Question

The complete title of Moliere’s most famous play is Tartuffe, ou l’Imposteur, or in      English, Tartuffe, or the Imposter. But in the play, and in academic criticism, the title       character is referred to as a hypocrite. Explain the difference between a hypocrite and an      imposter, relating these ideas to Tartuffe, the character.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily.

(Answer) An imposter tries his best to be inconspicuous. For instance, if an imposter is pretending to be a regular at the gym, he will try his best to play the part. He will try to stay fit in some or the other way. The imposter will try not to talk about the gym or his fitness too much in everyday conversation. This is because he will not want to attract attention to the fact that he does not go regularly to the gym. He will tell lies, but avoid the subject to the best of his abilities. Such behaviour enables him to blend in. Eventually, people will not question his credibility due to the normalcy of his behaviour.

On the other hand, a hypocrite usually tends to “blow his own trumpet”, so to say. An individual who does not indulge in genuinely pious or charitable activities usually behaves extremely sanctimonious in church. A hypocrite does not maintain discretion but overcompensates for their falsehood. An imposter is aware they are living a lie and tries to avoid talking about the subject they are lying about. A hypocrite believes that they are not committing any error and therefore try to attract attention to the supposedly good habits they have.

Tartuffe in this story behaves overly and overtly pious to gain the approval of Madame Pernelle. His behaviour is unambiguous and overt even though he is actually a bigot. He presents traits of a hypocrite and not really an imposter who is trying to hide the false identity he has assumed.