Appearance vs. Reality
Moliere’s Tartuffe is a play whose message is of religious hypocrisy however; it also deals with disguise and appearance versus reality. Within this play, Moliere created a character, Tartuffe, who claims to be a man of the cloth. In reality, he is a con man. Tartuffe hides behind his so-called piety and uses this mask to conceal what he truly desires; money and power. Moliere makes Tartuffe transparent enough so that the audience (and the rest of the cast) can easily see through his shenanigans. Nevertheless, the protagonist, Orgon, cannot see through the false appearance. One source that I read suggested that Orgon’s blind obedience to Tartuffe is the true moral of the play. He observes that “dupe and deceiver—and which is which?—are seen to be partners in the same enterprise” (as cited in Men and Masks, 1963). It is his opinion that Orgon basically didn’t care if Tartuffe was truly religious, Orgon just liked to revel in the obsequious attention given to him by Tartuffe (Mills, 2011).
Moliere toys with us while expounding on this theme of appearance and disguise. At one point in the play, Orgon angrily disinherits his son, Damis because Damis voices his disgust of Tartuffe. Tartuffe makes the pretense of speaking up for Damis by saying to Orgon, “Believe his story; the boy deserves your trust. Why, after all, should you have faith in me? How can you know what I might do, or be? Is it on my good actions that you base your favor? Do you trust my pious face? Ah, no, don’t be deceived by hollow shows; I’m far, alas, from being what men suppose; Though the world takes me for a man of worth, I’m truly the most worthless man on earth” (3.6.28). This excerpt is the main take away from the play. Another key line in the play is when Cleante states to Orgon, “There’s a vast difference, so it seems to me, between true piety and hypocrisy: How do you fail to see it, may I ask? Is not a face quite different than a mask?” Again, Moliere is referencing a theme of disguise versus reality.
There are other examples of deception and false appearance throughout the play. Elmire uses a false appearance of lust to trap Tartuffe into revealing his true self. She convinces Orgon to hide under a table while she uses her cunning to convince Tartuffe of her false intentions. That smacks of irony to me. A character has to deceive the imposter in order to expose his lies. Other examples include episodes where Dorine and Damis use deception to help get around Orgon.
Tartuffe’s message is still relevant in today’s modern society. Hypocrisy, religious or otherwise is still prevalent and presents itself daily. People still hide behind masks to disguise their true intent. Moliere’s message is that we must be diligent in our search for a person’s true nature.

Works Cited
(1963). Men and Masks, A Study of Moliere. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.

Mills, J. (2011). A Memorable Imposter. Retrieved Sept 12, 2014, from Insights - A Study Guide to the Utah Shakesspeare Festival: http://www.bard.org/Education/studyguides/Tartuffe/tartuffeimposter.html#.VBJCmZUg_IU