Table of contentsThe use of Deus Ex Machina throughout the story of TartuffeThe hypocritical and deceptive behavior of Tartuffe towards Orgon and Madame PernelleConclusionTartuffe, written in France in 1664 by Molière, ultimately speaks of hypocrisy and deception. Tartuffe, a deceptive man, aims to extract money from the rich people around him. He pretends to be Catholic to have a connection with the wealthy members of the community and the play opens with Tartuffe already having a hold on Orgon by trying to marry his daughter Mariane while seducing Orgon's wife Elmire . Orgon is a middle-class man who served in the recent war and earned honors while serving the king. Throughout the story, Tartuffe tries to deceive him to get what he wants but Orgon is the only one to fall into the trap, his family sees through Tartuffe and recognizes that he is just a crook. The plot this play follows is called Deus ex machina because it ends with great resolution. According to the TDF Theater Dictionary, deus ex machina, translated as machine god in Latin, was originally when a tragic playwright would create these dramatic situations and then write abrupt endings where a hero would be delivered onto the stage by a sort of crane. to resolve a crisis, but it eventually evolved into something a little different. Instead of a God saving the day, it just had to be a new element to solve the problem. Deus ex machina may seem like a lazy way to end a story but it's a way that has survived all this time and ultimately proves very effective. The use of Deus ex machina seems to make the use of hypocrisy even more impactful for the audience when Orgon finally realizes who Tartuffe really is and understands that he has been cheated. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe use of Deus Ex Machina throughout Tartuffe's storyThe Tartuffe play follows as Tartuffe is brought into the Orgon family home and is respected by Orgon and Madame Pernelle. Madame Pernelle is extremely critical of everyone in the house, especially Elmire, Orgon's wife. Madame Pernelle wants the house to follow Tartuffe because she considers him a man of the church but the rest of the family, besides Orgon, sees through his deception and recognizes him as an imposter and that he is more interested in wealth than at church. . She's not happy about it and ends up leaving in frustration. Cleante and Dorine recognize that Tartuffe almost bewitched Orgon and it seems that he is obsessed with him and sees no fault in him. Damis wonders if his father Orgon will still want Mariane to marry Valère so Cleante tries to talk to Orgon about it. It is obvious that he only cares about Tartuffe because he only wants to know how he is and doesn't care that his own wife is sick. When asked if his daughter marries Valère, he avoids her until she arrives at which he announces that he wants her to marry Tartuffe and that he thinks they would make a better couple. Dorine is dismayed that she does not refuse and criticizes her when Valère also arrives and is not happy because he thinks she has consented to marry Tartuffe. They talk about it and once reconciled, they and Dorine decide that they must make Orgon aware of Tartuffe's deception. Damis is on the same wavelength but Dorine says Elmire will take care of it herself. Damis hides in the closet of the room they are talking in and sees Tartuffe flirting with her and suggests that they get together, to which Damis reveals that he was listening the whole time and tells Orgon. However, it is still soblind to Tartuffe's deception that he thinks Damis is the bad guy and disowns him as his son. Orgon decides that he wants Tartuffe to be his sole heir and son-in-law. It's not until Elmire begs Orgon to hide and watch Tartuffe while he talks to him. Tartuffe arrives and approaches Elmire, telling her his love for her and speaking ill of Orgon to which Orgon is finally convinced of his deception. He orders him to leave the house, to which he replies that he legally owns the house since Orgon had given away all his possessions. Madame Pernelle returns and believes no one until news spreads that Tartuffe is having the family evicted. It is not until the court announces that the king has understood Tartuffe's actions and imprisons him and returns Orgon's property to him. Tartuffe's hypocritical and deceptive behavior towards Orgon and Madame Pernelle A hypocrite in the time when Tartuffe was written is something different than it is today. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word hypocrite and its use in theater comes from the Greek word hypokrites which literally translates to "a performer from below", but over time it meant anyone wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be someone they are not, especially at the French Theater. Hypocrisy is extremely evident in Tartuffe as he fits the exact definition of a hypocrite. He takes advantage of the church to present himself as a holy and just man and Orgon and Madame Pernelle fall into the trap. His goal was ultimately to get money from a wealthier person who would provide charity to Tartuffe. Orgon did exactly that and the scam went even further than that. It was not enough for Tartuffe to be accepted by Orgon, the man of the house, and to be invited to live there with them. He needed to go further to get the most out of it. He planned to use other members of Orgon's family to get what he wanted, including Orgon's wife and daughter. With Orgon's support, Tartuffe wanted to marry Mariane and prove to Orgon that Damis should not be the heir to his property and money. Finally, Orgon falls into the trap and even transfers his property to Tartuffe before realizing that it was just a big scam. While planning to marry Mariane to obtain money and property, he also seduced Elmire, Orgon's wife, out of selfish desire, which was ultimately where he went wrong and how Orgon came to find out what was happening. His actions prove very clearly how hypocritical he was and how he was almost able to get away with stealing Orgon's money and possessions, but because Orgon is such a good man and a man of honor , the king was able to save the day and imprison Tartuffe. The king arriving at the end of the play and saving Orgon and his family from the deceptive Tartuffe is an example of the use of a plot device called Deus Ex Machina which, as I said before, is when a a new element arrives to save the situation. With the king having his court announce that he had seen through Tartuffe's actions and that he had deceived and taken advantage of Orgon and his family, the public can take a breath of relief and know that everything will be okay. Using hypocrisy seems to make the use of a deus ex machina much more compelling to follow. Rather than having an obvious villain who obviously won't win in the end, because that's not how plots usually work, so it's not as much of a relief when a villain is eliminated in the end. However, when there's a hypocrite who deceives two of the characters while the rest of the characters spend all their time trying to convince them that they were deceived, it's a huge relief to see the villain eliminated in the end. This is seen through the.