Tartuffe-True or False Piety?
In early Neoclassic Europe one of the institutions of major political power was the Roman Catholic Church. Often the leaders of the church abused this power, exploiting the people in the name of religion in order to gain worldly benefits, while continuing to claim moral superiority over those people they were taking advantage of. It is this hypocrisy, which is the theme in Moliere's play, Tartuffe. The title character and Orgon both demonstrate various errors and a distortion of Christian thought. These hypocrisies are exposed by the other characters, particularly Dorine and Cleante, whose views seem to meet and reflect the most important points that Moliere has to make about true and false piety. Through this theme the playwright conveys that one should not put on a show of being pious, use one's religion to exploit others, or to assume God's right in judging the actions of others. In a conversation with Orgon, Cleante emphasizes the need to differentiate between religious devotion and showiness. "There's a vast difference, so it seems to me, between true piety and hypocrisy" (331-332). Cleante expresses the view that there is a real and obvious difference between those who practice Christianity a
nd those who only pretend, and that it can be distinguished with the use of simple reason (354). What is it that distinguishes true from false piety? According to Cleante, those Christians worthy of acclaim do not make a show of their piety with loud public prayers and condemnations, but "they show, by deeds, how Christians should behave" (394). By having Tartuffe make a show of himself and his piety, Moliere holds that true Christianity is an aspect of the inner person, which will be displayed outwardly in certain ways. "Those whose hearts are truly pure and lowly, don't make a flashy show of being holy" (330-331). hypocrisy by making judgments that are reserved for God. Dorine, the maid, asks Madame Pernelle, "Is Heaven so outraged by a social call that he must prophesy against us all?" (81-82). Cleante comes straight to the point in his review of Tartuffe's judgments. "Why put yourself in charge of Heaven's cause? Does Heaven need our help to enforce its laws? Leave vengeance to the Lord, Sir; while we live, our duty's not to punish, but forgive" (35-38). Moliere addresses two issues here. The obvious is Tartuffe's refusal to forgive, but the other is that Tartuffe has taken it upon himself to decide the will of God and carry it out. He makes judgments that
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Approximate Word count = 865
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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