates the dangers of absolutism in any form. The conventional wisdom is that Moliere sought to point out religious hypocrisy through Tartuffe; a more reasoned and nuanced approach would probe deeper and conclude that Moliere was more interested in the dangers of absolutism in any form than with religion more specifically.

Religion was Moliere's means to an end rather than the end-criticism itself. Religion, as will be demonstrated, was also perceived by Moliere as a threat to the monarchy and the wise leadership of France. This essay will argue that the pattern of conflicts created by Moliere, and best exemplified through the relationships cultivated by Tartuffe, were avoidable in large part but for the blind reliance of certain characters on unproven assumptions underlying certain types of absolutism. More specifically, the Tartuffe approach created by Moliere demonstrated how absolutism could be manipulated by unscrupulous characters, how people's lives could be placed in jeopardy by relying on absolutist principles to the exclusion of critical thought, and how deception could be used to create divisions among even the closest family relations.

The pattern of conflicts, therefore, is almost always underpinned by the tension between a governing absolutist mode of thought conflicting with those whom would attempt to think critically. 18th Century France: A Pervasive Absolutism As a preliminary matter, in order to establish the proposition that Tartuffe was more critical of absolutism than religion per se, it is necessary to place the play within its proper historical context. It is therefore important to identify Moliere's audience if one is to understand the nature of his literary criticisms; as stated by Baker, The audience for which Moliere wrote Tartuffe was a worldly sector of the social elite in Paris in the latter third of the Seventeenth Century.

Indeed, its original audience was the royal court at Louis XIV's great palace Versailles. At least officially, that society remained unabashedly patriarchal: husbands and fathers exercised sovereign authority over their dependents (1996: n.p.) This quotation indicates a number of important historical and contextual points. First, the audience was the social and cultural elite of the time. More specifically, the royal court would be exposed to the play, the portrayal of the dangers of relying upon religious orthodoxy uncritically would be presented to these elites, and the character hiding behind the sacred cloak of religious devotion would be the scoundrel and the deceptive character.

Second, this play took place in a society that prided itself on an "unabashedly patriarchal" social order. Thus, royalty, the church, and the family were institutions that were revered and criticism of them was bound to stir up resentment and animosity. Moliere was, quite clearly, aware of the risks associated with his play; his social and cultural setting, for instance, has been noted for its "climate of social and religious persecution" (Tartuffe by Moliere: Political and Historical Context, 2005: 1).

In short, the setting was a very dangerous one

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Moliere's Tartuffe Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Moliere's Tartuffe Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1522524-molieres-tartuffe
(Moliere'S Tartuffe Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
Moliere'S Tartuffe Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1522524-molieres-tartuffe.
“Moliere'S Tartuffe Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1522524-molieres-tartuffe.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Moliere's Tartuffe

The Use of Satire in Tartuffe by Moliere

"The Use of Satire in tartuffe by Moliere" paper focuses on a comedy written by Moliere and “was first performed before Louis XIV at Versailles in 1664”.... The characters in the play include tartuffe, Orgon, Elmire, Dorine, Cleante, Mariane, Damis, Madame Pernelle, Valere, and a police officer.... The use of satire in the play can be seen in tartuffe, who appears to be a very religious man, but he is a hypocrite.... This is because when he arrives in Orgon's house, tartuffe possesses as a poor, but the extremely religious man of God....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

Comparison of satire

In tartuffe, he had characters that portrayed man's distrust of others and the pretentious side of men.... The religious hypocrite in the play as well as the proud gentleman was examples of Moliere's building of a character for a satire such as tartuffe.... One of the most apparent uses of this technique would be in tartuffe or The Bourgeois Gentleman.... In a play like tartuffe, however, Molire continued the play for an entire act longer than is often thought necessary....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Blind Faith in Moliere's Tartuffe

Madame Pernelle likes tartuffe because she thinks that he is a pious man.... She places blind faith in tartuffe.... Dorine says; When Dorine criticizes tartuffe, Madame Pernelle defends his action to her family members because she argues that tartuffe is justified in his opinion that people should be forbidden to visit the house because of the physical noise the transport makes and the talk generated by a meeting of people.... hellip; Madame Pernelle says; Madame Pernelle criticizes talk but she conveniently forgets that tartuffe talks a lot by offering his opinions on social decorum for others....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

Comedy Litterature/ Moliere's Tartuffe

hellip; Although Tartuffe is the clear villain and charlatan who embody those people who advocate religious devoutness but they themselves refuse to put into practice, The Satire of Moliere's Tartuffe Moliere's Tartuffe is definitely a satire.... Hence, due to tartuffe's sardonic character, the play was banned by religious supporters from public performance.... Although tartuffe is the clear villain and charlatan who embody those people who advocate religious devoutness but they themselves refuse to put into practice, Orgon has the intricate role through whom this pious insincerity is directed....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Analysis of Jean-Baptiste Molieres Tartuffe Play

He is the first in the family to understand tartuffe's real motives and tries in vain to convince Orgon that his guest is a villain.... He tries his best to make his brother in-law see the true nature of tartuffe; however, he fails to convince Orgon.... His sense of realism, virtue and morality urges him to denounce tartuffe's lack of sincerity.... His commitment and sense of purpose prompt him to keep on conveying his message of truth and sensitize the family about tartuffe's hypocrisy; however, his attempts fail to be effective because neither Orgon nor his mother can envision this possibility....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Orgons Obsession in Molieres Tartuffe

(A1)I think the struggle for power within the family is amusing in the way that everyone is trying to enforce their will on others; there is Madame Pernelle who is snapping at Damis, Elmire and Cleante and not allowing them to speak back to her, there is the confusing and… This resonates with the contemporary family, where the elders of the house, specifically the father and his own parents, try to control (A2) tartuffe was able to deceive Orgon was because of Orgons stubbornness and lack of common sense....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

Tartuffe by Moliere

Emanuel Chill's article explores the religious and political pressure that resulted in the changes in tartuffe following its censorship and questions the impact of these transformations on the characters.... He finds a connection between issues the play portrays and the reality in the French society that motivates such an opposition: “tartuffe was based on a family situation-complete with cuckold, clerical intruder and scolding mother-in-law” (168).... Chill's article presents relevant data that can be helpful for a research paper on tartuffe....
8 Pages (2000 words) Annotated Bibliography

The Play Tartuffe Is Molieres Way of Exposing Hypocrisy, Religion, Foolishness, Deceit, and Sin

"The Play tartuffe Is Moliere's Way of Exposing Hypocrisy, Religion, Foolishness, Deceit, and Sin" paper focuses on the plays tartuffe by Moliere which does not condemn religion, but rather attempts to expose those who present themselves as religious and righteous individuals such as tartuffe.... hellip; tartuffe is the most sinful person in the play.... hen Orgon meets tartuffe, he is impressed by his holiness and therefore he decides to house him....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us