33 pages • 1 hour read
Tartuffe
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Table
The table that makes a prominent appearance in Act IV takes on various meanings. Orgon is considered master of the house given the time period and social circumstances. In the table scene, his wife Elmire is in charge—“Oh dear, do as I say; I know what I’m about, as you shall see” (125). She is the one who tells him to get under the table, a position that could be construed as inferior or promoting punishment. Given his angry outbursts at his son in the prior act and his decisions that go against his promise that his daughter could marry Valère in Act II, there is reason to consider this table as punishment. However, Elmire’s ultimate goal is to have Orgon see Tartuffe in betrayal mode. Orgon ends up seeing more than he intended. Tartuffe says to Elmire, “He is a man to lead round by the nose […] I’ve fooled him so, he’d see all, and deny it” (135). After Orgon witnesses the betrayal, he crawls out from under the table with “That is, I own, a man…abominable!” (135). The tables have turned, figuratively speaking, and a completely devoted Orgon becomes a completely devastated Orgon. He re-emerges from hiding as a transformed character capable of seeing the light and wanting to reverse his earlier errors because of his obsession with Tartuffe. Not only does Orgon change, but Tartuffe also no longer coddles Orgon. He tells Orgon straightforwardly, “This house belongs to me, I’ll have you know” (138).
Strong-box
A secret box is a common trope throughout the span of literature and other art forms. In this play, the content of the box is a secret to the audience and the characters in the play. Only Orgon, who holds the box, has select details, revealing that the box exists at the end of Act IV. Molière already has Orgon give Tartuffe the deed to this house, but the author goes one step further than Tartuffe’s power to evict—he has Tartuffe hold Orgon’s right to freedom in his hands. The papers in the box suggest Orgon’s association with a criminal, which could lead him to prison and away from his family for good. The box represents power in the hands of those who know about it and hold it but also a sense of trust, which can be broken. Orgon’s exiled friend Argas entrusted the box to Orgon, and Orgon entrusted the box to Tartuffe, who coerced Orgon to give it to him. Orgon recounts Tartuffe’s urging in Act V: “That I must give the box to him to keep, so that, in case of search, I might deny my having it at all” (142). Betrayal happens twice with Orgon not holding onto the box, as he promised Argas, and then again when Tartuffe takes the box to the prince of France to incriminate Orgon.
Tartuffe
The name “Tartuffe” likely originates from the English word “truffle” or French trufle, which is a type of edible fungus, commonly known as a mushroom. Another possible origin refers to the Italian tartuffo, a type of tuber, or potato. Each of these word origins suggests an underground, dirty quality despite the appetizing surface. This also seems to be a description of the character Tartuffe. In Act I, Dorine says that Tartuffe “fools [Orgon] with a hundred masks of virtue” (23). Tartuffe puts on the show of piety and speaks of helping the needy but under the surface has, according to the officer in Act V, a list of “horrid crimes” that “might fill a long-drawn history of many volumes” (168). Because of Molière’s play, the name “Tartuffe” has become synonymous with an imposter, a fraud, a hypocrite, or a pretender to piety. Tartuffe is ultimately the antagonist, even if Orgon only becomes aware of his adversarial traits later in the play. Yet, Tartuffe’s name also suggests a clear moral. Right at the start, Orgon’s family, particularly Cleante, speaks of the “difference between hypocrisy and genuine devotedness” (33). Throughout the play, it becomes apparent that while Tartuffe is the hypocrite, it is Orgon who shows “genuine devotedness” to the hypocrite living in his house.
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