The idea of belief in Molière’s Tartuffe is mainly addressed in the interactions among Orgon, the father, and the other members of his family. The overall intention of the play is to show the repercussions of believing too steadfastly in something, or in this case someone. This warning against dogmatic belief is portrayed by showing how Orgon’s relationships with his family become strained since they know that Tartuffe is merely a phony who has managed to convince Orgon that he is an honest, holy man.
The plot revolves mainly around Orgon’s decision to call off the engagement between his daughter Mariane, and her fiancée Valère. Orgon is so convinced that Tartuffe is morally superior and is an honest character that he refuses to believe his family members when they attempt to prove that Tartuffe is a liar. Damis, Elmire, and Dorine all make attempts to expose Tartuffe’s true character to Orgon and Madame Pernelle, Orgon’s mother who also believes in Tartuffe’s honesty. In Act one, scene one Dorine tries to convince Madame Pernelle, Orgon’s mother that Tartuffe is not who he seems to be. Madame Pernelle rudely dismisses Dorine, and states that she should feel blessed to have Tartuffe as her son’s guest and that he is Heaven sent.
In the third act, Damis carries out a plan to reveal Tartuffe’s dishonorable nature. He hides in the closet while his mother is having a conversation with Tartuffe regarding his impending marriage to Mariane. Tartuffe ends up trying to seduce Elmire, and Damis reveals himself from his hiding place moments before Orgon enters the room. Against his mother’s wishes Damis tells Orgon what Tartuffe has done. Unsurprisingly, Orgon refuses to believe his son and says that to “spite this household” he will immediately force Mariane to marry Tartuffe. By this point in the play, it seems as if nothing will be able to alter Orgon’s belief in Tartuffe. Fortunately for Mariane, Elmire comes up with a plan in a final effort to show Orgon Tartuffe’s true character. She convinces him to hide under the table, and she proceeds to flirt with Tartuffe and tells him that she is interested in starting an affair with him.
Eventually Orgon emerges from under the table and tells Tartuffe that he has suspected him of being insincere for a long time. Although Orgon did not truly suspect this, he is probably embarrassed that his wife had to go through such great lengths to make him alter his beliefs, and regrets being duped by who he though was a pious man. This is the scene where the repercussions of believing in something too devotedly are really shown. By this point Orgon has betrayed nearly every member of his family. He has kicked his son out of the house, caused his wife to throw herself at Tartuffe just to prove him wrong, and almost forced his daughter to desert her fiancée and marry a man she does not even know. Additionally, since Tartuffe is posing as a holy man this play is saying a lot about people’s unwavering trust in religious figures and institutions during this time.
Molière used Tartuffe to critique Christianity and the hypocrisy that he felt existed within it. The aim of Tartuffe was not to attack Christianity; it was to point out the corruption which was harming it. According to an article by Emanuel S. Chill called “Tartuffe, Religion, and Courtly Culture”, an organization called the Company of the Holy Sacrament, which was made up of priests and laymen, played a role in Molière being unable to successfully stage a production of his play until 1669. Orgon’s trust in Tartuffe was Molière’s not so subtle way of criticizing those with fanatical Christian beliefs, and Tartuffe’s misrepresentation of himself as a pious, holy man was intended to criticize the dishonest religious leaders during the 1600s. The Princess of Clèves examined the theme of belief in a much more subtle way than Molière’s approach.
The story surrounds the main character, the Princess of Clèves and her overwhelming desire to remain virtuous in the face of temptation. The princess tells her husband that she is attracted to another man, however she wants to overcome this temptation and not act on it, because naturally her religious beliefs forbid it. Eventually, her husband ends up dying and the princess is still attracted to Monsieur de Nemours, who does not understand why she still feels a duty to her husband. In the end, when the princess enters a convent to prevent herself from acting upon her feelings for Monsieur de Nemours, all she is doing is creating an environment for herself where she is essentially forced to be a virtuous person. The theme of belief comes in when looking at the reasons why the princess chose this self-imposed purgatory for herself. Her beliefs are basically keeping her from leading a happy and fulfilling life, making it seem that if your beliefs lead you to unhappiness they are not really the right beliefs to hold.
The Princess of Clèves and Tartuffe address the theme of belief in two different yet effective ways. The Princess of Clèves questions whether one should continue to believe in something out of obligation, rather than actually having a sense of fulfillment and being happy because of those beliefs. Tartuffe took a different approach, and questioned what it takes for someone to change their beliefs, by portraying a man who rejects his family in favor of a man who fraudulently presents himself as holy, and then ultimately discards all his new beliefs when this character is proved to be anything other than who he claims to be. Tartuffe is also much more openly critical towards Christian beliefs, while The Princess of Clèves focuses more on the Princess’s decision she had to make and not how any particular religious system factored into it.
