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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Orgon Personality in 'Tartuffe'

Jean Baptiste Poquelin Moliere (1622-1673), the famous French playwright, played a significant role in the development of theatre. His contribution to world play art is very hard to overestimate. The characters and stories Moliere depicts in his plays became familiar and favorite to millions of thankful readers and viewers. One of the best works of this outstanding author is the comedy play 'Tartuffe'.


Tartuffe is a funny story about human weaknesses and flaws. The play takes place in Paris in the year 1660. The main character is Tartuffe, rather clever but greedy man who wants to become wealthy by deceiving others. He is a talented hypocrite and uses every possibility to mislead people. His principal aim is Orgon, the head of the wealthy family, with house, money, and beautiful daughter, Mariane. Tartuffe puts all his efforts to conquer the mind and the heart of Orgon’s family. 

Orgon (along with his mother Madame Pernelle) is duped by humble, pious man and starts trusting him and caring about him. Surprisingly Orgon values Tartuffe more than other family members. For example, after coming back from his trip, Orgon asks Cleante, his brother-in-law, how was everything. During their dialog, the reader understands that the only one Orgon worries about are Tartuffe. Moreover, Orgon wants Tartuffe to marry his only daughter, beautiful Mariane. The girl cannot believe it, as she is already engaged with Valere, her loving fiancĂ©. Dorine, her servant, supports Marine and tries to help her avoid terrible mistakes. Besides, Damis, Orgon’s son, is in love with Valere’s sister and is also interested in Mariane’s wedding. Elmire, Orgon’s wife, is a rather smart woman. She realizes that Tartuffe is a typical hypocrite and tries to convince her husband in it. However, Orgon is blind in his emotions and does not hear his smart wife. Everybody in the family, besides Orgon himself and his mother, suspects Tartuffe’s insincerity. Damis tries to catch Tartuffe when he professes love to Elmire, but when he tells Orgon about it, the reaction is unbelievable. Orgon does not believe his son and disinherits him. Besides, he signs over his property to Tartuffe. The fight between Tartuffe and Orgon’s family continues until Orgon opens his eyes and realizes the real nature of his friend. Orgon bans Tartuffe from his house, but Tartuffe has all the right to Orgon’s house, money, and papers. Luckily the king intervenes, and Tartuffe is arrested.

This play has several significant messages that readers usually see. Lies are bad, and a liar will be punished (about Tartuffe), value your family and those who love you (about Orgon), keep trying and you will succeed if your aim is good (about Elmire), believe in love, and it will win (about Mariane and Valere), and others. Some people think that Moliere portrayed human weaknesses and flaws depicting Orgon’s and Tartuffe’s behavior. However, to my mind, there are some more hidden messages in this play. For example, Orgon is usually seen as a silly and stubborn man unable to tell right from wrong. But I saw Orgon as a person who was seeking for something good and sincere in his life. When he meets Tartuffe and faces his virtues and religious nature, he believes Tartuffe at once. It is not because Orgon is very foolish and naive person, but because he sees what he wants to see. I believe that silly man could not become wealthy and grow two nice children. To my mind, Orgon wanted to be the pious and religious person himself and meets the embodiment of his dream in Tartuffe. It is not Tartuffe who dupes Orgon. Orgon desires to be closer to faith, and goodness fooled him and made him blind.

Many readers consider Orgon weak and mean. However, I am sure that Moliere wanted to depict Orgon as a kind-hearted and strong man. Truly, how could a weak person reach such a high and respected position in French society? Besides, one of the most important Orgon’s features is devotion to friendship. As Orgon trusts Tartuffe and considers him his guest and friend, he must prove his attitude. Thus, when Orgon signs over his property to his best friend Tartuffe, he shows his commitment to true man’s friendship. He trusts his friend more than himself and his family and is not afraid to admit and demonstrate it. Only kind and strong man that believes in friendship and faith are able for such serious acts.

Tartuffe by Moliere is to my mind one of the cutest and controversial plays. Being written around 350 years ago, I am sure it will be popular for many hundreds of years more.

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