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Moliere's Tartuffe and the Religious Hypocrisy
Moliere's Tartuffe and the Religious Hypocrisy
Moliere's Tartuffe and the Religious Hypocrisy
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The role of religion played a major part in Tartuffe and Candide. In both of the stories, they have two different roles. In Tartuffe, the play exposes religious hypocrisy and in Candide, Voltaire uses religious satire to describe the role of religion. In the late seventeenth century, during the Age of Enlightenment period, was a period for great turmoil. The Enlightenment led many thinkers to the conclusion that kings and queens were subjected to death. It was a revolutionary change for political, social and religious thoughts. The Enlightenment incorporated many ideas on the center of reason. It eventually advanced ideals of liberty, tolerance and the acceptance of being able to separate from the church and the state. Before the eighteenth …show more content…
Jean-Baptiste Moliere provided an expose of religious sham. He wrote Tartuffe not to criticize religion but rather to disapprove of hypocrisy. In Tartuffe, Moliere targeted the role of religion hypocrisy so well that the Catholic Church forced the king to ban it. Fortunately, Moliere managed to have it published and produced by 1669. (Puchner – check pages) He wanted to advise audiences through the use of humor, on the importance of moderation and a clear thought process in all areas of life. Although the play was denounced as an outright attack on religion and devout people, a proper reading suggests the opposite. Religion itself wasn’t the problem, but the misuse of religion for personal gain at the expense of innocent people was Moliere’s concern. In the text one of his characters’ Orgon explained, “He used to come into church each day, and humbly kneel nearby, and start to pray. He'd draw the eyes of everybody there, by the deep fervor of his heartfelt prayer; He'd sigh and weep, and sometimes with a sound of rapture he would bend and kiss the ground” (Puchner 22). This particular quote stood out to me because Orgon might have misinterpreted …show more content…
The actual verse says, "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:5-6). It was another instance of the religious hypocrisy because it explained that you don’t have to proclaim to be such a religious person for God to reward you. He will reward you for the fact that you didn’t have to announce and show everyone that you are worshipping Him, He’ll honor you regardless. Moliere’s points throughout Tartuffe was spot on. He gave us an insight of how inside the church’s reality in a comedic, rhythmic and truthful way. The story eventually unfolds when Tartuffe tries to seduce Elmire, Orgon’s wife. She devised a plea deal with Tartuffe, explaining that if he refuses to marry Mariane, she won’t tell Orgon what took place and Tartuffe agreed. Elmire and Orgon’s son did not approve of this and soon as Orgon walked in, he
In the plot, Cleante is Orgon’s brother-in-law and his main characteristic is being the person who plays the voice of reason in the chaotic situation. To prove this, the journal article titled “The Explicator,” describes Cleante as having the “‘ability to see things clearly is reflected in his ironic comments to Tartuffe’” (Saur 10). Because of this characteristic, Cleante can be viewed as the character who channels Moliere’s thoughts regarding religion. In the journal article, Saur discusses the extent to which Cleante is a “‘mouthpiece of the author’” (9). Saur’s comment can be proven true with relative ease. For example, Cleante discusses with Orgon about Tartuffe, stating “I’m talking about those sanctimonious fellows who use religious zeal to fatten their bank accounts, who attach themselves to the Court while preaching austerity, who adjust their piety to fit their vices. (Moliere 18). In this excerpt, Cleante refers to Tartuffe as a deceptive person who manipulate others by using religion as an excuse. As discussed previously, Moliere makes reference to the real life counterpart, the Cabale des Devots, who uses Christianity as an excuse to carry out their devious plans. In addition, The author inserts himself indirectly into the story by utilizing Cleante as a way to address his opponents’ criticism.
The author, Voltaire, wrote in the Enlightenment period, a literary movement characterized by the rising concern of philosophy, science, and politics. Voltaire’s writing was influenced by the Enlightenment movement to create awareness of global issues. This is evident in the repeated tragedies Candide stumbles upon. Social issues, corrupt authority figures, and war are real world topics that Voltaire chooses to address in Candide. The satirical nature of Candide allows for an in-depth discussion between the characters regarding the problems they face and the problems of the people they meet, creating a perspective that the audience is forced to look through. It is also a coming of age story, not just for Candide, but for the rising awareness in global issues. Voltaire’s inclusion of the issues of his time reflect the severity of those issues. Satire is used as a reaction to a society’s hypocrisy. Candide as a satirical piece reflects what people have neglected to pay attention to. Coming into a new era of awareness and responsibility leads Candide to reflect on the live he lived in Westphalia and the people he encountered across
Use of Satire to Target Religion, Military, and Optimism in Voltaire's Candide. In his work, Candide, Voltaire uses satire as a means of conveying his opinions about many aspects of European society in the eighteenth century. Voltaire successfully criticizes religion, the military, and the philosophy of optimism. Religious leaders are the targets of satire throughout Candide.
Thus, the major theme of Candide is one of the world not being the best of all possibilities, full of actions definitely not determined by reason or order, but by chance and coincidence. To prove his point, Voltaire uses pointed satire directed at various organizations and groups prevalent in his time period. In particular, Voltaire takes aim at organized religion, in particular Catholicism, as well as aristocratic arrogance and war. All of Voltaire’s comments are precisely chosen to convey his point that those in power were completely corrupt in all their thoughts and actions. Throughout the entire book, Voltaire portrays religious men, such as monks and priests, as hypocrites who do not live up to the religious standards that they set upon others.
Religion has always been something that has been argued for centuries long ago. Voltaire has never been afraid to clearly speak his opinions on how he sees religion really is. Many have argued whether religion is actual belief or just a lot of hypocrisy from religion towards the world. The way Voltaire portrays religion in Candide it is some belief but mostly hypocrisy due to the secrets being held and all of the lies being told. He was never a big fan of religion and he satires it a lot and reveals what some religion really does. What Voltaire says is that religion seems fair but it is deep within lies that they do not follow their own rules and he addresses that by showing the many examples when they do something they should not do. Voltaire shows it with sarcasm and he uses wit as well seeing if the reader can notice how it would be ironic for religion to be portrayed in that manner.
“Ecrasons l’infame,” which is interpreted, “We must crush the vile thing.” This is the expression Voltaire used to articulate his feelings for organized religion. With many natural theists soon to follow his path, Voltaire expressed his hatred for cultural religions, opting for a universal God of nature. Given a few more centuries, Darwin would have given Voltaire the scientific theory to support his desire for atheism. But alas, with no other theory in place, intelligent individuals of 18th century France were forced to use creationism to explain the world in its beauty and organization. This, as previously stated, was not a problem for Voltaire. His issue was the moral implications that separated religious groups, often to the point of war with one another. Religious intolerance was a subject he dealt with in many of his works, especially Candide. The religious characters in this work were mostly negative with the exception of Brethren predecessor, the Anabaptist, and the old woman. His opinion of various religions was also established in Candide, although it was simply a vague one, clumping all organized religions into an “evil superstitions” category. The conclusion of this work also gave us insight on Voltaire’s view of religion as either positive or detrimental to society and the individual.
The late seventeenth century was a time of change, a time of ushering out the old and bringing in the new. This was a period of exploring logic and understanding instead of religion to answer one's questions. Otherwise known as the Age of Enlightenment, society was out to seek reason rather than to find all of their answers from the Catholic Church or other faiths. Voltaire's story Candide displays his thoughts on the Enlightenment by mocking the monarch and currency system of a small village. By using satirical language and a taunting tone of voice while speaking of the king's kindness and the villagers' abundance of wealth, Candide demonstrates how new interpretations on nature can be brought about while poking fun at the effects of these changes.
In Candide, by Voltaire, Candide struggles through a world torn by constant bloodshed and crime. As he travels, he and other characters are deceived, injured, and abused by the world around him. Voltaire’s Candide reveals another side of human beings’ hearts as he portrays humanity’s hamartias as greed, lust, and religion.
Voltaire’s Candide can be understood in several ways by its audience. At a first glance it would appear to be simply a story blessed with outrageous creativity, but if you look deeper in to the novel, a more complicated and meaningful message is buried within. Voltaire uses the adventures of Candide as a representation of what he personally feels is wrong within in society. Written in the 18th century (1759), known commonly as the age of enlightenment, Voltaire forces his audience to consider the shift from tradition to freedom within society. He achieves this by exploring the reality of human suffering due to traditions which he mocks throughout Candide. In particular he focused on exploiting the corruption he felt was strongly and wrongfully present within three main aspects of society these being religion, politics and morals. Each chapter represents different ways in which Voltaire believes corruption exists providing the audience with the reality of society’s problems due to its fixation on tradition. As a philosopher of the Enlightenment, Voltaire advocated for freedom of religion, freedom of expression and the separation between church and state. Voltaire successfully presents these ideas within Candide by highlighting why they are a significant problem in 18th century Europe.
... Conclusion, all of the previously discussed topics were put together by Voltaire in an ingenious way to ridicule the philosophy that everything is exactly as it should be and that everything bad happens for the greater good. All the tragedies Candide underwent were introduced in the novella with the purpose of disproving this notion. The book Candide made me think a lot about everything that is wrong with humankind. Voltaire was very successful and Candide's story accomplished his goal because It is hard to imagine that someone would still believe this philosophy after reading this very ingenious, funny, and entertaining novella.
Moliere saw religion as a personal and private matter, he believed it should not be forced upon others but be a natural state of being. He ultimately believed religion should not be placed on a higher level of value in the world, more so meaning it should not be used to justify the pursuit of personal wealth and power. All of this can be implicitly seen in the play when Orgon endangers his family by trying to mix his social status with his religious beliefs by inviting Tartuffe in. Moliere was undoubtedly a Christian, but it shown in Cleante's words that there may be room to question what this identity meant to him. For example, when Cleante’s said “They cloak their spite in fair religion's name, Their private spleen and malice being made, To seem a high and virtuous crusade. Until, to mankind's reverent applause, They crucify their foe in Heaven's cause." (1.5.11), he is judging those who sin and go against their religion but still praising religion itself and claiming its
Candide is an outlandishly humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism espoused by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. It is the story of a young man’s adventures throughout the world, where he witnesses much evil and disaster. Throughout his travels, he adheres to the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, believing that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." Candide is Voltaire’s answer to what he saw as an absurd belief proposed by the Optimists - an easy way to rationalize evil and suffering. Though he was by no means a pessimist, Voltaire refused to believe that what happens is always for the best.The Age of Enlightenment is a term applied to a wide variety of ideas and advances in the fields of philosophy, science, and medicine. The primary feature of Enlightenment philosophy is the belief that people can actively work to create a better world. A spirit of social reform characterized the political ideology of Enlightenment philosophers. While Voltaire’s Candide is heavily characterized by the primary concerns of the Enlightenment, it also criticizes certain aspects of the movement. It attacks the idea that optimism, which holds that rational thought can inhibit the evils perpetrated by human beings.
In my opinion, the priest’s acts might possibly mean that some religious believes are rigid therefore, denying other people the right to practice what is part of their lives. According to the catholic religion, anything that failed to conform to their religion was considered as a heresy. This can be seen when Etienne comes across the forest woman and is convinced that the woman practices sorcery in the name of helping the villagers. The woman uses her knowledge of nature to help the villages. She is aware of most herbs in the forest and is able to utilize them in order to heal those who seek her assistance (The Sorceress, 1987). She also helps the local noblemen perform a ritual that is part of their life but it is considered as devil worshipping according to the priest. On the other hand, Etienne displays ignorance of some sort due to the fact that he was unable to acknowledge that nature can be used to heal people. The religion he believed in was somehow rigid as it only believed that it is only through prayers and miracles that a person can get healed. Anyone who was capable of healing people was considered as a sorcerer according to Etienne and the Christian religion that he represented. However, anyone who watches the movie can clearly tell that Elda was a healer rather than an evil
Molière also uses Cléante to teach the importance of moderation. Cléante calls to Orgon’s attention the foolishness of his extreme actions by telling him to “Listen to yourself! You’re over the top, / Getting carried away again. Just stop. / “Moderation.” Is that a word you know? / I think you’ve learned it, but then off you go.” ( ) Orgon has not only gone to the extreme of believing in Tartuffe but after learning the truth he flipped to the extreme of believing in no one. Cléante responds to Orgon’s reaction of religion being the cause of all his troubles by questioning, “…Rather than change your ways, you turned / Like that. [Snaps fingers] Attacking holy men who’ve earned / the right to stand among the true believers. / So now all holy men are base deceivers?” Molière demonstrates with these lines that one should recognize there are truly devout religious men in the world, even though there are men like Tartuffe, who are religious impostors and take advantage of faith to deceive others. Tartuffe’s character is a representation of how Satan deludes people. In the Bible, Jesus tells his followers that Satan is out to deceive and turn people away from him. Consequently, Tartuffe’s purpose was to deceive Orgon and take everything from him, resulting in his turning against religion completely. There are people who pretend to be righteous, but this is not a reason to classify all righteous people as imposters since overreactions can lead to the wrong conclusion and disastrous results. Molière’s intent is to show that moderation is important in all areas of
The earthquake in Lisbon, a true event, illustrates yet more satire on the church. Auto-de-fe is the Catholic response to catastrophe, and Voltaire takes a shot at religion here. Innocents are superstitiously hanged to prevent earthquakes, so Voltaire pens another earthquake on the very day of this “act of faith.” Pangloss is hanged for his innocent speech, which the church has convoluted, and Candide is flogged simply for listening with "an air of approbation."