A Reflection Of Psychology In Moliere's Tartuffe

“A Reflection of Psychology in Tartuffe”
In Moliere’s play, Tartuffe, the audience is exposed to a rich variety of characters that cause them to ask many questions throughout the play. However, there is one character that seems to stick out the most. In Tartuffe, the audience cannot help but focus on Orgon’s actions and dialogue. For some, he could be seen as being manipulative. For others, he appears senseless and absurd, or even obsessive. It is not unusual for audience members to have different perspectives about him among themselves. However, most of the time the audience doesn’t notice the abundance of psychological themes that revolve around Orgon in the play but instead just ask questions to themselves about him.
One of the more common
Lionel Gossman suggests in his book, “Men and Masks: A Study of Moliere”, that Orgon uses Tartuffe like a pawn in a game of chess and that with each move there is an ulterior motive. He does this so that way he can control everything and not receive backlash from his family. Granted they get irritated with him, but they blame Tartuffe instead and just assume Orgon is being dim-witted. Gossman states that the reason Orgon gets so furious whenever his family members talk negatively about Tartuffe is because “Orgon’s real desire is,..., to have himself recognized by all around him as divinely absolute and self-sufficent” and that “claiming absolute being for himself- absolute in relation to the contingency of all others except as a threat to and a denial of his own.” (Gossman, 102). Basically, this is why Orgon’s relationships with his family are crumbling. He is so afraid of losing control, that it is his own personality that keeps him from getting along with them and prevents him from treating them as traditional family
Basically, Cleante calls Orgon out for letting Tartuffe have so much say over the management of his house and everyone who lives there. Orgon, defending Tartuffe, argues back by saying, “Now you listen to me!...You don’t know this man. And don’t deny it.” (pg.22) Cleante doesn’t try to retort back, but instead listens to why Orgon supports Tartuffe so much. Orgon recalls the time how he had first met Tartuffe during congregation and how Tartuffe’s prayer had touched him. He said, “And from his groans, I knew just what he felt. Those sounds he made from deep inside his soul, were fed by piety he could not control.” (pg.22) This proves that on some level, perhaps even subconsciously, Orgon felt obligated to connect with Tartuffe based on this “pain” he experienced because he felt