Marriage and Relations in Tartuffe by Moliere

The play Tartuffe is one of the most famous and popular works created by French playwright Moliere. It is an example of mature classical theater reflecting the morals and ethics of seventeenth-century European society. Although the play deals with a number of important themes such as religion, the nature of lies, and the rigidness of social class system, the ideas about marriage and relations probably play the central role. In Tartuffe, marriage and relations are seen as crucial aspects of human life that could have a great impact on the individual. To show the significance of marriage and family bonds, Moliere tries to put one of the leading characters of the play, Orgon, in many different situations where he is forced to forget about his family. By analyzing the consequences of Orgons actions and decisions, the playwright argues that the harmonious and stable marriage and family are those things that can save the person. He also shows that if people neglect the family, it may lead to huge psychological and even financial (as in case of Orgon) problems. Therefore, according to Moliere, the cause of all Orgons troubles is his mistake of paying too little attention to his family and giving too much undeserved trust to Tartuffe, who happens to be a wriggler and dishonest person in general. Orgons main weakness is his readiness to believe others without even checking the information that he is given. Tartuffe is good at human psychology and takes advantage of Orgons gullibility. Orgon idealizes Tartuffe, and even when Dorine tells him about his wifes illness, your poor wife couldnt even close her eyes. What a fever! , Orgon keeps asking about Tartuffe leaving the health of his wife without any attention. However, Orgon is not a bad person, and his family as well as friends exert every effort to save him from any further mistakes and Tartuffes impact. Marriage and relations are portrayed as the strong basis that can protect the individual in difficult periods of his or her life. Orgons family does not turn away from him, even though being under the negative influence of Tartuffe, he makes decisions that could ruin the life of his daughter and others. Orgon orders his daughter Mariane to marry Tartuffe despite the fact that she loves Valere. When talking to Dorine, Orgons daughter complains that her fathers decision about her marriage is more important than her own feelings. She says, Against my father, what am I to do?. This episode also shows that marriage was not a personal matter in the seventeenth century, but rather a tool that was used for the benefit of the whole family. Nevertheless, despite everything Orgon does, the family helps him. Orgons wife, Elmire, pretends to accept Tartuffes advances to show her husband the duplicity of this man. Hiding under the table, Orgon hears everything and understands the truth, That is, I own, a man ... abominable!. Therefore, Orgon returns to his family and acknowledges all his mistakes; however, it is not enough for a happy ending of the play as Orgons gullibility has led to significant financial difficulties, and only the help of the king saves him and his family from poverty. To conclude, marriage and relations in Tartuffe play a very important role functioning as the strong basis that can help an individual to avoid mistakes or correct their consequences. Moliere shows that family bonds, if neglected, may destabilize the persons life and make him or her vulnerable to the dishonesty of others, as it happens in case of Orgon. In addition to highlighting the significance of marriage and relations, Moliere also argues that in seventeenth-century France women did not have any freedom in choosing their husbands as marriage was regulated by the family. Read more blogs on https://primeessays.com/