Tartuffe, a man who was a vagrant- is a cunning opportunist who postured himself as a man of grandiose piety- imbued with the ability to speak with God , in order to earn Orgon’s trust – the ultimate goal of climbing out the cliffs of poverty. Orgon is a rather complex character, having always tended to his servitude of the king and other significant matters in a rational demeanor- which raises the question of how an intelligent and well respected man such as Orgon deteriorated into a vacuous puppet of Tartuffes manipulation. Almost to the point of being too obvious, it is dubious that Orgon was attached to Tartuffe simply in hopes of obtaining some sort of spiritual nourishment, but rather was a way for Molliere to epitomize the almost absurd amount of control that religious hypocrisy (hypocrites) can have over even the most rational and respected men. During the time that the controversial and banned theatrical comedy (threats of excommunication were made clear to those who attempted to watch the …show more content…
Tartuffe also known as the The Hypocrite, is an allegory of religious hypocrisy – most notably that of the Church. The Church ostensibly feigns true virtue, proclaiming to embody the highest of moral standards- absent of political or social influence, though in reality much of the political atmosphere in post-medieval/Rennaisance Europe was far from secular. Abuse of indulgences plagued the foundation of Christianity- pay not pray. The Church employed pardoners to raise wealth on the premise of absolving the individual of temporal punishment of sins committed by purchasing a pardon – an indulgence, a monetized form of religious penance – absolution married to capitalism. Sinners rejoice -show your devotion to the Lord and empty the wallet for you can still hold on to your ticket to the pearly