Moliere: Tartuffe, Comedy in Five Acts (Originally published 1669), Translated into English Verse by Richard Wilbur (1963) Harcourt Press

In Tartuffe, Moliere introduces us to Orgon. Orgon, a wealthy family man, befriends a stranger (Tartuffe) who outwardly appears to be a devout Christian; however the reader soon learns that he is a fraud – an imposter. Orgon trusts him implicitly and places him on a pedestal, putting his needs above those of his own family (who quickly see through the transparent behaviors of Tartuffe.). Orgon is warned by many characters that Tartuffe is lying and manipulating him in an effort to get ahead financially and socially. Orgon turns a blind eye to these warnings, but eventually learns about the betrayal when he eavesdrops on Tartuffe trying to seduce his wife. Unfortunately his plan to evict Tartuffe backfires when Tartuffe reveals secrets that Orgon told him in confidence. However, in the end, Tartuffe’s dishonesty is revealed, he is arrested and Orgon’s home life returns to normal.

The main theme of Tartuffe is religious hypocrisy, and the character of Tartuffe most exemplifies this trait. He repeatedly claims to be a true Christian when he actually is a fraud. He purports to be morally superior to others, when in fact he acts immorally (by trying to seduce Orgon’s wife, for example). Orgon’s brother-in-law Cleante is the moral opposite of Tartuffe and tries to be the voice of reason throughout the play. Simply, he feels that a true Christian should practice what they preach. He notes that many people leading true Christian lives don’t need to continually point out how good of a life they are leading. They go about their daily routine without patting themselves on the back for their pious deeds. Even at the play’s end, Cleante scolds Orgon for wishing harsh punishment on Tartuffe for his betrayal, reminding him that a true Christian would choose forgiveness over vindictiveness.

Another recurring theme in Tartuffe is deception. The character of Tartuffe is a master of deception, who successfully deceives Orgon into believing he is a virtuous man even though he is a fraud. We learn at the end of the play that Tartuffe is a professional imposter/con-man who has committed a series of crimes during his lifetime using fake identities. Moliere also shows the flip-side of deception several times, by having the innocent characters participate in things such as hiding and eavesdropping in order to reveal Tartuffe’s hypocrisy and deceit.
In addition to these main themes, secondary themes including gullibility and weakness are evident throughout the play. Orgon’s character exemplifies both of these traits. His gullibility allows him to accept Tartuffe’s words at face value and his weakness keeps him from hearing/seeing the truth even though his family continues to point out Tartuffe’s bad side. As a master con-man, Tartuffe uses all of Orgon’s flaws to manipulate him and to further his own agenda.

All of the themes presented in the play (hypocrisy, deception, gullibility and weakness) are consistent with each other as they are all basic flaws in human nature. Moliere uses words to bring these themes to light. Most notably with Cleante who has several monologues, during which he tries to act as the voice of reason by exposing Tartuffe for the fraud that he is. Additionally, the character of Dorine (Mariane’s handmaiden) is not afraid to speak her mind about her feelings of distrust in Tartuffe. She expresses these concerns to her employer Orgon, his daughter Mariane, and her fiancé Valere. This is particularly interesting as a female servant of that time would normally fear the repercussions of being so vocal to the male head of the house.

It is evident to me that Moliere, as a playwright, most definitely seemed to have an opinion about the themes presented in Tartuffe - most notably religious hypocrisy. By initially writing Tartuffe as a clergyman, he caused controversy which resulted in public performances of Tartuffe being banned. Opposition came from the Catholic Church as well as members of France’s upper-class. Eventually, Moliere revised the play, rewriting Tartuffe as a layman and lessening his criticisms of religion. This, along with support from Louis XIV, kept Moliere from being excommunicated. Although the controversy eventually waned, Moliere censored his future plays to avoid a repeat of the problems he encountered with Tartuffe.

Tartuffe is presented to the reader with a somewhat unique writing style. Each line is 10 syllables long and is written in rhyming phrases. At first it was a little off-putting; however once you got used to the way the dialogue flowed, it was very easy to read and understand. The subject of the play is presented very clearly by Moliere. Although set in seventeenth century Paris under the reign of King Louis XIV, the characters and themes could easily be transformed to any time or place and still be significant. Themes such as hypocrisy, gullibility, deception and weakness are timeless and relatable, making the basic subject matter of Tartuffe as relevant today as it was during its original setting.