By: Moliere

Presented By: Jaimie Goss

Kaitlyn McClung

James Rasalam

Shardaya Weems

Orgon’s mother

Believed Tartuffe to be godly and should be respected as a saint

Didn’t want Orgon to let Tartuffe go because she saw Tartuffe as a saint

Elmire’s husband

Blinded by Tartuffe’s “loyalty”

Believed Tartuffe over his own family and would do what Tartuffe said was the smart idea

Orgon’s wife

Sees through Tartuffe’s lies

Later deceives Tartuffe in order to make Orgon see the real criminal that he is

Orgon’s son

Elmire’s stepson

Never thinks before he acts. He always rushes into things which later create problems within him and his family

Orgon’s daughter

Elmire’s stepdaughter

In love with Valere

Almost married Tartuffe under father’s command

Lets her father control her life

Childish and naive

In love with Marianne

He is charming like Prince Charming from Sleeping Beauty

Respects Marianne and wants her to make her own decisions

He also respects Orgon and his choices

Orgon’s brother- in- law

tries to help the family with Tartuffe because he also believes that Tartuffe is a fraud

A hypocrite, False prophet

Cunning

Reminds people of Honest John from Pinocchio

Tries to steal everything from the family

Betrothed to Marianne but infatuated with Elmire

Marianne’s lady’s- maid

Not afraid to speak her mind and opinions

Does not follow rules and she acts as part of the family instead of a maid

She is kind of like Danielle from Ever After

Monsieur Loyal- a bailiff; told the family that they had to leave under Tartuffe’s orders; seduced by Tartuffe

Police Officer- loyal to the Prince (King Louis XIV) instead of Tartuffe

Flipote- Madame Pernelle’s man- servant, does not get treated well

Focuses on Orgon’s desire to preserve control in his family. Using his authority as her father, Orgon plans to force Marianne to marry Tartuffe. Tartuffe attempts to seduce Elmire. Elmire tries to reveal Tartuffe’s true nature to Orgon by getting Tartuffe to repeat his passionate revelations while Orgon is hiding in the room. Elmire’s plot succeeds, but it is too late because Orgon has already signed the house and properties over to Tartuffe. Although the ending is contrived, all does end happily and poetic justice is accomplished.

In a Parisian luxurious home of Orgon

mid 1600s

Act 1, Scene 1

All said by Madame Pernelle

“Than dear Orante…”- Madame Pernelle believes Orante will condemn Damis and Dorine

“Parties are Towers of Babylon”

“Are nothing but inventions of the Devil”- Damis’ and Dorine’s thoughts of Tartuffe

Act 4, Scene 1

“sacrifices your wrath to God above”

“God knows what people would think”

“leave vengeance to the Lord”

“but I am not commanded by the Bible”

“and thus obeyed the laws of Heaven

“Parties are Towers of Babylon, because

The guests all babble on without a pause.”

Act 1, Scene 1 by Madame Pernelle

Compares parties to Towers of Babylon because of how the people react at a party

“And thus high Heaven’s justice was displayed: Betraying you, the rogue stood self- betrayed.”

Act 5, Scene 7

Act 1, Scene 1

“Seems so pure, so shy, so innocent and so demure.”

“ Their dear, dead mother did far better…”

“And practices precisely what he preaches”

“I’ll slap some sense into that stupid face.”

Act 4, Scene 5

“I fear my words are all too frank and fare”

“In him and him alone will he confide; / He’s made him his confessor and his guide.”

line 17-18…. Act 1, Scene 1

Orgon tells Tartuffe about his secrets

Act 1, Scene 1

“And you, his sister, seem so pure,/ So shy, so innocent and so demure.”

“I tell you that you’re blest to have Tartuffe Dwelling, as my son’s guest, beneath his roof…”

The beginning of the play- Damis and Dorine call Tartuffe a hypocrite while Madame Pernelle says that he is a fine man and would save their souls.

Orgon throws Damis out of the house and Tartuffe tells him that it was wrong in God’s eyes to throw someone out of the house and than Tartuffe later tries to throw the family out of their house.

The central theme is the exploration of religious hypocrisy in contrast to true Christian value

the theme leads to the satire

satirizes religion and being pious

parody of St. Augustine’s Authoritarian and misanthropic version of Christianity

Orgon is eager to believe in Tartuffe for a variety of reasons, but one of these is because the religion that Tartuffe is peddling is a version of Christianity that Moliere regards as insane

Orgon’s dependents are connected with his relish over original sin of human nature- He’s a “by the book” Christian

The target of the play’s satire is Tartuffe himself and that Tartuffe is obviously not an example of a religious hypocrite.

Orgon eagerly buys into Tartuffe’s mindlessly disciplinary rigor( based on the “extremist theory of Original Sin”)

The play pokes fun at the obsessive fanaticism and the blind gullibility of those who allow themselves to be victimized by the greedy and self- serving.

Tartuffe is considered a comedy and a satire work

comedy- contains basic and accepted patterns of comedic development

satire- takes a very specific human vice( religious hypocrisy) and censures it with the intent of improving humanity

the characters in the play always hide in order to obtain secretive information

Tartuffe first appears in Act 3, Scene 1, but the reader and audience have already been well- introduced to his character before his appearance

characters of Tartuffe are intended as types, rather than realistically drawn literary figures

-Tartuffe: archetypal hypocrite

-Orgon: archetypal gullible fool

- may not always be “realistic”, but represents typical behavior of personality type that the character embodies