It is clear to anyone that reads Tartuffe, that the speech given by the Officer in Act 5, Scene 7 toward the end of the play is a deus ex machina mechanism. Simply put, the speech is there to resolve the complications in the plot. There can be little doubt of this since the passage comes out of absolutely nowhere. Even, Mariane states, “Who would have predicted that?” (MolièreThe Misanthrope and other plays 88). Well, nobody would have predicted that – that’s the whole point of deus ex machina. Not only does it not need to be explained, it never is. Even the officer about to arrest Tartuffe says that he is “not obligated to explain anything” to anyone (Molière 87). The real question isn’t whether or not the passage is such a device, but rather, did Molière use the device for artistic purposes, or simply because he had to?
First of all, it’s important to state upfront that it is impossible to predict with 100% accuracy what Molière intended to communicate when he wrote the passage in question. However, using what we do know about Molière, it is possible to predict the probable reasons for Molière’s writing of the speech. Using such available information, I maintain that Molière most likely was forced to add this speech in order to get Tartuffe preformed.
For one thing, we know for certainly that King Louis XIV was not happy with the original 1664 version of the play Molière presented to him. King Louis XIV condemned Tartuffe as “absolutely injurious to religion and capable of producing very dangerous results” (Mazzara “Molière”). Not surprising, seeing as how the play’s main theme deals with hypocrisy in those who claim to be religious and righteous people.
We also know that “Molière made significant revisions, portraying the title character not only as a religious hypocrite but also as a violent criminal” (Mazzara “Molière” my italics). Before such revisions, Tartuffe was simply portrayed as nothing more than a religious hypocrite. In order to add a criminal element to the plot, Molière was forced to expand the play into five acts. We also know that after the revisions took place, King Louis XIV allowed for the play to be preformed. So, using the info we know, it is feasible to presume that Molière was forced to use the deus ex machina device in order to get his play seen in front of an audience.
It is especially feasible when you exam the flattering language the Officer speaks when referring to the unnamed king in the play. The Officer states proudly that they have “a monarch who can read the hearts of men, and who is not taken in by the wiles of hypocrites” (Molière 87). He then goes on to say that “nothing can get past the firm constancy [the King’s] judgment nor lead him into error,” and that the King’s “quick mind saw the full baseness of [Tartuffe’s] heart” (Molière 87). The language is very different from the rest of the play, and seems very forced – almost as if Molière is kissing up to Louis XIV. The vast majority of the speech is nothing but compliments about the wise and wonderful monarch who has the power to save the day and put everything right.
One also can’t ignore the simple fact that if in the original 1664 version of the play Tartuffe was not a criminal an officer would have no grounds to arrest him at the end. There would be no need for the warrant the King issues. In such a case, there would be no need for the speech itself.
Still, there are those who maintain that Molière used the deus ex machina plot device artistically. However, if you take Molière’s other works into consideration, such a claim simply doesn’t add up. For one thing, the only other significant work that Molière uses the ex machina device in is The School for Wives. And in that case, it was used to provide “great irony when Oronte and Enrique […] announce that Horace is to marry Enrique’s daughter – [who] turns out to be Agnès, rendering all of Arnolphe’s scheming useless” (“The School for Wives”). Furthermore, giving such a long and important speech to such a minor character suggests that Molière is desperately trying to wrap things up for the sake of the audience, and not the for the sake of the work itself.
When taking into account the fact that King Louis XIV was upset with the original version of the play, and the fact that Molière later added in a subplot to give Tartuffe’s character a criminal element, it is not unfeasible to see the speech given by the officer as a necessity to wrap things up, rather than an artistic choice. Since there was no criminal element in the original play, Molière was probably at a loss to wrap up everything when it came time to end the play. The deus ex machina plot device was his only hope, and although a copy of the original 1664 version is not in existence, it is still reasonable to assume that Molière more than likely needed the speech to bring Tartuffe’s character to justice. After all, audiences would have been quite confused if the criminal subplot wasn’t wrapped up. Thus, having to juggle two plots, and an angry King, Molière did the only thing he could – he resorted to using the deus ex machina plot device.
Works Cited
Mazzara, Richard A. “MolièRe.” Critical Survey of Drama (2003). MagillOnLiterature Plus. EBSCO. UHD. 6 Oct. 2006. Keyword: Tartuffe.
Moliáere, John Wood, and David Coward. The Misanthrope and Other Plays. New York, N.Y., USA: Penguin Books, 2000.
“The School for Wives.” Wikipedia. 6 Oct. 2006 .
