Jean Baptiste Poquelin Moliere

Tartuffe or the Hypocrite Jean Baptiste Poquelin Moliere

Jean Baptiste Poquelin who is better known by his stage name Moliare was a 17th century French author known for his comedy. After abandoning a law career Moliare began acting, directing and writing plays in Paris and the surrounding area. The scathing satire in his plays made several important him enemies. Shakespeare gave his characters complexity while Moliare used simplicity to produce his memorable characters. Orgon thinks that Tartuffe is a great religious man while in fact Tartuffe is a hypocrite. By the time Orgon realizes Tartuffe's true nature, Tartuffe has control of Orgon's finances and is about to marry his daughter. In the end the king intervenes and Tartuffe is on his way to prison. In France the word Tartuffe now means a person who is a religious hypocrite.