Week 3, Analysis, Tartuffe

A Thin Line Between Reason and Wisdom

At first glance you can analyze Tartuffee as a condemnation on religion, but I found it to be remarkably inverse. The contention is not with religion, but with hypocrisy and reason rooted in freethinking. In the tale of Tartuffe, Moliere accentuates the importance of heeding to wisdom. We see, Cleante, the brother in law of Orgon and the King are viewed as the voice of wisdom. While, the other characters, could be the voice of reason. Although wisdom and reason are similarly characterized, they are distinctive in meaning. 

British philosopher Nicholas Maxwell has called wisdom "the capacity to realize what is of value in life for oneself and others.” Moliere acquaints us with a man’s inability to sway from his own reasoning, only to end up encountering the ultimate betrayal before recognizing the true value of wisdom. Orgon was incapable of seeing the importance of family, after returning home from being absent for two days, he inquires of maid Dorine, on the wellbeing of his family, yet his real concern is for Tartuffe. Dorine begins to inform him that his mother has not been well, and how she fell ill the day he left, however, Orgon being uninterested and unaffected by the news, redirects his concern towards Tartuffe. The conversation between the two of them continues, as Dorine continues to inform him of the condition of his family, yet, more than once, Orgon’s only concern his for Tartuffe (150-151). Throughout the story, Orgon is oblivious to the fixation he has towards this outsider, while demonstrating total negligence for his family. Tartuffe, who according to Dorine, does not have a care in the world. He is eating, drinking, sleeping, and taking full advantage of Orgon’s hospitality with no regard for anyone else wellbeing. It makes one question what state of mind Orgon was in before Tartuffe. Immediately after the first dialogue between Dorine and Orgon, Cleante, for contention purposes, “the voice of wisdom” chimes in, “you know that girl was laughing in your face. I fear I’ll make you angry, but in case there is a chance you’ll listen, I will try to say that you are laughable and why. I’ve never known of something so capricious as letting this mad do just as he wishes in your home and to your family. You brought him here, relieved his poverty” (151).  Orgon tries to reason without applying wisdom, we see this pattern throughout the story as well.  He begins to build a case for why he honors Tartuffe. Reason is the capacity for consciously making sense of things, establishing and verifying facts, applying logic, and changing or justifying practices based on existing information (“Reason”). 

Orgon believes in his own logic and justifies his irrational behavior based off existing information that he has about Tartuffe. Therefore, proving that reasoning can be dangerous regardless if one is presented with facts. Reasoning disengages individuals, abandoning them to rely upon their own judgment or interpretation of the facts. Reason is why Thomas Jefferson, along with other Europeans insisted that Blacks in the United States were naturally inferior when it came to reason because it was believed that Blacks could not follow (104). However, wisdom according to the Oxford English Dictionary is defined as having the capacity of judging righting in matter of relation to life and conduct; soundness of judgment in the choice of means and end. With wisdom comes honest observation not just facts, careful reasoning in the face of knowledge- meaning a balanced application (“Wisdom”). Wisdom does not isolate a person to their own thinking, but rather enable one from an unbiased perspective to consider all the variables. More than once, we see Cleante offering wisdom to Orgon, and eventually to Tartuffe, yet neither of them humbled themselves to at least consider his words. Both men were given the opportunity to lean towards wisdom, yet both held on to their cynical attitudes, and both men were presented with the consequences of their folly. Orgon, after seeing with his own eyes the deceitfulness of Tartuffee, endeavored to undo the damage he caused, yet it appeared to be too late. In his state of obliviousness, gave his house, daughter, and son’s inheritance to Tartuffe, “I took in a man, miserable and poor, brought him home, gave him the key to my door, I loaded him with favors every day, to him, my daughter I gave away. My house, my wealth, a locked box from a friend” (190). Tartuffe too, in the end, had an opportunity to acknowledge the wisdom given to him and do right by Orgon, but we see that he chose to continue with his crooked scheme to swindle Orgon out of his property, he tells the executer, “save me from this whining! I have had my fill! Do execute your orders, if you will” (196). At his request, the executer agreed, but to Tartuffee surprise he was the one who was being arrested for his deception. Fortunately for Orgon, the king that ruled was a wise king. He could see into men’s heart and was able to see that Tartuffee was a fraud (196). 

In the end, wisdom prevailed. Orgon recognized, welcomed, and appreciated the wisdom of Cleante and the Wise King. There is strength in reason as Cleante states to Orgon, however we can’t depend on reason alone. Corpthorne Macdonald, author, and independent scholar, who has studied and written extensively about wisdom, reminds us that wisdom is not just about “wise sayings” and philosophical insights of the past; wisdom is “vitally important” for our individual and collective future. Wisdom faces forward. Though numerous academical, technological and economic solutions are offered to address the problems of today, we believe that the pursuit and development of wisdom is key to a positive future for humanity (“Wisdom”).

Macdonald , Copthorne. The Role of Values in Wisdom, www.wisdompage.com/roleofvalues.html.

Moliere, Jean-Baptiste. “Tartuffe” The Norton Anthology World Literature. Martin Puchner. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 144-197. Book.

“Reason.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reason.

“Wisdom.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom.