Voice Of Reason In Tartuffe

In Molière’s play Tartuffe, Orgon takes in a man he sees as a good Christian man, Tartuffe. This man hits on Elmire, Orgon’s wife, behind Orgon’s back and his loyalty and true character start to show. Orgon’s son, Damis witnesses the betrayal and tries to expose Tartuffe for the fraud he is, but instead Orgon banishes him for treason. The voice of reasoning in this situation is Cleante, Orgon’s brother. In Act IX, Scene 1 Cleante is questioning Tartuffe's true motives regarding Orgon’s banishing of Damis when he says to Tartuffe, “Suppose the worst for us—suppose Damis/ Acted the traitor, and accused you falsely;/ Should not a Christian pardon this offence, / And stifle in his heart all wish for vengeance? / Should you permit that, for your petty quarrel, / A son be driven from his father’s house?” Cleante seems to be the voice of reason throughout the play. When things get out of order or heated, he is the level headed voice that sees things for what they truly are. He sees that if Tartuffe was as pious of a man as he claims to be, he wouldn’t be making the situation between Orgon and Damis worse.
He says he will never trust a pious man again. In Act V, Scene 1 Cleante tries to reason with Orgon by saying this, “ You never know what reason is, but always/ Jump first to one extreme, and then the other/ You see your error, and you recognize/ That you’ve been cozened by a feigned zeal;/ But to make up for’t, in the name of reason, / Why should you plunge into a worse mistake, / And find no difference in character/ Between a worthless scamp, and all good people?” Cleante is trying to tell Orgon that just because one falsely pious man betrayed you, doesn’t mean that all pious men are bad. You can’t judge a category of people based on the actions of one similar