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.
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After Orgon witnesses Tartuffes betrayal first hand, he is outraged.
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
man.
Trust is something that you have to be able to build and decipher for yourself, based on one’s actions over time. You shouldn’t have automatic trust in someone, it is something they have to earn by their actions. You can tell if someone is honest, based on the fact that overtime they have consistently told you the truth. You can tell that someone is brave by their courageous acts over time. You can tell someone is faithful, not buy how much they pray or claim to be holy, but by their Christian acts in day to day life. Claiming to be faithful, and acting like a true Christian are two different things. Lastly, you can tell someone is loyal by their devotion to you over the course of your friendship. Basically all of the qualities take time to figure out. You can’t tell right away if someone has these, but by examining their actions overtime you will know.
Unfortunately, most of the time you won’t be able to tell if someone is lying to you. The only thing you will be able to judge their claims on, is their actions. If someone has proven by their actions time after time that they are an honest and loyal friend, then I think they have proven to be a trustworthy person.
After Orgon witnesses Tartuffes betrayal first hand, he is outraged.
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
man.
Trust is something that you have to be able to build and decipher for yourself, based on one’s actions over time. You shouldn’t have automatic trust in someone, it is something they have to earn by their actions. You can tell if someone is honest, based on the fact that overtime they have consistently told you the truth. You can tell that someone is brave by their courageous acts over time. You can tell someone is faithful, not buy how much they pray or claim to be holy, but by their Christian acts in day to day life. Claiming to be faithful, and acting like a true Christian are two different things. Lastly, you can tell someone is loyal by their devotion to you over the course of your friendship. Basically all of the qualities take time to figure out. You can’t tell right away if someone has these, but by examining their actions overtime you will know.
Unfortunately, most of the time you won’t be able to tell if someone is lying to you. The only thing you will be able to judge their claims on, is their actions. If someone has proven by their actions time after time that they are an honest and loyal friend, then I think they have proven to be a trustworthy person.