Pleasures of Private Life

I find this reading to be particularly interesting, more specifically I find Orgons character quite
fascinating. The picture portrayed in the story leads me to believe the family is rather close,
frequently visiting Orgons residence. As the head of the family, Orgon seems to rule his
household as a dictator. It seems as though he is quite established, having his own home and
what appears to be a rather large amount of money.
Orgon rule his house with power as well as respect. It seems during this time period respecting
your elders was completely different than it is today. The children must show Orgon respect or
he shuts them down by telling them to stop talking. On numerous occasions throughout the story
Orgon attempts to control the tongues of his family members. During the final scenes Orgon
demands his son leave the house and never return, he is quite bull headed. Throughout the story
he refuses to listen to anyone who dare speak out or against him. For his word is the law of the
house and that of the family as well.
I believe Orgon was a good father prior to Tartuffes introduction. This is merely based on what I
took from the story; it seemed as though the family was very close prior to the arrival of Tartuffe.
Orgon took care of his family and they were the priority in his life prior to meeting Tartuffe. I do
indeed believe he was led astray by Tartuffe and his lies. If the family were to speak poorly of
Tartuffe, Orgon would then become defensive and stand up for the man he believed to be a saint.
I do not believe he used Tartuffe as an excuse for his behavior, I only think he was led astray. In
this case I believe Tartuffe won Orgons trust, which resulted in Orgon treating him as one would
a best friend or a lover. Considering the amount of religion spoken of in the story, if Tartuffe
truly led Orgon to believe he was as great as he had perceived, then it would be easy to
understand how Orgon would stand up for him. However, to play devils advocate I was baffled
to see him turn his back on his family for the sake of a newly found friendship.
Response 1:
Nicki,
I think Tartuffe was a genius. In every situation he found himself in he was able to interpret
Gods words into something righteous. It was as though he was just in anything he did or at the
minimum was able to make what he was doing far less worse than it actually was.
I too agree it was quite unfortunate Orgon was unable to believe his family until he saw the
treachery with his own eyes. After all, they are family and it appeared as though at one point the
family was rather close.
I wonder though if it is fair to say Tartuffe was a hypocrite, for myself religion is something each
person interprets individually. Possibly Tartuffe interpreted religion to benefit him, which could
possibly be said for every religion currently practiced today. Each of which have different rules
and different values.

Religion was indeed very important during this era. I think during this time the church had more
power over people than they do today. I can see why they would be scared of something like this
coming out and placing a bad mark on church and religion. On the other hand, if the King was
the leader and he did not see a problem with the play, then I believe it should not have been
banned. It was a very interesting read and I myself was not expecting the ending I received.
Response 2:
Rungkun,
I agree with you the battle starts with everyone, I tend to think it includes Orgon and Madame
Pernelle as well though. The battle is not that of only religion, it is a battle amongst the family.
From the very beginning of the story you can see how this one man, Tartuffe, has begun to tear
the family apart. There is constant banter back and forth which is focused only on the
relationship Tartuffe and Orgon have.
Again, I think everyone is involved in the battle; however, I believe the battle starts from the
very beginning and if not then it starts when Orgon demands his daughter wed Tartuffe. Orgon
hiding under the table only brought the true light of Tartuffe to his eyes. For myself I think the
story hits its climax when Orgon demands Tartuffe leave, at which point Tartuffe demands Orgon
leave because the will has been recently signed.
I am not sure if there is a victor or not in the story, I do believe the family learned a valuable
lesson. The family lost because they allowed this man to tear them apart, Tartuffe lost, well
because he ended up back in the same position as he was when he initially met Orgon, if not
worse because he would now have to face the King.