Reading Order
Le Tartuffe Reading Order
Le Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur (1664–1669) by Molière is the most politically dangerous and the most frequently banned of Molière's plays — a comedy about religious hypocrisy whose first version was suppressed in 1664 at the instigation of a powerful Catholic lay confraternity (the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement), which identified itself in the satire of false piety. Molière spent five years revising, defending, and fighting for the right to perform the play, which finally premiered in its authorized form in 1669 after Louis XIV's personal intervention. Tartuffe — the religious hypocrite who insinuates himself into the household of the credulous Orgon, persuades him to sign over his property, and attempts to seduce his wife Elmire — has become the common noun for religious hypocrisy in French. The play is a sustained examination of the psychological mechanism by which intelligent people are deceived by transparently obvious frauds: Orgon is not stupid, but his need to believe in a spiritual guide makes him deliberately blind to what everyone else can see. The play's ending — Tartuffe arrested by the king's officer just as his fraud has succeeded — is the most forced and overtly political ending in the Molière canon, a direct compliment to Louis XIV whose 'pénétration' (penetrating insight) saves the family where everyone else has failed.
Where to start
Read Le Tartuffe in the 1669 text — the first version (1664) does not survive, and the second (1667, as Le Panulphe ou l'Imposteur) survives only in fragments. The play is short and theatrically powerful. Read Dom Juan (1665) alongside it — the play Molière wrote in the years when Tartuffe was banned, in which he explored religious hypocrisy through the noble libertine rather than the pious fraud. Then read the Préface du Tartuffe (1669) for Molière's own defense of the play.
Complete Le Tartuffe Book List
- 1Buy
Le Tartuffe
Molière·1669·The authorized version — five acts; Tartuffe, Orgon, Elmire, Damis, Cléante, Mariane; the most frequently performed Molière play - 2Buy
Dom Juan
Molière·1665·The banned play written during the Tartuffe ban — Don Juan as the noble libertine who uses religious hypocrisy as his final mask; the darkest and most episodic Molière; withdrawn after 15 performances - 3Buy
Le Misanthrope
Molière·1666·The contemporary parallel — Alceste's sincere moral rigor versus Tartuffe's fraudulent piety; the two plays together define Molière's analysis of the uses and abuses of moral seriousness - 4Buy
L'Avare
Molière·1668·The Plautine comedy written after the Tartuffe affair — Harpagon as a different obsession; the contrast shows the range of Molière's comic satirical method beyond religious satire - 5Buy
Amphitryon
Molière·1668·The mythological comedy — Jupiter disguised as Amphitryon seduces his wife; the comedy of divine deception that extends the Tartuffe theme of fraud and imposture into mythology
Le Tartuffe — Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Tartuffe banned?
The first version (1664) was banned because the powerful Catholic Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement, which promoted religious devotion and suppressed libertinism, recognized itself in the satire of false piety and pressured Louis XIV to prohibit the play; it was finally authorized in 1669 after five years of revision and political negotiation.
What makes Tartuffe plausible as a fraud?
Tartuffe's fraud works because Orgon needs him — Orgon's need for a spiritual guide, his desire to believe in someone of total piety, makes him deliberately blind to the evidence; Cléante, Dorine, and Elmire all see Tartuffe clearly, but Orgon's psychological need for belief overrides his reason.
Who is Cléante in Tartuffe?
Cléante is the raisonneur — the reasonable man who speaks common sense in the play; he is Molière's spokesman but deliberately not a hero; he can see through Tartuffe but has no power over Orgon's credulity; the limitation of reasonable speech against unreasonable belief is part of the play's analysis.
What is the 'Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement'?
The Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement was a powerful Catholic lay confraternity that worked to suppress libertinism and immorality in 17th-century France — it was the most powerful pressure group against theatrical performance and was widely identified as the target of Molière's satire in Tartuffe, which is why it successfully banned the first version.
Why is the ending of Tartuffe unsatisfying?
The ending — the king's officer arrests Tartuffe just as his fraud has legally succeeded — is too convenient; Molière needed to rescue the play from a conclusion in which religious hypocrisy triumphs over an innocent family, but the royal deus ex machina replaces comic resolution with political compliment.
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