Within Tartuffe there are many stock characters that play into Molière’s farcical satire. None of which bring as much order and clear thinking as Dorine. This sassy thinking maid stands her ground against those in higher social standing, and is not blind forward to the madness in her surroundings like the other characters in Tartuffe. Dorine supports the theme naïve and awareness in of Tartuffe by using her position as a housemaid and knowledge of the social dynamics in the household to point out and address the corruption made by Tartuffe. At the start of the play we first see Dorine interact with Madame Pernelle. Dorine is suggesting that Madame Pernelle is throwing caution to the wind by trusting Tartuffe, going as far to say that he is a “disaster” (1.1.69). Although, it would seem logical to listen to what Dorine is saying Madame Pernelle continues to believe in a false reality and slough Dorine off tell her she “has never understood her place” (1.1.91-92). This theme of thinking that jus because someone is a lower status than you makes their …show more content…
beliefs and options negligible carries on to Dorine’s interaction with Orgon later in the course of the play. Orgon is an extreme contrast to Dorine in that he has no perspective to what is taking place, outside what he can see. He considers the idea of a marriage between his daughter and his beloved Tartuffe is reasonable decision because he is only taking into account Tartuffe’s actions and not examining the motives or anything leading up to these actions. He seems to think Tartuffe is the “perfect man,” while Dorine is able from the start of the play to recognize that Tartuffe is only playing the family to get what he wants. When Dorine confronts Orgon about how unreasonable it is for Mariane to marry Tartuffe he calls her “a plague” (2.3.59). This is one of the most ironic lines in the show because Orgon being extremely naïve regarding Tartuffe’s actions is calling one of the only “healthy” characters in the play the source of all of problems. Orgon finally realizes the damage he has caused for his family after it is almost too late. If he would have been able to put his pride aside and listen to reason from any source, even if it was from a maid, he could have saved himself many headaches in the end. Even through the degrading comments toward her constantly throughout the course of the show Dorine keeps her strength and spunk to combat the “plague” in the house (2.3.159). Her strength is a direct foil to Mariane’s weakness. When Orgon insists on Mariane’s marriage to Tartuffe, Dorine’s reaction is much stronger than Mariane’s. Mariane quickly succumbs to the idea even though her heart is set on Valère, while Dorine confronts Orgon about the situation and calling the idea “prosperous” and “absurd” (2.2.6). I think Dorine is not simply forceful and suspicious of the world around her only because of her nature. Her nurture developed these qualities in her because it was necessary for her survival. She did not have the luxury of having decisions made for her, she had to make a way for herself in the world and is a better and tougher person for that. She is a mother figure to Mariane and desires for her to have an easier life and not have to fully rely on herself, but still have enough strength to fulfill her own dreams and desires. While Dorine wants Mariane to make her own decisions she is ultimately that mother figure that has been with her throughout the entirety of Mariane’s life. As stated in the show Elmire is the stepmother to Mariane and Damis, implying that their mother had died during their childhood. Being the constant in the lives of the children caused Dorine to grow very protective of the children. This is again represented through her conversation with Orgon about the marriage between Mariane and Tartuffe. She tells Orgon that, “your daughter is not meant for this zealot- she’s too innocent” (2.2.26-27). Dorine truly loves Mariane as a daughter and above all wants her to be happy, and she knows that to be happy Mariane must marry Valère. Dorine along with her strength and ability to see reality also sees happiness and love to be important parts of life, and make it enjoyable to live. She understands the happiness that Valère brings Mariane and she formulates a plan to make sure that the marriage between them takes place. She first speaks to Mariane tells her “Love takes a resolute heart to survive” (2.3.40). This again displays her unique understanding of life, but also her hopes of love for herself and others around her. I think she wants to not only expose Tartuffe as the imposter he truly is, but also minimize the damage to the family as much as possible. Her end goal in Tartuffe is to rid the family of the imposter while keeping Tartuffe from ruining what little good the family has. The basis of Dorine’s character is not new for the time period and parallels many stock characters in many shows such as Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
In Twelfth Night Maria represents the unsubservient servant that has a knack for understanding madness and uses a comic relief approach to get what they want. This is just one of the many stock characters used through out many of the comedies of the time, that make a show interesting and meaningful to watch. The wise and witty character of a low social class brings an interesting dynamic to all of the plays they occur. They bring a sense of common sense and logic to the upper class that is narrow minded and naïve. These characters are my personal favorite type of stock character because they have the ability to look beyond the madness to understand what is happening and how to fix many issues addressed by play all while being clever and witty to the upper
class. In conclusion Dorine is one of the most dynamic characters among the plethora of flat characters in Tartuffe. Dorine is a strong, protective, loving woman the stands her ground while bringing a comic relief. The use of Dorine in a play like Tartuffe adds to plot and many of the general themes of the play. She presents the perspective logic and reason In Tartuffe among the naïve upper class all while challenging gender and economic norms of the day.
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,
In Moliére’s Tartuffe (Moiré 1664), the reader is able to see a great contrast of Extreme and Moderate characters. Extreme characters being those who are seen as over the top, or very passionate people, and the moderate characters having a more calm and subtle approach to ideas. The extreme characters in this case would be Madam Pernelle, Orgon, Tartuffe, and Dorine. The moderate characters are seen as Cleante and Elmire.
The play "Tartuffe", by Moliere, is a work that was created to show people a flaw in their human nature. There are two characters who portray the main flaw presented in the play. Both Madame Pernelle and Orgon are blinded to the farces of Tartuffe and must be coaxed into believing the truth. The fact that Orgon and Madame Pernelle are too weak to see the truth is an important theme of the play.
Madame Pernelle shows the family trait that she shares with her son when she states: "He's a fine man, and should be listened to. " (I, i, 44), while speaking of Tartuffe. Although they share this trait throughout the play, Orgon's eyes are finally opened at the end of the play while his mother is still held by the farce of Tartuffe. Although Tartuffe is portrayed as the main character of the play, Orgon is the character who should really be paid attention to the most. As suggested in an essay on "Tartuffe" audiences who concentrate on the character who titles the work may miss the author's point: ".vitriol and spleen vented on one man suggests that Moliere's satire of Orgon, nevermind Tartuffe, was steeped in truth.
The characters Madame Pernelle, and Mariane, follow the roles as stereotypical women in that time, whereas Dorine and Elmire push the boundaries and start to show an edgier depiction of women. Madame Pernelle is depicted as an obnoxious old woman, she is very stubborn and stuck in her ways. She believes what she says is always right which kind of gives her a hint of ignorance. For example, this stubbornness and ignorance is brought to light when Orgon tells her of what he has learned about Tartuffe and ultimately tries to convince her that he is a fake she replies with “No, no, a man of such surpassing piety could not do such a thing. You cannot shake me. I don’t believe it and you shall not make me.” (5.3.24). Mariane is an overly obedient and hide in the shadows type of girl, she obeys to her father Orgon’s every command. That is until he asks her to end her engagement with her fiancé Valere who she is madly in love with, which even then does not cause her to develop a voice of her own it is Dorine who speaks up for her. Dorine comes off as a very opinionated, sassy, and outspoken woman. Due to her position as a maid, and overall upbringing she has no problem speaking up when she feels something is wrong, no matter whether it is to a man or a woman, which was very rare in the 17th century to hear of a woman speaking out against a man. For example, when Organ is
... small thing can cause the family to fall apart, which is why it is always vital to remain faithful and true to one another. In a patriarchal family, just like in Tartuffe and Phèdre, the loyalty of the head of the family is the most significant and can cause the greatest suffering, when it is placed in people outside of the family. Both Orgon and Thésée learned that believing in the words of outsiders like Tartuffe, whose only loyalty was to himself, and Oenone, whose loyalty lay with only one person instead of the whole family unit, can cause the family to fall apart and result in tragic deaths. Hence the message of these plays is one’s loyalty to family that ensures the happiness of all like in the case of Orgon, who realized his mistake in time and was saved by the king. Unfortunately for Thésée, his realization came too late and paid a very heavy prize for it.
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and in Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid, two ladies are presented, that are not necessarily the leading protagonist, but they help unravel the plays’ plots into something amazing. Twelfth Night features Maria, the lady in waiting to Olivia. At first Maria comes off as a dilettante, later on we find out that’s not the case at all. Meanwhile, in The Imaginary Invalid, there is the disputatious Toinette, who is the maidservant and nurse to the imaginary invalid himself, Argan. Maria and Toinette are two strong women characters, their strength and wit is depicted through Maria and Toinette’s deceiving schemes to make their plays more stimulating as well as their objectivity throughout all the chaos in their respective play.
Almost all of the characters in the film are a depiction of aristocracy and their struggle to maintain their status and glory and to live their lives as expected by the society they live in. Infidelity is also evident in the film wherein Jourdain and Elmire are included. Disloyalty also comes in on the part of Moliere as a servant to Jourdain, when he had an affair with Elmire and on the part of Dorante as a friend of Jourdain, when he fooled Jourdain. Hidden agendas and plans are also apparent on the part of Jourdain’s older daughter: her secret love with her piano teacher and on Dorante’s part of performing his hidden evil plan to Jourdain.
Doesn't everyone want someone to love, someone to care for you as much as you care for him or her. Someone who will keep you company in lonely times or who will act as if your brains are tuned into the same wavelength. Share an inseparable bond and grow old with. Love is a very powerful emotion and can be misused because it is thrown around too casually, and be swept up in it very quickly like Viola is with Orsino when she says,” Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions and spirit, Do give thee five-fold blazon: not too fast: soft, soft! Unless the master were the man. How now! Even so quickly may one catch the plague?” (1.5.48).
Tartuffe is one of the most famous comedies written by the French playwright Molière. The play tells the story of a wealthy Frenchman named Orgon who takes in Tartuffe, a man who presents himself to be religious and passionate but actually turns out to be a hypocrite. Despite his family’s warnings, Orgon completely turns his back on his family in order to protect Tartuffe, who betrays him. During that time the play was first written and performed, many people, along with King Louis XIV himself, enjoyed the play. However, to others it was seen as being critical of religion and the church, which then lead to it being banned. In a political sense, Tartuffe serves as both an endorsement and critique of the ideas of absolutism, divine right, and the patriarchal family.
One of the most prominent and clear themes Tourneur uses is the role of women. The audience is able to gain a view of Tourneur’s thoughts of women within the context of the early 1600’s in England, through the use of strong statements that would be considered sexist in our contemporary society. Certain stereotypical traits are evident, such as the idea that women are gullible - ‘their sex is easy in belief’ (Act I, Scene i, l. 107); untrustworthy – ‘Tell but some woman a secret over night, Your doctor may find it in the urinal i’th’morning’ (I iii ll. 84-85); and sinful – ‘there’s no pleasure sweet, but it is sinful’ (Act III, Scene v, l. 203). The use of sexual innuendo in these lines adds to the entertainment value of the performance and makes it appropriate for the English audience, while the oxymoronic phrase from Act III Scene v represents the two paths the Duchess can take, a...
William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night In 'Twelfth Night' Olivia's trusted steward Malvolio, like Sir Andrew, is the 'butt of comedy'. His very name suggests 'ill-will', which echoes his role in the play. Malvolio is an egotistical, "overweening rogue", who is a straight laced, puritanical, social climbing rebuker of others for their anti-social and often sinful behaviour, or as he put it, "misdemeanours". Malvolio's character is summarised excellently by Maria in Act II Scene III: The devil a puritan that he is, or anything, constantly, but a time-pleaser, an affectioned ass that cons state without book and utters it by great swarths; the best persuaded of himself, so crammed, as he thinks with excellencies, that if is his grounds of faith that all that look on him love him.
School House Rock teaches that “three is a magic number.” We see threes all over the place: id, ego, superego; mother, father, child; father, son, holy ghost; reading, writing, ‘rithmatic. One place where the magic of three does not fit is in romance. Sex (conventionally and biologically) only has room for twos: sperm and egg; man and wife; big spoon and little spoon. Groups of three in the world of love create tension for the characters and audience, and the discomfort with the situation and sense of powerlessness leads to comedy. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night has central love triangle between Cesario/Viola, Orsino, and Olivia; the excesses and complications within the triangle causes disorder for the characters and audience, and increases hilarity. Shakespeare further confounds the plot by toying with gender-switching, plague imagery, and even homosexuality. The progression of all of these plot devices which are contrary to society’s rules makes Twelfth Night an ideal comedic work because it plays into society’s discomfort at not being in control of its own destiny.
In Shakespeare 's well known play Twelfth Night, which takes place somewhere in Illyria, Lady Olivia is an independent, powerful, wealthy but single woman; the sudden deaths of her father and brother has left her in sadness alone in a big castle to herself. She has her relative Sir Toby Belch who was still around and visited her. Orsino, a duke, has a huge crush on her and is trying to have her to himself. Meanwhile, the jealous steward Malvolio who also has a crush on Lady Olivia, is a guy who is full of himself and acts like he 's king, he forgets where his place is sometimes. In Olivia 's house there is the weak and foolish Sir Andrew who has a crush on Olivia and is wishing one day he would get a chance with her. are also these twins,Viola and Sebastian. They have been shipwrecked and isolated from each other, so Viola thinks Sebastian is dead, and Sebastian thinks viola is dead. Later Viola decides to disguise herself as a messenger and call herself Cesario so she can work for Orsino. Since Viola was so pretty and the way she used her words were great, she won Orsino’s trust. Orsino tells Cesario
In Tartuffe, Moliere's use's plot to defend and oppose characters that symbolize and ridicule habitual behavior's that was imposed during the neo-classical time period. His work, known as a comedy of manners, consists of flat characters, with few and similar traits, and that always restore some kind of peace in the end. He down plays society as a whole by creating a microseism, where everyone in the family has to be obedient, respectful, and mindful of the head of the home, which is played by the father Orgon. Mariane shows her obedience when she replies "To please you, sir, is what delights me best." (Moliere 324,11) Shortly afterwards, Orgon commands Mariane to take Tartuffe as her husband even though she is not interested in him at all. Orgon's command shows how men are dominate and have control over social order. Mariane's strong obedience to her father (Orgon) supports the Neo-Classical element that the individual is not as important as society. Moliere discusses logic and reasoning by blindfolding Orgon to the reality of Tartuffe's intentions that causes him to make dumb decisions. In the process, Orgon disregard's his family when told of Tartuffe's intentions. After Tartuffe cons Orgon into believing that Damis's accusation is false Orgon replies, "I know your motives, I now you wish him ill:/Yes, all of you - wife, children, servants, all - /Conspire against him and desire his fall." (Moliere 341-342,46-48) Orgon then excommunicates his own son, indicating that his reasoning is deferred due to his ignorance. This in due course challenges the Neo-Classical belief that logic and reasoning is more important than emotion because Orgon acts solely on his emotions. He feels as if his family has turned against his friend so he operates upon his feelings. When Damis returns home and Tartuffe (instead of Orgon) gets locked up, order is restored. At the end, the family commends the officer for apprehending the true criminal by saying, "Heaven be praised! / We're safe. / I can't believe the danger's past." (Moliere 361, 84-87) This is when Moliere demonstrated the common saying that "what happens in the dark will eventually come to the light, therefore allowing confusion to re-establish its order. Moliere developed a series of flat characters, which satirized the Neo-Classic belief system.