Differences And Similarities Between Tartuffe And Othello

A person’s identity predominantly stays the same throughout their entire life, however, with a character's designed faults learning how to overcome these is the very plot of Tartuffe and The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The protagonist and antagonist pertain to challenging identities for the worst through deception or pure evil nature. Orgon goes from a loving husband to a hypnotized weak man as also seen through the character Othello. These characters become pawns for the antagonists to use to drive their villainy over the edge. Iago killed his wife, led another man to kill their wife, and removed a man from his position out of jealousy, Tartuffe is still a villain however made less drastic measures. In comparison Othello’s story

Through the evil imposter Tartuffe, Orgon’s character was severely challenged. Tartuffe pretends he is godsent and tricks a whole family into giving him their home and valuables. Orgon’s family sees through Tartuffe’s scheme and begs Orgon to believe them. Despite this Orgon prioritizes Tartuffe due to his holiness and ignores his extremely sick wife. Orgon shows his selfish nature when family maid Dorine tells Orgon of his wife’s condition and he brushes this off. Orgon only responds to Dornie with questions about Tartuffe and how he was doing in their home. Although Elmire and Orgon had been married for presumably years, Orgon only showed care for a new uncertain godly figure. Orgon deserting his wife for a stranger reveals Orgon’s callous nature. Once Elmire returns to a healthy state Tartuffe makes advances toward her to further break Orgon’s family apart. Thankfully Elmire is extremely intelligent and forms a plan to prevent Orgon from losing himself completely. She forces him to hide underneath a table and listen, which is unlike the character Molière showed audiences. Elmire is the small amount

The characters which initiate the change in each respective character are different. Iago takes a very dark and intense approach to his actions. Iago uses people's money, plants evidence, and lies to people until altercations are had. Iago wouldn't stop until he achieved his goal of being an army general. Due to his murderous intent, Iago makes The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice a tragedy. In contrast, Tartuffe as a character is much lighter in identity and actions. Tartuffe doesn't physically hurt anyone and just pushes the boundaries of characters. With the structure of Tartuffe, he is unable to create a dark presence. Tartuffe does not appear in the play till act three, meaning he has very limited time to act dangerously. Orgon becomes the laughing stock due to his stupidity and arrogance, creating a comedy. Other contrasting concepts can be found in the overall themes of the plays. Molière targets the emerging Catholic church and focuses on blind faith in religion. Whereas Shakespeare comments on the disadvantage Black people have in society through Othello’s insecurity. Although Othello blindly believes Iago, he behaves the way he does due to feeling less rather than through faith like Tartuffe and Orgon. There are minor inconsistencies between these two plays due to their similar themes. However, these differences are important to the stories each author attempts to tell.