Orgon from “Tartuffe”

Age: 50s+

The protagonist, a wealthy middle-aged head of household who has a demanding mother, a son and daughter of marriageable age, an attractive second wife, and a smart-mouthed servant. Once an able and wise man, Orgon has succumbed to religious zealotry, using morality to exercise power over his family. Orgon is gullible, stubborn, and not very bright.

ORGON

Oh, had you seen Tartuffe as I first knew him,

Your heart, like mine, would have surrendered to him.

He used to come into our church each day

And humbly kneel nearby, and start to pray.

He’d draw the eyes of everybody there

By the deep fervor of his heartfelt prayer:

He’d sigh and weep, and sometimes with a sound

Of rapture he would bend and kiss the ground;

And when I rose to go, he’d run before

To offer me holy water at the door.

His serving man, no less devout than he,

 Informed me of his master’s poverty;

 I gave him gifts, but in his humbleness

He’d beg me every time to give him less.

“Oh, that’s too much,” he’d cry, “too much by twice!

 I don’t deserve it. The half, Sir, would suffice.”

 And when I wouldn’t take it back, he’d share

Half of it with the poor, right then and there.

At length, Heaven prompted me to take him in T

o dwell with us, and free our souls from sin.

He guides our lives, and to protect our honor

Stays by my wife, and keeps an eye upon her;

He tells me whom she sees, and all she does,

And seems more jealous than I ever was!

And how austere he is! Why, he can detect

A mortal sin where you would least suspect;

In smallest trifles, he’s extremely strict.

Last week, his conscience was severely pricked

Because, while praying, he had caught a flea

And killed it, so he felt, too wrathfully.