Discussion Topic

Molière's use of comedy to expose social vices and mechanisms in The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and George Dandin

Summary:

Molière uses comedy in The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and George Dandin to expose social vices and mechanisms by highlighting human follies, hypocrisy, and pretensions. His satirical approach critiques societal norms and behaviors, encouraging audiences to reflect on their own actions and the flaws within their communities.

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How does Molière use comic couplings and outcomes in George Dandin, The Misanthrope, and Tartuffe to highlight social mechanisms rather than moral lessons?

The three Molière plays in question—George Dandin, The Misanthrope, and Tartuffe—use comic couplings from a social rather than moral perspective because, in all three stories, society provides the foundation for the action. Whatever moral quandaries the characters confront, it’s reasonable to argue that any anxieties over right and wrong take a backseat to social class.

While audience members might think of the de Sotenville family as lacking in morals, the moral perspective yields to the myriad social rules that govern George Dandin and his family in law. It’s from this social perspective that one can see how judgmental and manipulating members of a certain social class can be. If Angélique’s dad wasn’t a gentleman, and if Dandin wasn’t a wealthy commoner, the play would be quite different.

Something similar can be said about The Misanthrope. It’s not hard to understand why Alceste wants to remove himself from his milieu. At the same time, Alceste is a part of the very social class that he castigates. If Alceste wasn’t a member of this privileged social class, he wouldn’t have this problem with hypocrisy. Thus his dilemma is foremost social.

Orgon’s problem, too, is more social than moral. If Orgon did not own property or have wealth to extract, Tartuffe wouldn’t have tried to con him. Once again, Orgon’s predicament is due to his own position in society instead of a general, classless moral conundrum.

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How does Molière reconcile making people recognize and laugh in The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and George Dandin? What vices does he attack, and with what comic resources?

Consider how the characters in The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and George Dandin aren’t entirely unrealistic. While Molière highlights the over-the-top positions and attitudes adopted by Orgon, Alceste, and Dandin, the characters aren’t so ridiculous as to be implausible. That is, he balances their comic properties with a fair amount of realism. This compromise lets the reader laugh and recognize the misdeeds of society at the same time.

In The Misanthrope, people can laugh at Alceste’s incorrigible idealism. Yet it’s not outrageous, then or now, to want to be in a world free falseness and pretentiousness. Whether it’s in the seventeenth century or the twentieth century, many characters have inveighed against shallowness and hypocrisy. It’s not hard to connect Alceste’s desire for sincerity to Holden Caulfield’s critique of phoniness in J. D. Salinger’s 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye.

In Tartuffe, Orgon’s admiration for the eponymous character is presented as funny, but it’s also a serious problem. People tend to over idealize other people, and such warped perceptions can lead to real problems and harm.

People also tend to treat other people badly. Dandin’s wife and her parents show little more than disdain for him because of how he carries himself. George’s lack of grace might make audience members laugh; however, it isn’t so extreme that it can’t simultaneously make audience members think about how people are often mistreated for superficial reasons.

Overall, it’s possible to argue that the goal of making people laugh isn’t so different from the goal of making people recognize some of the important issues of their time. As Molière’s plays demonstrate, comedy can be used to address critical matters.

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