Tartuffified!

[This is my essay review of the play Tartuffe by SOTA, link below, I attempted to make every sentence rhyme with the one before, I don't think the professor even noticed.] 

Tartuffe, also known as The Imposter, is a comedic play from the seventeenth century.  It which was first performed in 1664 in Paris and was banned immediately. The church considered the three act play to be full of immorality. Jean-Baptiste Poqueline de Moliére, the playwright, rewrote Tartuffe and in 1669 it finally gained popularity. King Louis XIV and Pope Clement had brought Peace to Paris, and since that time the now five act play has been cherished.

In 2014, the Ruth Asawa School of Arts in San Francisco, under the direction of Keith Carames, presented Tartuffe. The brilliant comedy is brought to life by students whose passion for acting is far from aloof. The play opens to Madame Pernelle (played by Katarina Boné Tsokolati) who is causing quite a fuss. She is complaining about her family members that don’t believe that Tartuffe is righteous.  The others in the room, inside Monsieur Orgon’s home, offer heated objections concerning Tartuffe’s piety. Madame Pernelle, however, refuses to listen, while storming away, she maintains that his devotion is mighty.

            The Ladies’ Maid, Dorine, played by Ella Francis, is smart, sassy, and outspoken. Alone she speaks to Cléante; of all of the family news is he told. The gracefully animated Cléante (played by Jeffery Hyche) is the brother of Lady Elmire.  Dorine and Cléante are speaking of Orgon when his son Damis (Jackson Paddock) appears. The three of them begin to ponder about Orgon’s daughter Mariane and her fiancé Valère (Reid Vinson). Will Orgon keep his promise to his daughter that she can marry Valère for whom she greatly cares? Damis then asks Cleante to converse and gain information from his father. He wants to know if Tartuffe is more important to Orgon than his own son and daughter.

Monsieur Orgon (Sean Goldring) arrives home from his journey exhausted and a bit clumsy, to tell the truth. Dorine recounts the events of the family since he had inquired, but to each he replies, “Yes. And Tartuffe?” The performance by Goldring was delightfully funny because portrays Orgon as a man both awkward and elegant. Orgon is questioned about Mariane’s marriage but circumvents so as to never directly answer Cléante.

Julia Farrow, plays Mariane, with grand facial expressions that convey ample emotion. This is evident when Orgon tells his daughter that, concerning her marriage, he has a new notion. Tartuffe will be his son-in-law, Orgon is determined to see it done. Mariane wishes to please her father, but claims she would rather be a nun. Despite his children’s attempts, and others’ attempts as well… Orgon will not bend. Orgon even disinherits his own son, when his son dared to insult his friend.

Tartuffe, played by Brendan Thorn, continues with his ruse. This house guest, so churchly and good is the imposter, Tartuffe. Pretending to be a man of the church, Thorn portrays Tartuffe and cunning. Orgon reveals his plan to leave everything to Tartuffe, his new heir and son. Lady Elmire (Maya Rowe) does not agree, and she speaks to her husband straightforwardly. She hides Orgon under a table, then hops on top as she calls Tartuffe to her knowingly. Tartuffe is befuddled, but soon taken be Elmire. He begins to declare his love and insult Orgon, to whom he is so dear.  That was enough, Orgon was finally convinced. Orgon sends Tartuffe away, his words did not mince.

There is still trouble, now that Tartuffe is the heir. The house and everything is now his to declare. Madame Pernelle still does not believe that Tartuffe is a hypocrite. That is until she is evicted too, and the truth is enough to make her sick. There is good news, when the Officer of the King arrives; he tells Orgon and his family that the King ordered Tartuffe to be imprisoned for this and other crimes.

Now Mariane is promised to Valère again, Damis is claimed as a son, Orgon has his place in the court, his house, and his devoted wife. As is the way for all comedies, the ending reveals that our protagonists will have a happy life. The students at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts put on a wonderful performance. I liked it so much that I watched it more than once. This was once a three act play that was widely banished. Molière improved this to a five act play that I myself now cherish. 

To watch the play for yourself go here:  https://youtu.be/VKm7_CFNIn8 

Deceit or No Deceit- That is the Question

 ”Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,

 Men were deceivers ever,

 One foot in sea and one on shore,

 To one thing constant never.” (II.iii.4)

The art of deception plays a significant role in stories and works of literature throughout history. Deception is especially evident in William Shakespeare’s plays Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. The former play is a tragedy while the latter is considered a comedy. Do not be deceived by the title of comedy though, both of these plays are extravagantly filled with trickery, slander, and lies.  The idea that people, events, and things in our world are often not what they seem is at the very heart of many of Shakespeare’s plays, “[t]hus the hyperbole of tragedy stands at the opposite end of a tonal scale from the hyperbole of comedy” (Mack, 156)

Every good story has a protagonist and an antagonist- a hero and a villain. These oppositional characters are often referred to as foil characters because they reflect the extremes of the other. In Othello, the hero is the man for which the play is named… Othello. While his “foil” character is Iago. Iago manipulates the mind of Othello by taking advantage of his insecurities. Othello is a great leader, though he is not as educated or well-bred as the beautiful Desdemona, his wife. Because Iago understands people and the psychology of the mind, he uses this knowledge to his advantage. Throughout the play, Iago plants seeds in Othello’s mind, convincing him slowly that the desirable Desdemona has been unfaithful to him, with his lieutenant Cassio. Similarly, in Much Ado About Nothing, the antagonist Don John manages to convince Claudio that the lovely and beautiful Hero is not as innocent or virtuous as he believes her to be. These lies of infidelity are slanderous at best. It seems as though Iago and Don John are motivated by their envy to bring destruction to Othello and Claudio.  

This heavy theme of deception takes a tragic turn in Othello, which begins in the city of Venice, where there is control and order.  It is taken shortly thereafter to Cyprus, where there is a war being fought, less people to surround Othello, and less stability in the structure of his council which eventually leads to Othello’s downfall and the death of four people within two marriages. In contrast, the play Much Ado About Nothing is set in Messina, Sicily, after the success of a war. This story takes place in a home with the stable council of family and patriarchal dominance where the conflict is resolved with non-violence in a happy outcome of four people coming together into two marriages.

In literature, a comedy is not necessarily a humorous tale, but rather a tale with a happy ending. Much Ado About Nothing has both a happy ending and humor. The characters of Beatrice and Benedick are considered secondary characters, however the “merry war” that has been an ongoing conflict between them is light hearted and witty.  They too, fall victim to deception in this tale, however, when their companions intentionally hold conversations knowing that they each could overhear, stating that one was in love with the other. These lies are not entirely untrue, for it seems that the continued witty banter between Beatrice and Benedick has proven itself facilitative in creating a mutual loving affection. There is also humor in the night watchmen, Dogberry and his companions, who capture Don John’s men (Boracio and Conrad) and shed light to the deception of Claudio and slander of Hero by telling her father Leonato of the ruse.  Leonato, Hero, and the family decide to carry out the deception that they fashioned at the disastrous first wedding… that Hero is dead, having died at the shock of offence to her character.  Leonato and his brother do tell Claudio what the night watchmen discovered and then instruct Claudio to mourn Hero’s death, and that if he is a good and noble man, he will marry her cousin in her stead. Claudio agrees. At the gathering of the second wedding, all of the deceit is brought to light, Don John caught, and two marriages take place: Claudio to Hero and Benedick to Beatrice.

“Comic overstatement aims at being preposterous … tragic overstatement, on the other hand, aspires to be believed.” (Mack, 156)  Othello ends tragically with the death and destruction of the great leader who believed in and fell victim to the embroidered web of lies. In Contrast, Much Ado About Nothing ends laughably and over-joyously with the enlightenment of truth, the birth of new relationships, and the resolution and apprehension of the deceiver Don John. These stark and drastic differences make it hard to imagine that both tales are centered on the idea that people, events, and things in our world are often not what they seem… that at the very heart of these two contrary love stories we find deception. 

“Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.” ― Oscar Wilde

Citation Page

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Act 2. Scene 3. Page 4

Mack, Maynard. “The Jacobean Shakespeare.” The Tragedy of Othello The Moor of Venice with New and Updated Critical Essays and a Revised Biography. Ed. Alvin Kernan. New York: Signet Classics, 1998. 156. Print.