The struggle between passion and reason during the enlightenment period: Moliere’s “Tartuffe”
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The struggle between passion and reason during the enlightenment period: Moliere’s “Tartuffe”
One of the themes that outstandingly displayed in the show is the conflict battle between reason and passion. In Tartuffe play, there are fewer characteristics that are associated with enlightenment displayed and promoted. The ideals of enlightenment challenging many of the former ideologies can be found in the writings from the enlightenment era. Whereby the writings had begun to question the established beliefs in favor of reason thus the name age of reason, which emphasized the ideas of reasoning (Weber, D. J.2005). During the enlightenment period writers and thinkers differed from beliefs and other ideologies brought about by religion with focus on promoting the idea of reason and analysis. In this play, Tartuffe was born to the culture that embraced rationalism and practical thinking. In this time period where gender roles, good manners, moderation and orders were enforced.
Moliere’s Tartuffe applied the beliefs of the enlightenment era on reason and passion to prove his point although his use of it as the centerpiece of enlightenment and advantages of individuals’ reason over emotion was ironic. The moderation of passion and reasoning was quite a struggle as the enlightenment writers aspired to moderate the passions through reason and correctness, Tartuffe was seeking to satisfy his bodily desires by couching arguments in reason. Greed and pride are passions Tartuffe has in excess that instead of using reason to build himself morally, he instead uses it to justify his passions for lust (Chill, E. S. 1963). He incorporates actions to make the world to look at how he thinks. This is presented after act three where Tartuffe gains power to act with impunity. In that he thinks keeping up with an act causes scandal and discomfort. This happens where he asks Elmire to prove her love for him physically stating “If you’re still troubled, think of things this way: No one shall know our joys, save us alone, And there’s no evil till the act is known; It’s scandal, Madam, which makes it an offense,And it’s no sin to sin in confidence.” (Tartuffe, 4.5.116-120) Moderation of passion and reason in the play was quite a struggle as shown by the attempts of Cleante, Orgon’s brother in law to explain and show Tartuffe for what he is emotionally clouded. In Act four, Cleante states “Ought not a Christian to forgive, and ought he not to stifle every vengeful thought?… Again I tell you frankly, be advised: the whole town, high and low, is scandalized; this quarrel must be mended, and my advice is not to push matter to a further crisis (4. 1. 9-16)”. This was after Orgon had kicked out his son making Tartuffe the sole heir. Cleante tries to talk reason to Orgon, but Orgon does not listen to him making his voice of reasoning useless as he’s unheard. Cleante is trying to point out Tartuffe hypocrisy as well as his wrong doings.
From the play, those with power like Orgon and his mother are the ones struggling to balance between passion and reason as they turn a blind eye to hypocrisy and manipulation by Tartuffe. This is projected through the author in which he asks the audience: what happens in an incident that reason is used to further passion (body goals). This is often projected in contemporary society through which the better-off people and people in power tend to urge other individuals to control themselves whereas they cannot control themselves. Orgon’s struggle to balance between reason and passion is a struggle in the extent that his passion his perception of the truth is blinded by his desire to maintain superiority and favor of the King in his political aspirations (Molière, J. B. 2011). This struggle affected him and his relations ship with other society members being damned socially when he decided to banish Damis and make Tartuffe his rightful heir. Orgon’s desire for power made him blind to reason and would he have listened to when Tartuffe said “I shall defy you all, and make it clear / That I’m the one who gives the orders here” (3.6.57-58) then Orgon would not have been vulnerable.
Tartuffe in Moliere’s play was considered as a hypocrite who used emotions to deceive those around him as other characters like Dorine, Elmire and Cleante applied the logic of reason to combat him. Tartuffe hypocrisy is evident as Tartuffe shows passion and yearning towards Orgon’s wife, “I may be pious, but I’m human too… My keen concern for my good name insures the absolute security of yours;” (3.3.22-46) He is defending his action by arguing that his passions are because he is human and continues to imply even though a man may be wise he has no control over his passion. The differences in emotion use of Tartuffe and reason of the other characters distinguish their levels of enlightenment. As this society displays how it considers reason to be a high ranking value and passion as weak and irrationally applied. As the play continues the primary target Orgon is easily swayed by emotion in making a judgement in the context of his bodily satisfaction and urge to remain in power (Molière, J. B. 2011). The emotions impacted by Tartuffe, makes Orgon feel like his family is betraying making his supportive friends leave. Orgon’s threats to his daughter, disowning of his son Damis and attempt to strike the maid Dorine within the play were emotional decisions focused at his passion and not logic decisions informed by reason.
The last act of the play was used to display the essential nature of the age of reason whereby people begin to apply rational thoughts and reason to help in figuring out and understanding nature to guide their existence. The idea of reason in the play was displayed through the King character when Tartuffe brought an officer of the king to take Orgon away. The king, however, saw through Tartuffe’s attempts to get Orgon arrested and decided that he was the one to be put on trial and be accused (Molière, J. B. 2011).
Tartuffe as a play shows the gullibility and helplessness of those who see the truth but are not heart as expressed by Cleante, Orgon’s brother in law. Cleante in an attempt to enlighten his brother in law about the nature of Tartuffe he terms his love for Tartuffe as nonsense. Cleante sees how Orgon is clouded by emotions thus in the play he plays as the voice of reason trying to talk sense to him but goes unheard. Orgon’s emotions believe so much on the perfection of Tartuffe that he was willing to give up everything for him, including inheritance and the daughter’s happiness by denying he marriage to the man she loves and cancelling the engagement.
The play of Tartuffe upholds the ideas of the age of enlightenment in with it advocates for dominance in value of moderation and reason of things as compared to passion, obsession and excess. Cleante portrayed as the voice of reason throughout the play tends to bring out and promote balance and reason. Upon realizing the real nature of Tartuffe, Orgon was portrayed to be emotional and angrily reacting to how he was “through with pious men” (Molière 244). Cleante displays emotional control when he asks Orgon why he could not be rational. In the age of reason, the voice of reason in the paper, Cleante tries to explain to his brother in law not to curse all men who appear to be godly but rather be he should avoid extreme of behavior and judgement to act less impulsively.
References
Molière, J. B. (2011). Tartuffe. Larousse.
Chill, E. S. (1963). Tartuffe, Religion, and Courtly Culture. French Historical Studies, 3(2), 151-183.
Weber, D. J. (2005). Bá rbaros: Spaniards and Their Savages in the Age of Enlightenment. Yale University Press.
