Am I the only one who thought this story ended abruptly? There was so much build-up and then the king just deus ex machinas it all. I thought we’d at least get a quick wedding with Valere and Mariane. Perhaps I am too accustomed to Shakespeare plays. Assumptions aside, I still think the ending wasn’t satisfying and I’m willing to bet that Moliere wasn’t satisfied with it either. He probably had a really fun and complicated ending originally planned but the king shut him down. He must keep up his public image, after all. I would love to read Moliere’s first drafts of this play. It was probably a drastically different ending (if not an entirely different play) before the king got involved. But I guess that’s the price you pay when you make a satire of powerful people.
Aside from being disappointed in the ending, I loved this play. Dorine is my favorite character. She’s so sassy. I was actually surprised by the amount of things she gets away with. For being a servant, she has a lot of liberty within the family. My least favorite character is tied between Tartuffe and Orgon. Tartuffe is a giant sleaze-ball but Orgon is the most frustrating character I’ve ever encountered. Did anyone else want to throw their book across the room when Orgon kicked out Damis? Overall, I was impressed that Moliere was able to create such a fun and interesting story while also incorporating heavy satire. One final note, if you enjoyed reading Tartuffe, I highly encourage you to read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Tartuffe may be one of my top five favorite plays, but The Importance of Being Earnest is by far my absolute favorite.
P.S. I commented on Caroline’s and Stephen’s posts
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