Tartuffe, Swift and Voltaire In his own way, Moliere's Tartuffe represents one aspect of the Enlightenment, if only a negative one, since he is a purely self-interested individual who cares only about advancing his own wealth and status. He is a fraud, a con artist and a hypocrite who puts on a show of religion but is really only interested in stealing Orgon's estate -- and his wife. Orgon is too

Tartuffe "Let's not descend to such indignities. / Leave the poor wretch to his unhappy fate, / And don't say anything to aggravate / His present woes; but rather hope that he / Will soon embrace an honest piety, / And mend his ways, and by a true repentance," states Cleante at the final scene of Moliere's Tartuffe. The fact that Cleante offers forgiveness in a most noble manner reveals that

Tartuffe An Analysis of Hypocrisy in Moliere's Tartuffe No greater example of the religious hypocrite exists in all history than the example of the Philistine. What characterizes the Philistine (and all hypocrites) is something Richard Weaver describes as a barbarian desire to see a thing "as it is" (24). What Weaver implies is that the hypocrite, while making a great show of piety and the possession of virtue, actually lacks the interior

The places they live in and the things that surround them are in varying degrees atmospheric and expressive. In Tartuffe material objects, the props and the house itself, and the places alluded to? Paris and province, heaven and earth, palace and prison? have a particular importance (Hope 44). This does not tie the play to a particular time and place, however, but only shows the importance of locale to the action of

Tartuffe Moliere's Tartuffe is from 17th century France, during the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, was the ruler of France at this time. People in Paris were interested in Enlightenment values such as rationality, moderation, and order. Also, social graces, good manners, and gender roles were strictly enforced during this period. Moliere demonstrates all of these Enlightenment values in his play. The

It becomes clear that Tartuffe, as he becomes increasingly powerful in the play, considers himself above the others, and because of his "spirituality," he is above the laws of God, too. He tells Elmire, Orgon's wife, "I'll teach you, Ma'am, that Heaven's contradictions, give latitude to men of pure convictions. it's true that Heaven frowns on some dark acts, though with great men, our Lord makes higher pacts" (Moliere, Act