Essay - Moliere Tartuffe Monkey'-ing Around with Appearance and Reality—the False Face...

Moliere Tartuffe

Monkey"-ing Around with Appearance and Reality—The False Face of Moliere's Pious Hypocrite "Tartuffe" and the True Heart of the "Monkey"

Both ***** "Tartuffe" ***** the Chinese play "*****" revolve around the drama of potential marital relationships gone awry because of the failure of one of the partners to see the truth about another individual's fundamental character. In Moliere's "Tartuffe," for example, the aspiring bourgeois gentleman Orgon pays host to the supposedly religious man "Tartuffe," in hopes of securing his place in society and eventually (although perhaps less importantly) in heaven. What is obvious to all members of Orgon's household, however, except Orgon himself, ***** that Tartuffe is nothing like a true m*****n of God. Rather ***** is merely a dissembler who lusts after his patron's wife with an entirely ir***** force of passion and eats ***** meat ***** drinks ***** wine, all the while counseling ***** to pray for his sins. When the maid of the house hears about his designs upon her mistress, Dorine constructs a plot to expose Tartuffe. Thus she functions as ***** kind of 'monkey' of the Moliere sat*****e. Dorine and the other women of the tale function as one of ***** soci*****y underestimated creatures who engineer a ***** to expose the thre*****t offered by ***** unexposed evil man, to the main female *****s. In Moliere's social satire of class "Tartuffe," characters are under or over estimated because of their social *****. In contrast, in the more mythically designed play "Monkey" they are over or ***** by their appearances of strength and prowess.

Mr. Kao doubts the titular "Monkey" of the Chinese ***** ***** ***** the monkey's appearance. Mr. Kao ***** that such a "frightful creature" as the money can catch the kind of powerful monster who ensnared ***** heart of the ***** daughter.

A ***** has married Kao's *****, and thus she essentially suffers ***** threatened but unrealized fate of Moliere's Marianne. Tartuffe ***** expresses his designs on the young woman, ***** in "Monkey" the girl is actively spirited away. The girl of "Monkey" has become confused between the appearance and the reality of her sui*****r's nature, although Moliere's Marianne w*****hes to marry a man of true *****, and only ***** father is confused about Tartuffe. In reply to Mr. Kao, Monkey says, "if you judge people by their appearance, you'll always be go*****g wrong," much as the *****'s daughter went ***** in her marital alliance. (34)

*****, Mr. ***** nearly commits the same error ***** his daughter in regards to appearances. The girl Kao misjudges her ***** husb*****, as does her fa*****r the monkey who must save her. But they may be excused, as physical appearances are far more permeable in "Monkey" than in "Tartuffe." True, a foolish fat***** figure also dom*****ates the Moliere play. However, Orgon ***** not simply distrust ***** good loyal servants and ***** on the words of Tartuffe. Org***** fundamentally mistrusts himself and his own status in the world, and ***** very obvious hypocrisy of the sponging religious