Critique of Religious Hypocrites in Moliere's TartuffeMoliere shook the 17th-century French world with his comedy "Tartuffe" in 1664. Although religious factions kept the opera banned from theaters since From 1664 to 1669, "Tartuffe" emerged from controversy as one of the greatest comedies of all time. Tartuffe is a convincing religious hypocrite. He's a parasite who sucks Orgon, the rich, confident father, for all he's worth. Orgon does not realize that Tartuffe is a fake and caters to his every whim. For example, he reneges on his promise to let his daughter Mariane marry Valere. Instead he asks her to marry Tartuffe, whom she despises. He also banishes his son, Damis, from his house for speaking against Tartuffe and all of his son's inheritance is promised to Tartuffe. Tartuffe is nothing more than a traveling trustee who veils his true evil with a mask of piety. Orgon and his mother Madame Pernelle are completely caught up in this farce. On the other hand, Cleante, Elmire and Dorine see Tartuffe for the fake he really is. Cleanthes is Orgon's wise brother who speaks elegantly about Tartuffe's hypocrisy. Through Cleante, Moliere reveals his theme more clearly. Spare me your warnings, brother; I am not afraid to speak out, that you and Heaven may hear, against affected zeal and pious knavery. There is truth and falsehood in piety, as in courage, and just as those whose courage shines brightest in battle are least inclined to boast, so those whose hearts are truly pure and humble make no affectation of being saints (Meyer 1466). In speeches like these, Molière wanted to make it clear that it was false piety that he condemned...... middle of paper... rtufo" historically it becomes clear the courage needed for Molière to represent this comedy, knowing that he would be ostracized by church for the rest of his life. Upon Moliere's death, Bishop Bossuet said: "God is showing his anger against Moliere" (Bishop X). However, using the historical point of view, we can see that Moliere actually died from hero, knowing that he had always fought for what he believed in. Works Cited Bishop, Morris. Eight Plays By Moliere New York: The Modern Library, 1957.Fernandez, Ramon Moliere: The Man Seen Through the Plays and Wang, 1958. Gassner, John. Comedies of Moliere. New York: The Book League of America, 1946. Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Walker, Hallam. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990.