Need Argumentative essay of minimum over sources below. Essay needs.docx

Need Argumentative essay of minimum over sources below.
Essay needs to be aim at the political and relgious undertones in
the work. This does not have to be some doctorate level paper
just a basic paper but has to be orginal. MLA format
Reisman, Rosemary M. Canfield,
"Magill's Survey of World Literature." (Book, 2009)
[WorldCat.org]. Salem Press, Jan. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. .
The Work
With Tartuffe, Molière moved further away from the simple
structure derived from French farce. In this play, there is again
a middle-aged man, Orgon, who can be tricked because of his
obsession. Yet, although the trickster, Tartuffe, is a person
outside the power structure, in this case he is a vicious
hypocrite who must be stripped of his power over Orgon if
poetic justice is to prevail. Therefore, there is another pair of
tricksters — Orgon’s wife Elmire and his servant Dorine — who
must set things right and aid the usual young lovers.
The structure of this play is also unusual in that the title
character does not appear until the third act. In the first two
acts, the characters voice their opinions of Tartuffe, this
mysterious, seemingly pious man whom Orgon, the head of a
prosperous Parisian household, has taken into his home as an
honored guest. Except for Madame Pernelle, Orgon’s mother,
the family members are unanimous in voicing their dislike of
the man. Orgon’s young wife, Elmire, her stepson Damis, her
stepdaughter Mariane, and her brother Cléante, the raisonneur,
as well as the impertinent servant Dorine, all see Tartuffe for
the hypocrite that he is.
After this preparation has been made, Orgon enters, and Molière
begins to substantiate the fact that he is indeed besotted by this
stranger. In a hilarious dialogue, Dorine attempts to report on

the family, only to be answered over and over again by Orgon’s
anxious inquiry, “And Tartuffe?” followed by a heartfelt “poor
fellow.” Since Tartuffe’s activities involve gluttonous eating
and a good deal of sleeping, Orgon’s concern about the man is
ridiculous. The fact that Orgon’s infatuation could have serious
results is soon made clear, when he reveals his plan to make
Tartuffe a member of the family by giving him his daughter in
marriage. It is at this point that Elmire and Dorine begin to
formulate plans to deceive the deceiver by attacking his own
weaknesses.
Tartuffe’s susceptibility to lust is revealed as soon as he makes
his long-awaited entrance in the third act, when he begs Dorine
to cover her bosom, so as not to tempt him to sin. Elmire’s plan
seems foolproof: She will lead him to make his designs upon
her explicit and then threaten to tell Orgon unless Tartuffe
relinquishes his claims on Mariane. The plan fails, however,
and Tartuffe plays upon Orgon’s emotions so skillfully that he
manages to get Damis disinherited and himself made Orgon’s
heir. Now both of Orgon’s children are powerless, and, of
course, the raisonneur is still being ignored. Somehow, Elmire
and Dorine must expose Tartuffe’s perfidy so that even Orgon
cannot deny it. They do have an ally, Tartuffe’s own weakness.
Actors, directors, and critics agree that the nature of that
weakness is the central issue of Tartuffe. There is no doubt that
Tartuffe is bent on having his way with Elmire. Yet even in the
scenes where he attempts to seduce her, he can be seen as
dominated by the desire for power. Whether his later arrogance
is the result of his humiliation by Elmire or merely his true
nature, Tartuffe viciously seeks to deprive his former patron of
his property, his freedom, perhaps even of his life, and he is
stopped only by the intervention of the godlike King, who
Molière says cannot be deceived.
This graceful compliment was not only politic but also probably

expressed Mohere’s gratitude to Louis XIV, who had supported
the playwright through his various attempts to stage this play.
For some time, Molière had been suspect in the eyes of an
influential group at court, which considered itself the guardian
of public morals. This group managed to have two versions of
Tartuffe suppressed, first in 1664, then in 1667. Only after
Louis XIV obtained the opinion of a theologian who was too
prominent to be refuted was the final version of Tartuffe
presented. Within its first year, it was performed fifty-five
times. It has continued to be one of Molière’s most popular
plays, and it is considered one of his greatest masterpieces.
Essay by: Rosemary M. Canfield Reisman
_____________________________________________________
____________________________
Sobczak, A. J., Janet Alice. Long, and Frank N. Magill.
"Tartuffe." Cyclopedia of Literary Characters. Pasadena, CA:
Salem, 1998. 1-2. Print.
Tartuffe Tartuffe (tahr-TEWF), a religious hypocrite and
impostor who uses religious cant and practices to impose on the
credulity of a wealthy man who befriends him. To acquire
money and cover deceit, he talks of his hair shirt and scourge,
prayers, and distributing alms. He also disapproves of immodest
dress. Before his first appearance, he is reported by some to be
a good man of highest worth and by others to be a glutton, a
winebibber, and a hypocrite. Deciding that he wants his patron’s
daughter as his wife, he uses his seeming piety to convince his
host to break his daughter’s marriage plans. He then endeavors
to seduce his host’s wife by holding her hand, patting her knee,
fingering her lace collar, and making declarations of love to
her. When his conduct is reported to the husband by his wife
and their son, the foolish man forgives Tartuffe and gives the
hypocrite all his property. Another attempted seduction fails
when the husband, hidden, overhears all that happens and orders
Tartuffe out of the house. Tartuffe, boasting that the entire

property is now his, has an eviction order served on his former
patron. When a police officer arrives to carry out the eviction
order, the tables are turned. Tartuffe is arrested at the order of
the king, who declares him to be a notorious rogue.
Orgon Orgon (ohr-GOH[N]), a credulous, wealthy man taken in
by Tartuffe, whom he befriends, invites into his home, and
proposes as a husband for his daughter, who already is promised
to another. Defending Tartuffe against the accusations of his
family and servants, he refuses to believe charges that the
scoundrel has attempted to seduce his wife. He then disowns his
children and signs over all his property to Tartuffe. Only later,
when he hides under the table, at the urging of his wife, and
overhears Tartuffe’s second attempt at seduction, is he
convinced that he is harboring a hypocrite and scheming rascal.
Orgon is saved from arrest and eviction when Tartuffe is taken
away by police officers.
Elmire Elmire (ehl-MEER), Orgon’s wife. Aware of the
wickedness of Tartuffe, she is unable to reveal the hypocrite’s
true nature to her husband. When she finds herself the object of
Tartuffe’s wooing, she urges the son not to make the story
public, for she believes a discreet and cold denial to be more
effective than violent cries of deceit. Finally, by a planned
deception of Tartuffe, she convinces her husband of that
scoundrel’s wickedness.
Dorine Dorine (doh-REEN), a maid, a shrewd, outspoken, and
witty girl who takes an active part in exposing Tartuffe and
assisting the lovers in their plot against him. Much of the humor
of the play results from her impertinence. She objects
straightforwardly to the forced marriage of Tartuffe to Mariane,
and she prevents a misunderstanding between the true lovers.
Mariane Mariane (mah-ree-AHN), Orgon’s daughter, regarded
as a prude by her grandmother. Because she is in love with

Valère, she is unhappy over the marriage to Tartuffe proposed
by her father. Because of her timidity, her only action at the
time is to fall at Orgon’s feet and implore him to change his
mind.
Damis Damis (dah-MEE), Orgon’s son, regarded as a fool by his
grandmother. His temper and indiscretion lead him to upset
carefully laid plans, as when he suddenly comes out of the
closet in which he has listened to Tartuffe’s wooing of Elmire
and reports the story naïvely to his father. He is outwitted by
Tartuffe’s calm admission of the charge and his father’s belief
in Tartuffe’s innocence, despite the confession.
Valère Valère (vah-LEHR), Mariane’s betrothed. He quarrels
with her, after hearing that Orgon intends to marry the young
woman to Tartuffe, because she seems not to object to the
proposal with sufficient force. In a comedy scene, the maid,
running alternately between the lovers, reconciles the pair, and
Valère determines that they will be married. He loyally offers to
help Orgon flee after the eviction order is served on him by the
court.
Madame Pernelle Madame Pernelle (pehr-NEHL), Orgon’s
mother, an outspoken old woman. Like her son, she believes in
the honesty and piety of Tartuffe, and she hopes that his attitude
and teachings may reclaim her grandchildren and brother-in-law
from their social frivolity. She defends Tartuffe even after
Orgon turns against him. She admits her mistake only after the
eviction order is delivered.
Cléante Cléante (klay-AH[N]T), Orgon’s brother-in-law. He
talks in pompous maxims and makes long, tiresome speeches of
advice to Orgon and Tartuffe. Both disregard him.
M. Loyal M. Loyal (lwah-YAHL), a tipstaff of the court. He
serves the eviction order on Orgon.

A police officer A police officer, brought in by Tartuffe to
arrest Orgon. Instead, he arrests Tartuffe by order of the king.
Filipote Filipote (fee-lee-POHT), Madame Pernelle’s servant
_____________________________________________________
__________________________
Hadda, Kenneth E. "Tartuffe." Masterplots. Pasadena, CA:
Salem, 2011. 1-3. Print.
Orgon’s home is a happy one. Orgon is married to Elmire, a
woman much younger than he, who adores him. His two
children by a former marriage are fond of their stepmother, and
she of them. Mariane, the daughter, is engaged to be married to
Valère, a very eligible young man, and Damis, the son, is in
love with Valère’s sister.
Then Tartuffe comes to live in the household. Tartuffe is a
penniless scoundrel whom the trusting Orgon found praying in
church. Taken in by his words and his pretended religious
fervor, Orgon has invited the hypocrite into his home. As a
consequence, the family is soon thrown into chaos. Once
established, Tartuffe proceeds to change their normal, happy
mode of life to a very strict one. He sets up a rigid Puritan
regimen for the family and persuades Orgon to force his
daughter to break her engagement to Valère in order to marry
Tartuffe. He says that she needs a pious man to lead her in a
righteous life.
Valère is determined that Mariane will marry no one but
himself, but unfortunately Mariane is too spineless to resist
Tartuffe and her father. Confronted by her father’s orders, she
remains silent or remonstrates only weakly. As a result, Tartuffe
is cordially hated by almost every member of the family,
including Dorine, the saucy, outspoken servant, who does
everything in her power to break the hold the hypocrite has
secured over her master. Dorine hates not only Tartuffe but also

his valet, Laurent, for the servant imitates the master in
everything. In fact, the only person other than Orgon who likes
and approves of Tartuffe is Orgon’s mother, Madame Pernelle,
who is the type of Puritan who wishes to withhold from others
pleasures in which she herself would not indulge.
Madame Pernelle highly disapproves of Elmire, maintaining that
in her love for clothes and amusements Orgon’s wife is setting
her family a bad example that Tartuffe is trying to correct.
Actually, Elmire is merely full of the joy of living, a fact that
her mother-in-law is unable to perceive. Orgon himself is little
better. When he is informed that Elmire has fallen ill, his sole
concern is for the health of Tartuffe. Tartuffe, however, is in
fine health, stout and ruddy-cheeked. For his evening meal, he
consumes two partridges, half a leg of mutton, and four flasks
of wine. He then retires to his warm and comfortable bed and
sleeps soundly until morning.
Tartuffe’s romantic designs are not really on the daughter,
Mariane, but on Elmire herself. One day, after Orgon’s wife has
recovered from her illness, Tartuffe appears before her. He
compliments Elmire on her beauty and even goes so far as to lay
his hand on her knee. Damis, Orgon’s son, observes all that
goes on between them from the cabinet where he is hidden.
Furious, he reveals to his father what he has seen, but Orgon
refuses to believe him. The wily Tartuffe has so completely
captivated Orgon that Orgon orders his son to apologize to
Tartuffe. When Damis refuses, Orgon, violently angry, drives
the young man from the house and disowns him. To show his
confidence in Tartuffe’s honesty and piety, Orgon signs a deed
of trust turning his estate over to Tartuffe’s management and
announces his daughter’s betrothal to Tartuffe.
Elmire, embittered by the behavior of this impostor in her
house, resolves to unmask him. She persuades Orgon to hide
under a cloth-covered table to see and hear for himself the real

Tartuffe. Then she entices Tartuffe, disarming him with the
assurance that her foolish husband will suspect nothing.
Emboldened, Tartuffe pours out his heart to her, leaving no
doubt as to his intention of making her his mistress.
Disillusioned and outraged when Tartuffe asserts that Orgon is a
complete dupe, the husband emerges from his hiding place,
denounces the hypocrite, and orders him from the house.
Tartuffe defies him, reminding Orgon that according to the deed
of trust, the house now belongs to Tartuffe.
Another matter makes Orgon even more uneasy than the
possible loss of his property. He had been in possession of a
box that was given to him by a friend, Argas, a political
criminal now in exile. It contains important state secrets, the
revelation of which would mean a charge of treason against
Orgon and certain death for his friend. Orgon has foolishly
entrusted the box to Tartuffe, and he fears the use the villain
might make of its contents. Orgon informs his brother-in-law,
Cléante, that he will have nothing further to do with pious men
and that, in the future, he will shun them like the plague.
Cléante, however, points out that such an extreme reaction is
the sign of an unbalanced mind. He says that it is not fair to
cast aspersions on religion itself simply because a treacherous
vagabond is masquerading as a religious man.
The next day, Tartuffe follows through on his threat, using his
legal right to Orgon’s property to force Orgon and his family
from their house. Madame Pernelle cannot believe Tartuffe
guilty of such villainy, and she reminds her son that, in this
world, virtue is often misjudged and persecuted. When the
sheriff’s officer arrives with the notice of eviction, however,
even she finally believes that Tartuffe is a villain.
The crowning indignity comes when Tartuffe takes to the king
the box containing the state secrets and orders are issued for
Orgon’s immediate arrest. Fortunately, before the king has a

chance to examine the contents of the box, he recognizes
Tartuffe as an impostor who has committed crimes in another
city. Therefore, because of Orgon’s loyal service in the army,
the king annuls the deed that Orgon made turning his property
over to Tartuffe and returns the box to Orgon unopened.
Critical Evaluation:
Molière wrote Tartuffe not to condemn organized religion or
religious people but rather to condemn hypocrisy and to instruct
audiences, through the use of humor, on the importance of
moderation, common sense, and clear thinking in all areas of
life. Although the play was originally condemned as an outright
attack on religion and devout people, a proper reading suggests
just the opposite. Religion is not the problem; rather, the misuse
of religion for personal gain at the expense of innocent,
unsuspecting people is Molière’s concern. Works such as
Tartuffe in fact help to protect and promote religion by
exposing impostors for who they really are and demonstrating
the real danger they pose to society when they go unchallenged.
The play’s major emphasis is on the silly yet serious results of
failing to act with common sense. The reactions of the various
characters of the play to the hypocrite, Tartuffe, serve to remind
the audience of the importance of clear thinking in a world
where some people will take advantage of simple thinking and
blind trust. The play reinforces the golden virtue of “moderation
in all things.” Excess, even in service of the most sacred faith,
leads to ridiculous conclusions and potentially catastrophic
actions.
The comic way in which the story unfolds, from seemingly
harmless simple belief about religious doctrine to eventual trust
in the absurd notion that Tartuffe should be in control of the
family’s finances and estate, is a warning to all people to avoid
letting others take advantage of them through their own lack of
careful observation and scrutiny of human behavior. Orgon is

unable to see the absurdity of the restrictions that Tartuffe
places on his family. Ordinarily a reasonable and capable man,
Orgon becomes so enamored of Tartuffe’s manner and so
dazzled by his rhetoric that he jeopardizes family, wealth,
societal position, and eventually his own faith in the value of
religion for the sake of appeasing the manipulative hypocrite.
Molière clearly understood the dangers of false piety.
The play sets forth the theme of the importance of a well-
ordered soul living in a well-ordered society under the virtue of
reason. The comical yet serious unraveling of Orgon’s
professional and personal life at the hands of Tartuffe is the
vehicle for the author’s implicit appeal for reason and order in
personal interactions and societal institutions. As Molière
shows, when individuals such as Orgon ignore common sense
and become infatuated with charismatic figures, the results can
be tragic. Orgon’s relationship with Tartuffe leads directly to
the breakdown of his relationship with his son, the growth of
mistrust between Orgon and his wife, personal embarrassment,
and financial problems. These troubles have adverse effects on
everyone in Orgon’s life and, by extension, on society as a
whole. The dishonest intentions of one man wreak havoc on
many lives. Through the comic manner in which he tells the
story, the playwright reinforces the idea that Orgon’s
difficulties could have been avoided. Tartuffe and his kind have
power only when ordinary citizens willfully give up their ability
to think for themselves.
In the end, the audience sees Orgon as remorseful for foolishly
placing his trust in Tartuffe; he is also angry. In his anger, he
inappropriately asserts that religion has been the cause of all the
calamity that he and his family have undergone. Cléante,
however, reminds Orgon that the real problem is not religion
but the misuse of religion by impostors. Through Cléante’s final
speech, Molière reinforces the validity of appropriate religious
expression by the truly devout.

Essay by: “Critical Evaluation” by Kenneth E. Hada
Mazzara, Richard A. "Moliere." Critical Survey of Drama. 2nd
ed. Pasadena (Calif.): Salem, 2003. 1-9. Print.
Achievements
Molière possessed a brilliant imagination, constantly creating
new characters and easily moving from one type of comedy to
another. His imagination was, however, carefully controlled
through reason, by which he avoided excess. Reality is the point
of departure for his wildest creations, and his comedies owe
their depth to his keen observation of humanity. When Molière
began writing for the theater there was little comedy, except for
Pierre Corneille’s first works, and what there was leaned
heavily toward the extravagant. Molière soon realized that,
more than any other genre, comedy required a basis in truth.
Consequently, he was not particularly concerned with original
subjects or careful plots, but rather with the portrayal of
manners and the study of character.
Therefore, Molière made free use of any subject or plot that
came his way, borrowing in whole or in part from earlier French
works of any genre, or from Latin, Italian, and Spanish sources.
Although he was capable of devising clever plots, he believed
that simple ones were better if the audience was to concentrate
on the substance of the play. As for denouements, any or none
would do, once he had said what he intended.
Molière was thoroughly familiar with the milieus of his day and
represented them all faithfully as settings for his characters and
their foibles. What interested Molière more than sociological
truth, however, was universal truth. His precious ladies,
pedants, and nouveaux riches could be of any era. More
important than a wealth of exterior detail was this portrayal of
universal types. These were to replace the conventional figures
— boastful captains, scheming parasites, sweet ingenues, young

lovers, and the like — of traditional comedy. Despite their
universality, however, Molière’s characters were not created
according to simple formulas. On the contrary, they are complex
to an extreme, each possessing the general traits of the type
observed and abstracted by Molière from reality, yet endowed
with enough of the particulars to make each a real human being.
There is no one stock servant in Molière’s work, but a series of
individualized servants. His Miser is a lover as well. The
Hypocrite is also a lecher. Molière’s dramatic universe is a very
real one.
Molière made special use of those of his observations that could
make the spectator laugh at humanity. Although the comedy
almost always contains a serious meaning, its forms are
extremely varied, and its tones range from the most farcical to
the most subtle, all arranged with the utmost skill during the
course of a single play. Thus, the spectator may remain unaware
of how disagreeable a subject is until, the performance over, he
reflects on it further. Especially telling is Molière’s device of
making certain characters repeat words and gestures that reveal
the vice or passion that controls each. By this technique, the
characters are reduced almost to the status of machines and thus
inspire, not sympathy or pity, but ridicule.
Molière believed that human nature was basically good and
sensible, and he opposed any artificial constraints placed on it.
Such constraints came not from society, which is a collection of
human natures whose discipline reasonable people accept;
rather, they had their source in perverse individuals who
conformed neither to human nature nor to society. Molière has
been criticized for excessive optimism and conformism, but
however conservative his solutions to the problems that he
posed, there can be no doubt that he was forthright and
courageous in posing them.
Biography

Very little is known of the personal life of Molière, born Jean-
Baptiste Poquelin. He left no diary, no memoirs, no
correspondence, no autobiography. The first biography, J.-L. Le
Gallois Grimarest’s Vie de Monsieur de Molière (1705), is
interesting, but it was not published until thirty-two years after
Molière’s death, and is therefore considered questionable by
most modern scholars. Anything written by his contemporaries
was polemical in nature.
Molière was baptized January 15, 1622, on the rue Saint-
Honoré. He was of a good bourgeois family that had recently
come to Paris from Beauvais. His father was a merchant and
“upholsterer by appointment of the King,” having received the
title from his brother. Molière’s mother died in 1632, and his
father soon remarried, only to become a widower again in 1636.
Between 1632 and 1639, Molière attended the Collège de
Clermont, studied law in Orléans, and became a lawyer. In
addition, in 1637, his father arranged for his son to succeed him
in his official charge. Molière was not much interested in the
law, however, and his practice was not brisk, nor was he
inclined to follow in his father’s footsteps.
It is said that Molière’s grandfather often took him to the Hôtel
de Bourgogne to see French tragedy and Italian comedy. Around
1640, Molière probably met Tiberio Fiurelli, known as
Scaramouche in the Italian theater, and became closely
associated with the Béjart family. Its members were involved in
the arts, particularly theater, and were somewhat eccentric, but
they lived in the fashionable Marais section of Paris and had
some good connections. Their oldest daughter, Madeleine,
known as an actress, was the sometime mistress of the Baron de
Modène and mother of a child recognized by him. At a time
when “actor” and “outlaw” were considered synonymous by
many, Molière chose the life of the theater. He was giving up
the security and respectability offered him, not only by the right

to succeed his father, but also by the legal profession. At first,
he chose not to write for the theater, instead pursuing a career
as an actor.
The Illustre Théâtre was founded in 1643 by the Béjarts and
other actors, including Molière, not for profit at first but simply
for their entertainment and that of the bourgeoisie of Paris. The
troupe was under the protection of Gaston, the duke of Orléans,
brother of Louis XIII, who did not always remember to pay his
actors. They rented and appointed a former tennis court as a
theater, opened their doors in 1644, and were soon in serious
financial difficulty. Marie Hervé, mother of the Béjart girls,
helped her children and Molière, who had by then taken this
name and was head of the troupe. Despite all measures, matters
grew worse. In 1645, Molière was sued by numerous creditors
and experienced a brief sojourn in debtors’ prison. He had made
many friends among Parisian men of letters and their noble
patrons, however, and formulated his philosophy of the theater.
He had not wasted his time.
On his release from prison, Molière decided to leave Paris to try
his luck in another troupe. Madeleine soon joined him. At the
behest of a number of dramatic authors, the duke of Épernon
received Molière, Madeleine, and her brother and sister into his
troupe. They toured the provinces under the direction of Charles
Dufresne until 1650, when the duke withdrew his support and
Dufresne left the troupe. Molière assumed leadership during this
awkward time, but in 1652 the troupe found a new patron in the
prince of Conti. Again, the intercession of men of letters in
Paris had been instrumental. The prince was an enlightened man
who enjoyed such company, and he came to prize Molière’s
intelligence and culture highly. Unfortunately, the prince’s
spiritual advisers persuaded him to lead a more austere life, and
in 1657 he withdrew his patronage.
By this time, the troupe was doing well artistically and

financially. It contained a number of artists who were or would
become celebrated. A fine actor, Molière was an equally fine
director. He was a hard taskmaster but earned his actors’ respect
and affection, and the turnover in his troupe was always
remarkably low.
The players decided that, after a lengthy sojourn in Rouen, they
would spend the winter of 1658 in Paris, which they had
revisited sporadically, maintaining numerous contacts. In Paris,
they rented the Marais Theatre for eighteen months and were
granted the protection of Philippe, duke of Orléans, who paid
them no more faithfully than had Gaston. On October 24, 1658,
they played Corneille’s Nicomède (pr., pb. 1651; English
translation, 1671) and then Molière’s The Love-Tiff before
Louis XIV. The king was so pleased with Molière’s work that
he accorded the troupe the use of the Petit-Bourbon on the days
that the Italians did not play there. They performed in the fine
hall there until 1660, when, for unknown reason, they moved to
a smaller theater that was badly in need of repairs. Despite all
efforts, the theater remained a makeshift affair. The troupe
remained there, more or less permanently, until 1671, when it
relocated to the Palais-Royal, which was properly remodeled
and appointed.
The old Corneillean repertoire was no longer successful.
Moreover, there was considerable bias on the part of good
dramatic authors against offering their works to any troupe until
1667, when Corneille allowed Attila (English translation, 1960)
to be mounted at the Petit-Bourbon, and 1670, when he gave
Molière Tite et Bérénice to perform. Molière had found it
necessary to create his own repertoire, a task that he had
already begun in a modest way in the provinces. His comedies
were well received, and the troupe seemed firmly established.
The players at the Hôtel de Bourgogne and the Marais became
increasingly more disgruntled. The triumph of The Affected
Young Ladies in 1659 brought its author the active enmity of

his rivals as well as the admiration of his public. Molière would
never leave Paris again. His most important plays remained to
be written. They were to win for him the highest praise, his
contemporaries’ and posterity’s, and engage him in the fiercest
of polemics with certain factions.
Molière was a short, rather ugly man with severe curvature of
the spine, and he was by nature serious and somewhat taciturn.
Nevertheless, his great art and talent brought him many friends,
admirers, and patrons, and he enjoyed their company. He
especially enjoyed being received by the notables of his day,
whose invitations he insisted on reciprocating rather elegantly.
During his life he had several mistresses, usually actresses,
beginning with Madeleine Béjart, with whom he had a lifelong
association, although he was not the most attentive of lovers.
At about the age of forty, Molière married pretty Armande
Béjart, then about seventeen years of age and said variously to
be Madeleine’s sister or daughter (perhaps by Molière). As was
to be expected, their life was not a happy one. He was jealous of
her as he had been of no other, and she seems to have given him
considerable cause. Three children were born during their
marriage, but Esprit-Madeleine was the only one to whom he
was greatly attached and perhaps the only one that he fathered.
Despite all vicissitudes, he continued to love Armande, and she
was with him when he died in 1673.
Molière’s had always been a generous nature, emotionally as
well as financially. Temperamental, not easy to live with, and
always willing to engage in fierce polemic, he was nevertheless
very forgiving. He was known not only to reconcile with but
also to lend substantial sums of money to former enemies.
Louis XIV was Molière’s greatest patron, showering him with
money and favors and protecting him from powerful enemies.
After 1665, Molière’s group was known as “the King’s troupe,”

a name preferred to that of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was
requested to perform at Versailles, Saint-Germain, and
Chambord. For inexplicable reasons, Jean-Baptiste Lully, the
Florentine composer and sometime collaborator with Molière,
became Louis’s favorite with respect to theatrical entertainment
in 1672, only one year before Molière’s death. Although he had
protected Molière in some extremely delicate situations, the
king now preferred Lully’s frivolous productions to Molière’s
masterpieces, and he granted the Italian exclusive rights over all
works in which he had had a part. In vain, Molière tried legal
means to oppose Louis’s will. Fortunately, he had long had
important protectors at court, such as the king’s sister-in-law,
Henriette d’Angleterre, and the prince of Conti, as well as
numerous influential friends in various Parisian circles,
including men of letters such as Nicholas Boileau.
After some initial difficulties concerning Lully’s rights and the
search for another composer, The Imaginary Invalid, originally
created for the court, was a success at the Palais-Royal. Despite
his ill health, Molière played the title role. It was during the
fourth performance that he fell seriously and visibly ill;
however, the show continued because the prince of Conti and
other notables were in the audience and the actors needed to
work. After the performance, Molière was taken home, where
his hemorrhaging grew worse. His wife was called, and his
servants tried to find a priest who would come to an actor’s
deathbed. When one finally arrived an hour later, Molière was
dead.
Analysis
Molière’s first comedies were composed of elements borrowed
from a variety of comic genres, high and low, ancient and
modern, foreign and domestic. In each, he revealed considerable
skill in development of character, observation of manners,
construction of plot, or a combination of all these laced with
much amusing physical activity. There was little original

invention until The Affected Young Ladies, which was a petite
comédie, a short farce designed to be performed after a longer
serious work, but a farce containing satire of the excesses of
certain manners of the day. Still specializing in the farce, of
which he would remain a master, Molière continued his search
for originality. The School for Husbands, in three acts, is the
first of his plays to add a social thesis, however disguised by
humorous treatment, to the observation of manners and
character.
The School for Wives The School for Wives, Molière’s first
major play, centers on the vain Arnolphe, who has taken the
aristocratic name of M. de la Souche. Hoping to acquire the
peace and happiness of a conjugal life in his old age, he wishes
to marry his young ward, Agnès, who is being reared in solitude
and ignorance. He praises the virtues of this unnatural form of
education to his friend, Chrysalde, who protests against his plan
in the name of common sense. Meanwhile, Horace, the son of
Oronte, a great friend of Arnolphe, has fallen in love with
Agnès and has even been successful in communicating with her.
He confides in Arnolphe himself, whom he does not know by
the name of de la Souche, and of whose role as guardian and
jailer he is unaware.
In act 2, Arnolphe, after scolding his servants, Alain and
Georgette, for having allowed Horace to enter the house,
questions Agnès. She is innocent and docile and willingly gives
him the details of her meeting with Horace, who has moved her,
she admits ingenuously. Arnolphe decides to marry Agnès
without delay and orders her to throw stones at the suitor if he
dares to declare himself. In act 3, Arnolphe lectures Agnès
further and makes her read the disagreeable “Maxims on
Marriage”; later, Horace reports to Arnolphe the vain
precautions taken by the jealous old man: Agnès had thrown
Horace a stone, but only after attaching a love note to it.

As act 4 reveals, Arnolphe is prepared to fight for Agnès and
issues orders to his servants accordingly. Nevertheless, Horace
informs him that he has been able to visit Agnès and that he
intends to elope with her during the night. Arnolphe calls for
the notary to draw up a marriage contract and plans an ambush
for Horace. In the fifth and final act, Horace is surprised by
Alain and Georgette and severely beaten. Feigning death, he
succeeds in abducting Agnès but foolishly entrusts her to
Arnolphe, whom he still does not connect with the jealous old
man. Arnolphe’s declarations of love do not touch Agnès,
however, who now knows what true love is. Agnès’s father, who
opportunely returns from America, allows her to marry Horace.
In five acts, this grande comédie exemplifies the formula that
Molière had developed for his theater through a series of shorter
pieces. As in The School for Husbands, the theme is the proper
education of young women. The setting is a real one drawn from
contemporary society. Arnolphe and Chrysalde are French
bourgeois; Alain and Georgette are French peasants. At the
same time, all the characters are highly personalized. Agnès is a
remarkable portrait of a young woman who, acting on her
instincts, becomes aware of her love for Horace and becomes
aware of herself as a person. Arnolphe, the principal character,
is both ridiculous, because of his obsession to keep Agnès in
ignorance and be master of the house, and tragic, because of his
unrequited love for Agnès and his despair at losing her, which
ennobles him. In part through Chrysalde, one of his numerous
mouthpieces, and in part through a conventional denouement,
Molière reveals an important tenet of his philosophy: It is
stupid and dangerous to try to suppress natural emotion, for it
always wins out in the end.
The Critique of “The School for Wives” The School for Wives
was so successful as to earn for its author additional favors
from the king and more polemics from diverse factions.
Supported by Louis and the honnêtes gens, Molière responded

to his enemies’ attacks in The Critique of “The School for
Wives,” a one-act play in prose, by means of a series of
caricatures and his definition of art as the portrayal of truth.
The setting is Uranie’s salon, where a discussion of Molière’s
play is taking place. Célimène, a précieuse, attacks Molière’s
immorality and vulgarity, and is in turn attacked by Uranie for
her affected prudery. The marquis criticizes the play for having
made the common people laugh, whereupon Dorante defends
their common sense and good judgment. The pedant Lysidas
considers the play an insignificant piece that cannot be
compared with serious plays. He casts doubt on the judgment of
the court in applauding Molière’s work, for it breaks all the
rules of art. Once again, it is Dorante who acts as the author’s
spokesman by stating that comedy is as difficult as tragedy to
create and more true to life. For him the greatest rule is to
please, and he sides with the court in its approbation of The
School for Wives. Molière’s enemies were not stilled; they
counterattacked with other short plays, accusing him of being
too personal, impious, and immoral in his private life.
The Versailles Impromptu At the insistence of the king this
time, Molière wrote another one-act piece in prose, The
Versailles Impromptu, performed for Louis in October of 1663.
Molière represents himself as director and actor in the midst of
a rehearsal for a play to be given before the king. Having
mocked the actors of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, Molière proceeds
to give each of his players advice appropriate to his role and
defends his theater, whose goal is to depict manners, not
personalities. Whatever his enemies may say of his work does
not disturb him, but he forbids them to intrude on his privacy.
The piece concludes with an announcement from the king
postponing the performance of the play under rehearsal.
Tartuffe Tartuffe, perhaps the most controversial of Molière’s
comedies, was first given in its original version, now lost, as a
part of Les Plaisirs de l’île enchantée, a week of the most

extravagant entertainment offered by Louis XIV at Versailles in
1664 in honor of Louise de la Vallière. Tartuffe (then titled
Tartuffe: Ou, L’Hypocrite) not only gave rise to another fierce
polemic, but also was finally banned by the king at the
insistence of the Company of the Blessed Sacrament, a secret
society dedicated to reforming manners, who were concerned
that Molière had them in mind when he presented his hypocrite
as a cleric. Molière modified and expanded the play from three
to five acts, and Louis authorized its performance (entitled
L’Imposteur) at the Palais-Royal in 1667. Although Molière had
made the hypocrite a layperson and softened his satire, the
police and the Archbishop of Paris took advantage of the king’s
trip to Flanders to shut down the successful play. After more
efforts by Molière and Louis, the comedy was again authorized
in 1669 and performed triumphantly as Tartuffe: Ou,
L’Imposteur.
As the play begins, Mme Pernelle, pleased that her son, Orgon,
has welcomed such a pious man into his household, roundly
criticizes each member of the family who accuses Tartuffe of
hypocrisy, including the outspoken servant Dorine. Returning
from the country, Orgon inquires most solicitously about
Tartuffe’s health (not his wife’s) and gives his brother-in-law,
Cléante, an evasive answer regarding the proposed marriage of
his daughter to Valère.
Complications develop in act 2: Despite Mariane’s dislike for
Tartuffe, Orgon wants his daughter to marry him rather than the
man whom she loves and who loves her. Dorine’s remonstrances
are of no avail with Orgon, and she comforts the timid Mariane
and settles the lovers’ quarrel that Orgon’s wishes have incited.
In act 3, Orgon’s son Damis tries to intervene also, but Dorine
makes him promise to leave matters to his stepmother, Elmire.
The latter sends for Tartuffe, who finally appears. The young
woman begs him to give up Mariane. The hypocrite takes
advantage of the situation to try to seduce Elmire, who agrees

not to reveal his scandalous behavior if he will favor the
marriage of Mariane and Valère, but Damis, who overhears
everything from a nearby closet, informs his father. Tartuffe
feigns humility and deceives Orgon, who turns against his son
and makes Tartuffe his heir.
Tartuffe is evasive when, in act 4, Cléante begs him to reconcile
Orgon and Damis. Orgon wishes to hasten his daughter’s
wedding to Tartuffe despite the protests of Cléante and
Mariane. In order to disabuse her husband, Elmire has him hide
under a table, summons Tartuffe, and pretends to respond to his
passion. Finally understanding that he has been tricked by an
impostor, Orgon comes out of his hiding place and orders
Tartuffe to leave the house. The hypocrite abandons his mask
and threatens Orgon, for the house belongs to him now.
The concluding act brings about the anticipated reversal. Orgon
regrets having turned all his worldly possessions over to
Tartuffe, including a strongbox containing the papers entrusted
to him by a friend who is in political trouble. Mme Pernelle
continues to have faith in Tartuffe when M. Loyal arrives with a
court order to evict Orgon. Valère offers to help Orgon escape,
for the incriminating strongbox has been turned over to the
king’s officers. Tartuffe appears in person with an officer to
have Orgon arrested, but it is Tartuffe who is arrested instead;
the king had been alerted to the impostor’s fraudulent activities
and knew of Orgon’s services to the royal cause during the
rebellion of the Fronde. The deus ex machina ending finds the
king praised and Valère and Mariane about to be married.
In Tartuffe, Molière claimed to attack hypocrisy only and took
pains to have Cléante, his spokesman, distinguish carefully
between true and false piety. Despite praise of the former, the
only avowed Christians in the work, Orgon and his mother, are
depicted as ridiculous, whereas the principal characters shown
in a good light, Elmire and Cléante, are not religious persons.

The emphasis in Tartuffe is clearly on human rather than divine
wisdom, very much in the spirit of the eighteenth century
philosophes.
Tartuffe’s is a skillful plot that maintains interest in its theme,
the rise and fall of a religious hypocrite, from the lively,
realistic exposition to the unlikely denouement. It is the perfect
model of a comedy of character as well. Although all the
characters are complex, drawn from life, it is Tartuffe who
stands out, not only for his hypocrisy, but his keen intelligence,
strong will, and great powers of dissimulation. For all his
cleverness, however, he has a weakness, his sensuality coupled
with greed, and this brutal passion causes his downfall.

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