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Female characters in Tartuffe
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Comparing the Lovely Ladies of Tartuffe and Candide
Who plays the victim and who among them are natural survivors? Who is deserving of our pity or our admiration? Does the pity go to the victim naturally? Or is there a character among them that can be so diverse as to be deserving of all four? Let us start by viewing the pitiful and move to the ones that should be admired.
Flipote was portrayed by Molière as being a meek servant that is worked to exhaustion by Madame Pernelle. No speaking part in the play, however one could assume that is how Madame runs her own house with the servants knowing their proper place. Flipote is a natural survivor for bearing the burden of being the lady maid to Mme. Pernelle. She is deserving of our pity for the
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foolishness that she has most likely been subjected to under her mistress. Comparatively, we know a little of Voltaire’s Marquise of Parolignac. Portrayed as a determined lady when it comes to cheaters playing cards in her house she is severe, but polite. The Marquise doesn’t show her anger for fear of losing clients. Voltaire used her to show his disdain for the Collected Essays by Archdeacon Trublet. Rather to get back at that writer for his critic of Voltaire’s work. She behaves like a siren and uses Candide to receive his diamond rings. The Marquis believes herself to be an honor to be presented to Candide in one night of acquaintance. Possibly thought of as a natural survivor for being able to make her own living so well. Not knowing her background story, there is no method that the Marquise would be deserving of any pity or admiration. Moving on to Madame Pernelle. The mother of Orgon, Molière portrays her as a high and mighty character who knows how everyone else should run their house. Assumes she knows best, doesn’t want to hear anyone else’s opinion. When given someone else’s opinion, Mme. Pernelle shuts them down and starts “name calling”. Believes she is being frank when she is being purposefully hurtful. Completely blinded by Tartuffe, Perhaps, she herself was fooled by her quote (p 102) “In this world, virtue is mocked forever; Envious men may die, but envy never.” Madame Pernelle cannot see sense or reason until Monsieur Loyal serves an eviction notice to the family. This woman is clearly duped by Tartuffe and victimized by her own high standing. However, through her actions there is neither admiration nor pity she deserves. Comparing Madame Pernelle with Voltaire’s Baroness should be relatively easy. The latter was well respected for being large (which indicated wealth in that time period). The Baroness ran her house with dignity. She was cruel in slapping Cunegonde after the kiss that she shared with Candide. Cunegonde didn’t know what she had done was wrong after seeing what Professor Pangloss and Paquette was doing in the park. Candide thought she was more civil than the Marquise. She was a victim of her enemies the Bulgars. Seeing the Baroness chopped up as her demise, is deserving of some pity. Portrayed to be a simple minded child by her grandmother, Mariane might be said to be obedient to her father. She relies on her brother and uncle to remind her father of her engagement to Valere. Molière portrays Mariane as having no guts to speak of. The girl is appraised by Orgon as gentle. She proves her obedience to her father by not standing up to him when he proposes this grotesque marriage. Mariane relies on Dorine to stand in her place to refute the marriage with her father. However, had Dorine not shown her face when she did, Mariane might be seen as trying to assert herself. She didn’t want to pretend. After Dorine and Orgon argue, she admitted to Dorine that she couldn’t stand up to her father. She also confides of her love for Valere. The only way she sees a way out of the situation is committing suicide if the marriage between herself and Tartuffe goes through. In showing the young love, Molière portrays Mariane as coming to life while talking to Valere. You can see the love between the two. Molière grows this character because at the end she does stand up to him about the marriage of herself to Tartuffe. Mariane plays the part of a victim well. She is a victim to her father’s whim and survives in a house that Tartuffe has control over. Pity is deserving in a very small portion since all ends well. Let’s compare her to Paquette. Paquette is a maidservant to the Baroness. She is portrayed as promiscuous, attractive, and obedient. She was a lover of Pangloss where she had passed him a “social” disease. Paquette became the mistress of the doctor who cured her of that disease. While his wife beat her every day, she had to pretend to love a man she didn’t. Voltaire portrayed her as a Madonna when she ran into Candide again. Has been robbed and had to appear happy to ply her trade. Paquette was made more miserable after receiving money from him. A victim of birth and yet, a natural survivor for not giving up after all she had been through. Paquette knew how to take care of herself even if by detestable means. She deserves more pity. After all, what else could she do? Molière portrays Elmire as a person who uses reason.
She takes the insults thrown her way with a grain of salt. Not reacting to what her mother-in-law has to say, she does try and stand up for Mariane. Content to let Dorine and Cleante argue with Mme. Pernelle, Elmire does her duty and walks out Madame. Elmire is also portrayed as not having control over Damis. Tartuffe lusts after Elmire though she tries to use this advancement to her advantage. She tries to trap Tartuffe into backing out of the marriage with Mariane. Damis foils her plans with his hotheadedness. Elmire tries to spare Orgon’s mind from the unpleasantness of the previous situation. Believes herself to be the calm in the storm. Her virtue intact, she proposes to trick Tartuffe with Orgon hiding in the room to witness. Elmire doubts she would’ve went through such a ruse if she would’ve known what all could’ve been lost. She is quite happy at the ending. Elmire had to go to great lengths to have Orgon believe that what she was saying was true. Between that and having Tartuffe trying to paw her was victimizing. It is a pity that her husband wouldn’t listen to her. Comparing Elmire to another lady that would go to a great length to look after another. Voltaire first portrays the Old Lady as a kind and caring individual who takes care of Candide for three days before reuniting the young loves. The Old Lady is a very amusing character and very strong willed. She knew she was the daughter of a pope and a princess. Her fiancé was poisoned by an exgirlfriend of his. In getting away from that her mother’s ship was taken over by pirates. All on board were striped and private areas searched. The Old Lady was deflowered and had to watch as her ladies in waiting and mother were fought over and torn limb from limb. This is a small bit that she had to go through and still she lined her own fate with that of Cunegonde had taken some strength of character. The Old Lady is a natural survivor for continuing life in
spite of such tragic events. The Old Lady deserves the utmost respect and much more admiration out of any in this group. Finally we have Dorine and Cunegonde, Dorine is portrayed as an opinionated, outspoken, truthful, frank, gives advice freely, and sees through Tartuffe and his servant. She is the eyes and ears of the house. She stands up for Mariane as soon as she hears of this plan of Orgon’s. She even goes so far as to respond how Mariane should. Molière has her portrayed as having everyone’s best interest at heart. She stops Mariane and Valere’s petty squabble. Calls out Tartuffe. She isn’t afraid to stand up to the law. Dorine is a natural survivor, I believe we should say natural fighter in her case though. She does not need our pity, however, her character should be admired. Comparable to Cunegonde who has been portrayed by Voltaire in such a way that I have to apply all terms to. Cunegonde is portrayed as ruddy cheeked girl that is fresh, plump and desirable. The day after witnessing scientific experiments between Pangloss and Paquette, the drop of a scarf leads to immense passion between Candide and herself. Candide was kicked out of the house while Cunegonde fainted. The Bulgars came one night and Cunegonde witnessed her family slain in front of her eyes. She fainted from the trauma. When she woke a six foot Bulgar was raping her. She fought to try and get away when she was stabbed in the thigh by him. The advances of the Captain, Jew and Grand Inquisitor were denied and so she kept her virtue intact. This reminds me of her namesake that walked over a bed of red hot irons blindfolded and barefooted to prove her chasity according to Voltaire. (Footnote on p 424.) A victim because she could’ve tried to stand up to her brother. A natural survivor to make it through her short life and all the hardships she faced. Cunegonde is deserving of some pity and admired because she tried to maintain her virtue. We have seen that most of these women that Molière and Voltaire wrote about were portrayed as victims. Half of these ladies were seen as natural survivors. The Marquise of Parolignac there was not enough evidence on whether or not she deserved to be pitied or admired. Madame Pernelle doesn’t deserve any pity or admiration for her actions throughout the story. All of the ones that were deserving of pity were victims except Flipote. The most admired should be the Old Lady and Dorine. The most diverse would be Cunegonde. Works Cited Molière, Jean-Baptiste. Tartuffe. 2014. Trans. Virginia Scott. The Norton Anthology Western Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner. 9th ed. Vol. 2. New York, London: W.V. Norton, 2014. 56-109. Print. Voltaire. Candide. 2014. Trans. Robert M. Adams. The Norton Anthology Western Literature. Ed. Marten Puchner. 9th ed. Vol. 2. New York, London: W.V. Norton, 2014. 424-82. Print.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere wrote Tartuffe during the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment. One of the main characteristics of the Age of Enlightenment was a push towards using reason over emotions to make decisions. The leaders of the enlightenment truly believed that the world could be made a better place if people did this. In Tartuffe, when the characters use their emotions to make their decisions they find themselves in undesirable situations. While those who let their emotions rule them find their lives spinning out of control, there are other characters in the play who try to approach them with reason and logic. Out of these characters the lady’s maid Dorine stands out as the voice of reason.
Which is caused by the narrator having a male perspective. The narrator does not give the women and credit or redeeming qualities. All the women follow a general stereotype. If they tried to break away from the stereotype, they would me more important and influential characters. Paquette, a chambermaid in the Baron’s castle, is described as “a pretty and obedient brunette” (5). She is identified obedient not because of her job as a chambermaid, but because she is willing to exploit her soul and body to the men around the castle. In regards to the old woman, she doesn’t even have an actual name, which does not matter since is ugly and useless. The old woman has the mindset that she is; an object; a mistake; a disgrace. That her time has passed as a beautiful useful woman. All the rape and abuse has physically affected her and she is out of luck. In fact, she is lucky if men talk to her, or even look at her without
TMA 3: Compare and contrast the representation of women and female sexuality in The Tartuffe by Molière and The Country Wife by William Wycherley.
The experiences that we face in life vary from person to person and one of the greatest differences occur between men and women. In Voltaire 's novel Candide a great deal of the experiences that each of the characters face is unique to them, but the experiences of the women differ greatly to those of the men. The way the two sexes handled those experiences also varied and reflected a satirical view of the times in which Voltaire lived. The differences in events between the men and women can be seen in a few key points that are seen throughout the Novel.
It is in the duality of Orgon, the believing subject, and Tartuffe, the manipulating hypocrite (or impostor), that Moliere takes his digs at the extremes of enthusiastic belief. Tartuffe plays the role of a man whose greedy actions are cloaked by a mask of overwhelming piety, modesty and religious fervor. Orgon is the head of a household who has taken Tartuffe in. We laugh at Orgon because everyone else (except his mother) knows that Tartuffe is a fake. All of Orgon's relatives warn him of Tartuffe's gluttony and of the false nature of his pious proclamations. When Dorine tries to tell Orgon about Elmire's illness, all Orgon can say is,
And even though Candide is the main character, Voltaire uses more than him to show the faults of human beings by using Lady Cunegonde and other people to visualize the chaos of lust. Throughout the entire story, lust raises its disgusting head again and again, driven by man’s desire for woman. Lady Cunegonde is a symbol of beauty within this book who by the end, becomes ruined and twisted by man’s flaws. A “six-foot Bulgar” (Voltaire 34) rapes her, she is sought after by “the Inquisitor, who loves [her] dearly” (Voltaire 35) and “Don Issachar” (Voltaire 34). These men all see her as an object to appease their lust. Voltaire use of these scenes, especially Lady Cunegonde’s, show the lust of man and how it damages the people that come into contact with it. Unfortunately, lust brought about another trouble to the world, syphilis. Voltaire mentions this downfall to expand upon the point that lust is a terrible flaw of Humanity that causes suffering where ever it is. This suffering is shown in Pangloss, who gets the disease from the maid and “[loses] only an eye and an ear” (Voltaire 27). If Pangloss had not lusted after a woman, he would not have ended up another victim to syphilis, one of lust’s many hard consequences. Even Lady Cunegonde’s old maid is treated like an item and ruined by the lust of man. She was the “daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina” (Voltaire 42), the most beautiful
Northrop Frye states in his book Anatomy of Criticism that the tragic hero is “on top of the wheel of fortune, halfway between human society on the ground and the something greater in the sky”. The book also declares that tragic heroes are “inevitable conductors of the power around them”, and conductors may be victims as well as instruments of destruction (website). Willy Loman, the epitome of a tragic hero, brings suffering upon not only himself, but others, including his wife and sons. Willy establishes Northrop Frye's definition of a tragic hero through the suffering of both himself and his friends and family, and this suffering contributes to the great tragic vision of the play as a whole.
Candide was written in 1759 by Voltaire and is a timeless classic illuminating the day to day life of three women that lived in that century. This story focuses on the struggles that the women of this time period faced. Every female character in this story has had a difficult life that consisted of lose-lose situations that had a major impact on their lives. But are they victims? Or, are they simply just natural survivors? These women are natural born survivors because they do what is needed to survive in the harsh circumstances they are forced into.
Voltaire uses the old lady’s elaborate story of suffering to show that sometimes suffering happens for reasons not necessarily within human control. After Pangloss’ death an old lady assists Candide in his quest to find the love of his life Cundegonde. Along the way she shares her story. She was the daughter of Pope Urban X and lived a life of luxury; anything she wanted was hers. As she matured, she grew into a beautiful woman and was betrothed to the ruling prince of Massa-Carrara.
Shanley, Mary L., and Peter G. Stillman. "The Eldorado Episode in Voltaire's Candide." Eighteenth Century Life 6.2-3 (Jan.-May 1981): 79-92. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism 112. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center
The second example is the character of Esther, she can be seen as the victim and as the heroine. The reason she can be seen as the victim is because of the many injustices she faces. For example when she is subjec...
over his wife as he refers to her as a belonging; it also shows that
Moliere rocked the 17th century French world with his comedy "Tartuffe" in 1664. Although, religious factions kept the play banned from theatres from 1664-1669, "Tartuffe" emerged from the controversy as one of the all-time great comedies. Tartuffe is a convincing religious hypocrite. He is a parasite who is sucking Orgon, the rich trusting father, for all he is worth. Orgon does not realize that Tartuffe is a phony, and caters to his every whim. For instance, he reneges on his promise to let his daughter Mariane, marry Valere. Instead he demands that she wed Tartuffe, whom she despises. He also banishes his own son, Damis, from his house for speaking out against Tartuffe and all of his son's inheritance is promised to Tartuffe.
Imagine the Paris home of Orgon, who meets Tartuffe at church and is completely taken in by him...so much so, that he foolishly not only invites this relative stranger, Tartuffe, to live in his home, but also promises his daughter (Mariane) in marriage to the man, though she has promised her heart to Valère.
The second most important part of a tragedy is Character. Characters actually play a secondary role to the plot in the “perfect” tragedy. The actions of the characters make them responsible for their fate, not a higher power. There should be a protagonist and a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are also exceptional beings; Hamlet was very intellectual, giving him a brilliant mind and a quick wit. The tragic hero is the ma...