Tartuffe as Political and Religious Satire by Molière

Introduction: A Scoundrel in Pious Disguise

In the play Tartuffe, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière narrates the story of how a scoundrel and hypocrite disguises himself as a pious man of religion. By affecting religious behavior, Tartuffe charms his way into the house and the favors of Orgon, a local wealthy man. Orgon is unfortunately unable to see through Tartuffe's duplicity, and in the process almost loses all his possessions to the scoundrel. Only the fortuitous intervention of the king saves Orgon's family from Tartuffe's machinations.

This paper argues that Tartuffe is best read as a satire against the hypocrisy of both political and religious authority figures of Molière's day.

The satire contained in the play made its author a target of seventeenth-century religious authorities. The main audience of this play was the Parisian elite of the late seventeenth century, and that audience would have understood that Tartuffe carried an underlying critique of both bad kingship and dishonest religious leaders (Baker, "Tartuffe as Political Parable"). The authority figures evidently understood this as well. When Molière died, he was originally denied burial on consecrated ground. Only through the intervention of the king was the Archbishop of Paris's mind changed, smoothing the playwright's burial in holy ground (Bloom, "Chronology," p. 208).

The first part of this paper examines Tartuffe as a political satire, looking at the symbolism of Orgon and other characters as a critique of ineffectual political authority. The second part then examines the play as a satire against religious figures, with particular attention to Molière's criticism of the Jesuits. It considers the religious practices that provoked Molière's ire and how he depicts them symbolically throughout the play.

Political Satire in Tartuffe

Because Tartuffe is so often read as a criticism of religious authority, the political content of the play is frequently overlooked. Molière himself alludes to the support of the king in the play's 1669 preface, and he was well aware that his career as a playwright would have been over if the king had yielded to religious pressure and banned the play (Calder 188).

Nevertheless, Molière was required to revise the play at least twice before receiving permission to stage Tartuffe publicly. It took five years of revisions before the wording was sufficiently changed to gain the king's approval (Calder 188).

Analysts such as Lyman Baker observe that in Tartuffe, many of the political mores of the day are mirrored in the depiction of Orgon's household. Seventeenth-century France was a patriarchal era in which only men served as heads of households and exercised authority over all their dependents (Baker, "Tartuffe as Political Parable"). Thus, even though not every family member was deceived, it was sufficient for Tartuffe to deceive Orgon alone.

In the very first scene, Molière introduces the audience to Orgon's family — a prosperous household capitalizing on its political connections with the king. The audience learns about the social rankings within this relatively small household, from the "saucy" servant girl to the "dunce" Orgon, the ostensible head of the house. The audience also learns of the two competing traditions of thought battling for ascendancy in King Louis XIV's court.

The first tradition, seen in Orgon's mother Madame Pernelle, represents the "stodgy, old-fashioned mindset" (Brody 176) of the previous regime and of older seventeenth-century French society. The dour Madame Pernelle is critical of the lifestyle of the family's younger members, ascribing their behavior to the bad example set by their elders. Through Madame Pernelle, Molière gives voice to the concerns of the "older" court members, who were critical of how younger aristocrats behaved scandalously even while maintaining an air of respectability.

The second tradition is embodied in Elmire, Madame Pernelle's daughter-in-law and Orgon's much younger second wife. Elmire has earned her mother-in-law's ire through her many qualities. Madame Pernelle, for instance, castigates her for dressing "like a princess" — a mode of dress that, to older Parisians, implied indulgent behavior and a desire to attract younger men (Brody 176).

Through the mother-in-law's diatribe, the audience also glimpses the household's social status and Elmire's social orientation. Orgon's family clearly belongs to France's upper social crust. Though not aristocratic, Molière establishes Orgon's political connections with the king early in the play by noting how Orgon had "served his King" during the wars of the Fronde. Elmire clearly benefits from these connections, as seen in her seventeenth-century Parisian lifestyle: she dresses like a princess and keeps a line of carriages waiting at her door, with a parade of lackeys ever ready for parties and socializing. These "costly fripperies" mark a family that, though not aristocratic, is decidedly upwardly mobile.

These parallels would not have been lost on the original audience. Madame Pernelle embodies the values of the older court of Louis XIII — a generation generally more religious and conservative, believing in frugality and discipline, and viewing the freewheeling social values of the new court as a breakdown of social order (Brody 177). Elmire, by contrast, represents the new leisure class, whose pastimes align with those of King Louis XIV's younger court. The king, after all, was only twenty-six years old at the time and kept a much younger mistress (Brody 176).

Orgon is also a critical figure in the play's political satire. Because he is male, he is the de facto head of the household — despite being far from intelligent and being easily fooled. The Orgon household is clearly representative of seventeenth-century French society, with Orgon serving as a figurative head of state. As Baker observes, Orgon is "a head-of-household [who] counts as a metaphorical king" (Baker, "Tartuffe as Political Parable").

It is therefore significant that Elmire and the rest of the household see through Tartuffe's machinations, while Orgon and his "old guard" mother fall easily under the scoundrel's spell. To an audience familiar with the social climate of seventeenth-century France, Orgon would emerge as an ineffectual leader. By clinging to antiquated mores — symbolized by Madame Pernelle — and ignoring the advice of more clear-sighted people such as Elmire, Orgon risks losing the wealth he has worked hard to accumulate.

Conclusion

Many analysts doubt, however, whether Molière intended Tartuffe as an attack on religious leaders in general. Alfred Bates notes, for example, that the first private reading of the play was held before the Pope and a group of prelates, and that it was interpreted as an attack on the Jansenists. Bates maintains that this interpretation was mistaken, but observes that Molière himself did nothing to dispel it (Bates).

The character of Tartuffe is himself a fraud — more specifically, a man who commits fraud under the guise of religion. Different analysts have interpreted Tartuffe as representative of various religious traditions. Calder, for instance, writes that Molière showed a "hostile view of the Jesuits" (187). The Jesuits clashed with traditional religious orders because of their lax casuistry, and during this period they had taken control of most Catholic religious centers around the world, becoming confessors to the most powerful families in Europe, including Henry IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV.

Yet, though the play is named after the scoundrel, Molière's primary target is not a direct attack on figures like Tartuffe. Rather, much of the play's power derives from the way audiences laugh at the bumbling Orgon. Tartuffe is, after all, a comedy. The interplay between the trickster Tartuffe and the foolish Orgon generates laughter (Walker 154). In addition to laughter, however, the recognition of Orgon's stupidity also forces audience members to examine their own tendencies to be fooled by religious hucksters. It is on this level that Tartuffe succeeds most admirably as religious satire. Rather than asking, "Am I a scoundrel like Tartuffe?" most audience members would ask: "Am I a fool like Orgon?"

For Baker, the religious critique in Tartuffe lies in Orgon's willingness to believe the religious confidence man. Baker argues that Molière finds Tartuffe's version of Christianity "insane" — a form of Christianity involving blind devotion to an authoritarian church and a misanthropic orientation toward society at large (Baker, "Molière's Tartuffe as a Satire on Religious Fanaticism"). As a result, Orgon isolates his family from the rest of society, and even when the character of Cléante argues against Tartuffe's worldview, pointing out that God would expect His followers to enjoy their earthly existence, Orgon appears beyond reason.

As a religious satire, Tartuffe works not because it attacks the character of Tartuffe directly, but because it holds Orgon up to ridicule. Orgon — and, to a lesser extent, Madame Pernelle — represents uncritical devotion to religious authority, leading him to ignore the warnings of the more reasonable members of his household. In this way, Molière could be warning the more credulous members of society against unthinking religious devotion.

In summary, Tartuffe can be read as a microcosm of seventeenth-century France. In the first scene, Molière clearly articulates the two social traditions vying for supremacy: the older court of King Louis XIII and the younger, more modern court of King Louis XIV. The author differentiates sharply between their very different cultures, beliefs, and attitudes. As a political satire, Tartuffe resonates fully when the audience understands the dynamics of seventeenth-century French society.

Molière further takes pains to show that it is the younger generation — Elmire — who sees through Tartuffe's schemes, while the older generation — Orgon and Madame Pernelle — remain blind and devout.

As a religious satire, Tartuffe works because the audience laughs at the stupidity and bumbling of Orgon. Through comedy, Molière places the burden of guarding against religious charlatanism on the potential victims themselves.

The implication is that the character of Orgon, transposed to a broader context, represents how easily credulous ordinary citizens can be duped by frauds who employ religious language. By recognizing how absurd this behavior is, Molière warns his audiences to remain rational and critical.