Illusion Vs. Reality In Tartuffe By Muliére

There are many works of literature, but out of all those, only few earn the title of a masterpiece. Various works have been carried through time and remain as some of the best piece of work. These pieces of literature are more than a good read. The pages contain excellent literary technique, exquisite revelation of its culture, a brilliant use of illusion versus reality, a universal appeal to time and place, and impeccably suits its own age. Therefore, scholars applaud Muliére for his timeless work of Tartuffe which for centuries has been considered to be one literature's finest masterpieces. Muliére lived through the Age of Elegance or The Age of Reason during the eighteenth century. This was a lavish and luxurious time period. It was also
Tartuffe is a masked character, putting on a false front. He is able to deceive Orgon into believing he is a holy man with all pure intentions. “He used to come into our church each day and humbly kneel nearby, and start to pray. He’d draw the eyes of everybody there by the deep fervor of his heartfelt prayer: He’d sigh and weep, and sometimes with a sound of rapture he would bend and kiss the ground,” (Muliére 283-288). However, in the end of play, he is fully unmasked to all characters, when the truth about who he truly is is revealed. “The man’s ingratitude is unparalleled. I save a wretched pauper from starvation, house him, and treat him like a blood relation, shower him every day with my largesse, give him my daughter, and all that I possess; and meanwhile the unconscionable knave tries to induce my wife to misbehave…now threatens me with my own liberality, and aims, by taking base advantage of the gifts I gave him out of Christian love,” (Muliére 74-82). Orgon, as well as Madam Pernelle, are unable to perceive the reality of Tartuffe. Therefore, they are constantly praising the hypocrite on the false image that Tartuffe is portraying to