Saur's Interpretation Of 'Tartuffe'

Critical Analysis of Saur's Interpretation of "Tartuffe" Pamela S. Saur’s article “Moilere’s Tartuffe” provides us with a well-built synopsis of Moliere’s character Cleante. In the play, Cleante is a very smart man: he’s observant, educated, and intelligent. Despite all of this, Saur argues of Cleante, saying “If the play were merely 'a struggle between Tartuffe and Cleante,' that the ending would be different. The victory would go to Tartuffe” (Saur 10). Saur is missing the entire point of Molière’s character because Cleante was never meant to take on Tartuffe directly, but to be the balancing voice of reason in the chaos. One such event is where Cleante tries to convince Orgon of Tartuffe's supposed claim of moral standard to actually be
hypocrisy. Then, later in the play, Cleante tries to reduce the growing violence between Damis and Tartuffe. At another point, Cleante uses rational reason to make Orgon understand that there are actually true pious people in the world. And finally, at the end of the play, as the family is being persecuted and are being served eviction papers, Cleante keeps a clear head. Early on in the play, immediately after Dorine leaves, Cleante tries to reason with his brother-in-law, saying that "The true believers we should emulate / Are not the ones who groan and lay prostrate" (Moiliere 153).
Cleante is trying to get Orgon to understand that Tartuffe is a bad guy, not someone that he should honor, but a hypocrite, a fake and a liar. Saur may be right in thinking that Cleante's logical argument is on the surface ignored, but his words against Tartuffe help to put the that hypocrite in a negative light and plant the seeds of doubt in Orgon's mind that will help the truth come to fruition later
on.
Saur also remarks that Cleante's words in Act V, Scene II, when he is trying to calm down his nephew that a reader or viewer, as the case may be, could misinterpret Cleante's words here as a foolish speech. He encourages Damis to control his longing to kill the deceitful Tartuffe: "Tantrums head the list of your main flaws. We live in modern times, with things called 'laws.' Murder is illegal. At least for us" (Moiliere 189). While the words that come across are influenced greatly by how an actor might express them, Cleante's speech here is meant to keep his nephew from escalating the situation into violence. Cleante knows that if Damis initiates force, he will only make things worse. In this way, Cleante intends to keep Damis from making the situation worse.
Later, Saur mentions Cleante’s speech (in Act V, Scene I), when Orgon has finally been convinced of his friends wrong doing, and he has sworn to never again trust a religious man of any kind ever again.
Cleante seeks to end this foolishness when he says this: “Moderation. Is that a word you know? I think you’ve learned it, but then off you go” (Moliere 188). Saur’s suggestion that Cleante is encouraging his brother-in-law Orgon to once again repeat the errors of ignoring his family, and risking all he owns, is illogical. Cleante is attempting to advise Orgon to calm down and use rational thinking to understand that he should trust those who are true believers, but that he should be on a cautious watch for imposters. By employing this word choice, Cleante proves himself to be a vital and obvious counsel to not only to Orgon, but the audience as
well. Finally, in act V, scene VII, Cleante serves as the level headed thinker after Tartuffe's failed attempt at persecuting Orgon and his family of treason an having them evicted from their home. Cleante stops his brother-in-law Orgon from yelling at Tartuffe, saying this: "Take another path, and feel remorse. So let's wish, rather, he will change his course." (Moliere 197). Cleante's thoughts here are to make his family understand that Tartuffe is already getting what he deserves, but they should hope and pray that the hypocrite Tartuffe should one day truly repent and find God.
In the play, there was never meant to be about a direct confrontation between Cleante and Tartuffe. Cleante is an essential character who stabilizes the household and prevents the conflicts between the other individuals from escalating into violence. As mentioned previously, without Cleante's extreme rational influence throughout the play, it would be easy to ignore his behavior and contributions, whether they were effective or not.