The comedy of manners was a theatrical genre that flourished during the British Restoration era of the 17th century. These plays sought to ridicule the upper social classes by exaggerating their morals and customs. Comedy of Manners used standard characters representative of their social class in order to satirize their behavior. Often the people watching these plays were the same people doing the satirizing (Cash); furthermore, these performances were known for their sophisticated intellectual wit and extensive use of dialogue. One of the most famous plays to appear in France, Tartuffe, mocked France's upper aristocrats and their willingness to submit to the Roman Catholic Church. The comedy of the play comes from Orgon's character's complete and utter unawareness of Tartuffe's intriguing but seemingly wishful plans to steal all his wealth (Baker). The play Tartuffe is one of the greatest examples of comedy of manners in theater history, and when examining the actions and role of the character Orgon in the play, a brilliant and satirical depiction of the Religious hypocrisy of the aristocracy and its blind trust in the Roman Catholic Church is revealed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Tartuffe, Orgon plays the role of the oblivious but extremely wealthy patron of an obviously and hilariously corrupt Tartuffe. Orgon's endless gullibility in the face of brazen corruption is the main comic point of the play. Orgon foolishly allows the evil Tartuffe to stay in his family's home, seduce his wife, and appropriate her fortune while hopelessly deluding himself about the righteousness of his own actions. The characters around Orgon find this behavior completely at odds with his past. The character Dorine describes Orgon as having "served his king with a wise and loyal heart, but he has completely lost his reason since he fell under the infatuated spell of Tartuffe" (Tartuffe Act 1 Scene II Verse 4). Orgon only falls under Tartuffe's spell after reaching middle age, hoping to gain some sort of divine favor (Baker). This need to find redemption at such a late stage in his life leads Orgon to become a crazed religious fanatic overnight. He says of his family: “My mother, my children, my brother and my wife could die, And I would not feel a single moment of pain” (Tartuffe Act 1 Scene VI v. 21-22). This irrational behavior causes Orgon to neglect Tartuffe's crimes in order to gain merit in the afterlife. When Dorine tells Orgon about his wife's illness, Orgon responds: “Ah. And Dorine replies: “Why, is it round and red, overflowing with blood? in good health and perfectly nourished” (Tartuffe Scene 1 Act V v. 12-15) Orgon responds by saying: “Poor boy”. This exchange is meant to shock the audience, because Orgon is so under Tartuffe's spell that his own wife's illness makes no sense to him. Tartuffe takes advantage of Orgon's willful blindness by attempting both to seduce his wife and to seize all his property. upon his death, Orgon vaguely realizes that Tartuffe covets his wife, as he says: “He (Tartuffe) is even very interested in my wife; he lets me know who is eyeing her, and seems six times more jealous than me; » (Tartuffe Act 1 Scene VI v. 46-48). Even when Orgon catches Tartuffe in the act of trying to seduce his wife, and Tartuffe admits: “Yes, my brother, I am a bad man, I'm afraid: a miserable sinner, everyone. depraved and twisted, the greatest villain that ever existed” (Tartuffe Act III Scene VI v.. »>.