In Tartuffe, Molière addresses the issues of his contemporary society through the interplay of characters with the impostor Tartuffe. The themes of greatest import in the play relate to religion and religious belief, to the structure of the family, and to the attitudes of the bourgeois class concerning social position. These themes are inter-related, and the character of Tartuffe is the central figure drawing them together. Tartuffe is a religious hypocrite, a man who professes to be what he is not and who fools Orgon to the degree that the latter wants to make him part of his family. For Orgon, this would be both a religious act and a boost to his social position. Molière criticizes Christian thinking in a number of ways. Orgon and his mother are the avowed Christians in the piece, and they are presented as foolish. In this regard, Molière differs greatly from his contemporaries, who sought guidance in divine inspiration rather than in human philosophy and rational thought.
The foolishness of Orgon contrasts with the deviousness of Tartuffe, and the latter character dominates the play even when not on stage because the other characters all act in response to him and his machinations. Indeed, Tartuffe does not appear physically until the third act, but his presence is felt from the beginning as other characters talk about him, behave as he would have them behave, and show themselves ready to submit their will to his. By the time Tartuffe actually appears, the audience has a strong image of him. This image is not entirely favorable. Cleante and Dorine speak of Madame Pernelle and her son, Orgon, and how they have been fooled by Tartuffe:
CLEANTE: My, what a scene she made, and what a din!
And how this man Tartuffe has taken her in!
DORINE: Yes, but her son is even worse deceived;
His folly must be seen to be believed (Molière 21).
Dorine details all the ways in which Orgon has made Tartuffe the cente...