Ethical Dilemma in Tartuffe by Moliere

The five-act drama Tartuffe

The five-act drama Tartuffe was penned by renowned Jean Baptiste Moliere in the 17th century. The work centers on a variety of topics, including morality and ethics, religion, women and femininity, marriage, lies and deceit, sin, and foolishness. However, Tartuffe, one of the major characters, portrays hypocrisy as the main theme. (Hall 120). Molière's play vividly illustrates situations in which right and wrong can emerge, placing the audience in a middle-ground state between the two extremes. Despite how lighthearted or humorous the play may be, Moliere succeeds in achieving his true goal of instructing his audience about right and wrong. (Howarth). The play is not short of ethical dilemma situations. One of these situations at its core is on Act 5 of the play when Tartuffe takes to the king Orgon’s strongbox that contained papers of a friend who had been disloyal to the king. The king is able to see through Tartuffe’s deceit and decides to arrest Tartuffe instead of Orgon in a shocking turn of events since the king had issued a warrant for Orgon’s arrest. Although Orgon would have been found guilty of conspiring in the crime, he gets pardoned for prior aid to the crown and his loyalty to the king. The king takes into account that Tartuffe as a well-known criminal and uses it against him. If I were the king, I would be reasonable enough to arrest not only Tartuffe but also Orgon and his friend Argas as elaborated below.

Ethical Dilemma

First and foremost, we’ll discuss about ethical dilemma. Ethical or moral dilemma is an instance whereby a choice has to be made between two or more laid out options, neither of which resolves the issue in an ethically acceptable way. In our circumstance, the king is caught up in an ethical dilemma. He has to choose between arresting the accused Orgon who is loyal to him and the complainant; Tartuffe, a man he believes to be a criminal even though the charges he brings to him are concrete and could land Orgon in great trouble, were it not for his good reputation and Tartuffe’s tainted one. The king through his mouthpiece, the police officer, quickly exonerates Orgon despite his charges and lets everyone know that he’s wise and righteous for arresting Tartuffe, a fraud.

Tartuffe, the Hypocrite

Tartuffe, a hypocrite just like his name suggests, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He preaches water but drinks wine being a charlatan disguising himself as a man of great piety (Gossman). His reputation precedes him, and Moliere uses his name as the title of the story for a reason. Tartuffe has been hosted by Orgon in his home. The play revolves around him and what people think about him. Although everyone discusses him as the story begins, Tartuffe doesn’t show up until Act 3. In Act 1, Scene 1, Dorine, the household maid calls him a fraud. Damis, son of Orgon, loathes Tartuffe and tells Madame Pernelle, her grandmother that “his every action makes me seethe and tremble with helpless anger” (1.1.24). However, Madame Perenelle is opposed to her grandson’s opinion and believes Tartuffe is a “fine man” who “practices precisely what he preaches” (1.1.17). Orgon is similarly fond of Tartuffe, and at one point he tells Cleante that Tartuffe “is a man who…a man who…an excellent man.” (1.1.5).

Orgon, the Fool

Orgon, on the other hand, is an idiot and dunderhead. He lets his obsession with Tartuffe get in the way of his family. He even says “My mother, children, brother, and wife could die, and I’d not feel a single moment’s pain.” He’s feebleminded, and this is why Tartuffe takes advantage of him and brainwashes him (Lionel). His impetuous nature paves the way for Tartuffe to break his family apart. He disowns his son Damis when he claims that he witnessed Tartuffe try to seduce Elmire, Orgon’s wife and gives Tartuffe the rights to his property. Orgon is foolish and wants his daughter Mariane to get married to Tartuffe. When Orgon finally finds out Tartuffe’s true colors and tries to confront him, Tartuffe denounces him to the king and sends Monsieur Loyal to serve Orgon and his family with a notice of eviction. To prove he’s a dunce. Dorine tells Cleante in Act 1, Scene 2, “In the late troubles, he [Orgon] played an able part and served his king with wise and loyal heart, but he's quite lost his senses since he fell beneath Tartuffe's infatuating spell.” (1.2.4). His basic goodness and loyalty are also depicted when he agrees to help Argas, his friend by storing incriminating papers.

Making a Just Judgment

In my opinion, the king was biased in his judgment. He opted to arrest Tartuffe only even though Orgon had also committed a crime. This is evident because Orgon tries to flee since he just found himself in hot water. Given both had committed a crime, I would have ordered the police to arrest all of them, including Argas if I were the king. To avoid confrontation with the public, I would formulate a team to investigate the matter and leave no stone unturned. Tartuffe would obviously be found guilty of several crimes due to his immorality and manipulation and would be charged accordingly and punished for the crimes he had committed all along. I firmly believe that we were all born with morals and that how we’ll behave as we grow up is completely laid out for us. We’re also conceived as honest ethical beings. We’re meant to be a certain way and follow certain beliefs that make us who we are. Tartuffe may have acted in the name of any ethical belief he imagined yet he abided by none of them. Without a doubt, he deserves punishment since he is a man of nonexistent morality. However, some members of the public might be quick to defend him since he disguises himself as a righteous person. In such a scenario, it would be shrewd to use witnesses such as Damis, Mariane, and Elmire. There’s already evidence incriminating Argas for being disloyal. He will also be punished according to the laws of the land. What would be an uphill task is incriminating Orgon, a loyal man to the king and his friends, yet he still finds himself in trouble. I would be careful to only charge him for conspiring with Argas, a criminal and give him a lighter sentence or punishment. This move would receive less criticism by members of the public who would deem Orgon as being a victim of criminals. Exonerating him of all charges would lead to far worse criticism from the public as it would be favoritism.

Work Cited

Gossman, Lionel. “Molière and Tartuffe: Law and Order in the Seventeenth Century.” The French Review, vol. 43, no. 6, 1970, pp. 901–912. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/386525.

Hall, H. "Some Background To Molière'startuffe." Australian Journal of French Studies 10.2 (1973): 119-129. Web. 4 Dec. 2017.

Howarth, w. d. "The Theme of Tartuffe in Eighteenth-Century Comedy." n.p., 2017. web. 4 dec. 2017.

Molière, Prudence L. Steiner, and Roger W. Herzel. Tartuffe. Hackett Publishing, 2008. Print.