Tartuffe the content of the performance. Jean-Baptiste Moliere - Tartuffe, or deceiver

Year of writing:

1664

Reading time:

Description of the work:

The play Tartuffe was written by Moliere in 1664. This play is one of the most popular, as it was staged by almost all theaters. Even today it can be found in the repertoires of theaters. Due to the final denouement of the play, it is a comedy.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the summary of the play Tartuffe.

At the invitation of the owner, a certain Mr. Tartuffe settled in the house of the venerable Orgon. Orgon did not cherish the soul in him, considering him an incomparable example of righteousness and wisdom: Tartuffe's speeches were exceptionally sublime, teachings - thanks to which Orgon learned that the world is a big garbage pit, and now he would not blink an eye, having buried his wife, children and other relatives - extremely useful, piety aroused admiration; and how selflessly Tartuffe observed the morality of the Orgon family...

Of all the members of the household, Orgon's admiration for the newly-born righteous was shared, however, only by his mother, Madame Pernel. Elmira, Orgon's wife, her brother Cleanthe, Orgon's children Damis and Mariana, and even the servants saw in Tartuffe who he really was - a hypocritical saint who deftly uses Orgon's delusion in his simple earthly interests: to eat deliciously and sleep softly, to have a reliable roof over your head and some other benefits.

Orgon's household was utterly sick of Tartuffe's moralizing; with his worries about decency, he drove almost all his friends away from home. But as soon as someone spoke badly about this zealot of piety, Madame Pernel staged stormy scenes, and Orgon, he simply remained deaf to any speeches that were not imbued with admiration for Tartuffe. When Orgon returned from a short absence and demanded a report on home news from Dorina's maid, the news of his wife's illness left him completely indifferent, while the story of how Tartuffe happened to overeat at dinner, then sleep until noon, and sort out wine at breakfast, filled Orgon with compassion for the poor fellow.

Orgon's daughter, Mariana, was in love with a noble young man named Valera, and her brother Damis was in love with her sister Valera. Orgon seemed to have already agreed to the marriage of Mariana and Valera, but for some reason he kept postponing the wedding. Damis, worried about his own fate - his marriage to his sister Valera was supposed to follow the wedding of Mariana - asked Cleantes to find out from Orgon what was the reason for the delay. Orgon answered questions so evasively and unintelligibly that Cleanthes suspected that he had decided otherwise to dispose of his daughter's future.

How exactly Orgon sees the future of Mariana became clear when he told his daughter that Tartuffe's perfections needed a reward, and his marriage to her, Mariana, would be such a reward. The girl was stunned, but did not dare to argue with her father. Dorina had to intervene for her: the maid tried to explain to Orgon that to marry Mariana to Tartuffe - a beggar, a freak of a low soul - would mean becoming the subject of ridicule of the whole city, and besides, pushing her daughter onto the path of sin, because no matter how virtuous the girl was, she would not cuckolding a hubby like Tartuffe is simply impossible. Dorina spoke very passionately and convincingly, but, despite this, Orgon remained adamant in his determination to intermarry with Tartuffe.

Mariana was ready to submit to the will of her father - as her daughter's duty told her. Submission, dictated by natural timidity and reverence for her father, tried to overcome Dorina in her, and she almost succeeded in doing this, unfolding before Mariana vivid pictures of the marital happiness prepared for him and Tartuffe.

But when Valer asked Mariana if she was going to submit to the will of Orgon, the girl replied that she did not know. In a fit of despair, Valer advised her to do as her father orders, while he himself will find a bride for himself who will not change this word; Mariana replied that she would only be glad of this, and as a result, the lovers almost parted forever, but then Dorina arrived in time. She convinced young people of the need to fight for their happiness. But they only need to act not directly, but in a roundabout way, to play for time, and then something will certainly work out, because everyone - Elmira, and Cleanthe, and Damis - is against the absurd plan of Orgon,

Damis, even too determined, was going to properly rein in Tartuffe so that he forgot to think about marrying Mariana. Dorina tried to cool his ardor, to suggest that more could be achieved by cunning than by threats, but she did not succeed in convincing him of this to the end.

Suspecting that Tartuffe was not indifferent to Orgon's wife, Dorina asked Elmira to talk to him and find out what he himself thought about marriage with Mariana. When Dorina told Tartuffe that the lady wanted to talk to him face to face, the saint perked up. At first, scattering before Elmira in ponderous compliments, he did not let her open her mouth, but when she finally asked a question about Mariana, Tartuffe began to assure her that his heart was captivated by another. To Elmira's bewilderment - how is it that a man of a holy life is suddenly seized with carnal passion? - her admirer answered with fervor that yes, he is pious, but at the same time, after all, he is also a man, that they say the heart is not a flint ... Immediately, bluntly, Tartuffe invited Elmira to indulge in the delights of love. In response, Elmira asked how, according to Tartuffe, her husband would behave when he heard about his vile harassment. The frightened gentleman begged Elmira not to destroy him, and then she offered a deal: Orgon would not know anything, while Tartuffe, for his part, would try to get Mariana to marry Valera as soon as possible.

Damis ruined everything. He overheard the conversation and, indignant, rushed to his father. But, as was to be expected, Orgon believed not his son, but Tartuffe, who this time surpassed himself in hypocritical self-abasement. In anger, he ordered Damis to get out of sight and announced that Tartuffe would marry Mariana that same day. As a dowry, Orgon gave his future son-in-law all his fortune.

For the last time, Cleante tried to have a human conversation with Tartuffe and convince him to reconcile with Damis, to give up the unjustly acquired property and from Mariana - after all, it is not appropriate for a Christian to use a quarrel between a father and son for his own enrichment, and even more so to doom the girl to lifelong torment. But Tartuffe, a noble rhetorician, had an excuse for everything.

Mariana begged her father not to give her to Tartuffe - let him take the dowry, and she would rather go to the monastery. But Orgon, who had learned something from his pet, without blinking an eye, convinced the poor thing of the soul-saving life with a husband who only causes disgust - after all, mortification of the flesh is only useful. Finally, Elmira could not stand it - as soon as her husband does not believe the words of his loved ones, he should personally verify the baseness of Tartuffe. Convinced that he would have to make sure just the opposite - in the high morality of the righteous - Orgon agreed to crawl under the table and from there eavesdrop on the conversation that Elmira and Tartuffe would have in private.

Tartuffe immediately pecked at Elmira's feigned speeches that she supposedly had a strong feeling for him, but at the same time he showed a certain prudence: before refusing to marry Mariana, he wanted to receive from her stepmother, so to speak, a tangible pledge of tender feelings. As for the violation of the commandment, which would involve the delivery of this pledge, then, as Tartuffe assured Elmira, he had his own ways of dealing with heaven.

What Orgon heard from under the table was enough to finally break his blind faith in the sanctity of Tartuffe. He ordered the scoundrel to get away immediately, he tried to justify himself, but now it was useless. Then Tartuffe changed his tone and, before proudly departing, promised to cruelly get even with Orgon.

Tartuffe's threat was not unfounded: firstly, Orgon had already managed to straighten the donation to his house, which from today belonged to Tartuffe; secondly, he entrusted the vile villain with a casket with papers exposing his own brother, who was forced to leave the country for political reasons.

We had to urgently look for a way out. Damis volunteered to beat Tartuffe and discourage his desire to harm, but Cleante stopped the young man - with the mind, he argued, you can achieve more than with your fists. Orgon's household had not yet come up with anything when the bailiff, Mr. Loyal, appeared on the threshold of the house. He brought an order to vacate M. Tartuffe's house by tomorrow morning. At this point, not only Damis's hands began to itch, but also Dorina's, and even Orgon himself.

As it turned out, Tartuffe did not fail to use the second opportunity he had to ruin the life of his recent benefactor: Valere brought the news that the villain had given the king a chest of papers, and now Orgon was threatened with arrest for aiding the rebel brother. Orgon decided to run before it was too late, but the guards got ahead of him: the officer who entered announced that he was under arrest.

Together with the royal officer, Tartuffe also came to Orgon's house. The family, including Madame Pernel, who finally began to see clearly, began to shame the hypocritical villain in unison, listing all his sins. Tom soon got tired of this, and he turned to the officer with a request to protect his person from vile attacks, but in response, to his great - and everyone's - amazement, he heard that he had been arrested.

As the officer explained, in fact, he did not come for Orgon, but in order to see how Tartuffe comes to the end in his shamelessness. The wise king, the enemy of lies and the bulwark of justice, from the very beginning had suspicions about the identity of the scammer and turned out to be right, as always - under the name of Tartuffe was hiding a villain and a swindler, on whose account a great many dark deeds. With his power, the sovereign terminated the donation to the house and forgave Orgon for indirect aiding the rebellious brother.

Tartuffe was sent to prison in disgrace, but Orgon had no choice but to praise the wisdom and generosity of the monarch, and then bless the union of Valera and Mariana.

You have read the summary of the play Tartuffe. In the section of our site - brief contents, you can familiarize yourself with the presentation of other famous works.

Jean-Baptiste Molière was both an actor and a theater director. But he is best known to us as a comedian. Repertory hunger forced Monsieur Poquelin (a family name) to take up the pen. The forty-two-year-old writer, having already become famous and recognized by the royal court, ventured to present for the theatrical performance a caustic social pamphlet parodying the hypocrisy of the sophisms of the French clergy.

Molière's plot intrigue

An attempt to play the work in the theater failed only five years later. This article is a summary of it. "Tartuffe" has a rather prosaic plot: the resolution of circumstances preventing the wedding of Marianne, the daughter of the owner of the house (Orgon), and her beloved Valera. (Marianna's brother Damis, in turn, is in love with Valera's sister). The whole intrigue is "twisted" around the main character - Tartuffe, who is visiting the house. Outwardly, this is a young, educated, pious person, prone to high deeds. In reality, having a criminal past, Tartuffe has a whole bunch of "merits": chronic deceit, a rare ability to weave an uninterrupted chain of fraud. But the highlight of the image of a swindler is professional mimicry - imitation of the sermons of a clergyman. Molière brilliantly presented this "explosive cocktail" to the audience. A complete picture of the comedy can only be given by its theatrical production, for a bad mirror for the irony of the great Frenchman is a summary devoid of emotions. "Tartuffe" by Molière has been heading the hits of the theater seasons for more than 350 years.

The rogue manages to twist Orgon to such an extent that he decides to cancel the wedding with Valera and marry his daughter to Tartuffe. But the purpose of the swindler is to get his hands on the whole house and fortune. He also has influence over Madame Pernelle, the mother of the master of the house.

Moliere shows the deceiver, deliberately not resorting to the intricate lace of lies. He is so confident in the unfailing impact of his sanctimonious pseudo-morality on simpletons that he often acts simply “in a clumsy way”.

comedy characters

The summary of "Tartuffe" tells not only about the villains and the fooled. The wife of Oregon, Elmira Dorina, is a rather sober-minded lady, distinguished by her calm disposition and self-control. However, she is flirtatious and secular. Tartuffe frankly drags after her, at an opportunity offering a pretty mistress of the house to make love to him. She refuses, threatening to betray the hypocrite, and then tries to outplay the swindler, offering him her silence in exchange for his refusal to marry Marianne.

The mother's plan is unintentionally destroyed by the young and hot son Damis, overhearing and passing on its content to his father, Oregon. Naive! Tartuffe, on the other hand, does not need to convince the owner of the house, a simpleton, of the loftiness of his feelings and actions. He, fooled, exiles his son in anger, promising all the property due to him to the swindler.

Secondary images also contribute their own accents to the summary of Tartuffe. Sharp antipathy to the swindler distinguishes the maid Dorina. Moliere attributes some of the most poignant statements to her. Cleanthe, Elmira's brother, according to Molière's intention, presents with his decency a contrast to the swindler Tartuffe. He first tries to reason with Tartuffe to refuse marriage to Marianne, then he convinces Damis not to beat the swindler, since it is preferable to follow reason.

However, despite all the antipathy and opposition that accompanies him, Tartuffe's plan moves "like clockwork." It's about the wedding. Even if something gets upset - the fooled Oregon transferred all his property to him. In addition, he has compromising evidence in his hands - a secret chest with letters ticklish for him, handed over to him of good will by the nearby owner of the house. In addition, he bribed the bailiff Loyal (Moliere's irony is clear here: "loyal" is translated from French as "justice").

climax

Elmira, on the other hand, pretends to confess her love to him, but the scoundrel, as a pledge of refusing to marry his daughter, wants intimacy with his stepmother. This finally opens Oregon's eyes and he kicks the deceiver out of the house.

But according to the documents, the house is already owned by Tartuffe. Bailiff Loyal comes to Mr. Oregon with an order containing a demand to vacate the house by tomorrow. However, it seemed not enough to destroy the villain, wanting to finally destroy the owner of the house, he sends the king a secret chest with letters testifying to the help of his rebel brother. The monarch, on the other hand, acts wisely, first determining the identity of the denunciator. The astonished Tartuffe, who had come gloatingly along with the royal officer to enjoy the arrest of Oregon, is himself arrested.

Conclusion

So the traditional happy ending, and even the exaltation of the wisdom of the king, ends Moliere's comedy "Tartuffe", called by our classic Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin brilliant. Like Shakespeare, the strength of the writer's talent was combined in this man with devotion and service to the Theater. Contemporaries also believed that Moliere's talent flourished because he had a gift - to see in every person "something extraordinary."

Written by Jean Baptiste Molière

STEP ONE

Phenomenon I

Phenomenon II

Phenomenon III

Event IV

Phenomenon V

Event VI

ACT TWO

Phenomenon I

Phenomenon II

Phenomenon III

Event IV

ACT THREE

Phenomenon I

Phenomenon II

Phenomenon III

Event IV

EVENT V

Event VI

Appearance VII

ACT FOUR

Phenomenon I

Phenomenon II

Phenomenon III

Event IV

Phenomenon V

Event VI

Appearance VII

Appearance VIII

ACT FIVE

Phenomenon I

Phenomenon II

Phenomenon III

Event IV

Phenomenon V

Event VI

Appearance VII

Appearance VIII

Tartuffe

Jean-Baptiste Molière

Tartuffe, or the Deceiver

Comedy in five acts

Characters

Madame Pernel, mother of Orgon.

Orgon, Elmira's husband.

Elmira, Orgon's wife.

Damis, son of Orgon.

Mariana, daughter of Orgon, in love with Valera.

Valer, a young man in love with Mariana.

Cleanthes, brother-in-law of Orgon.

Tartuffe, saint.

Dorina, Mariana's maid.

Mr. Loyal, bailiff.

Flippot, Madame Pernelle's maid.

The action takes place in Paris, in the house of Orgon.

STEP ONE

Phenomenon I

Ms. Pernel, Elmira, Mariana, Dorina, Cleante, Flipot.

Ms. Pernel

Let's go, Flippot, let's go. I think it's good to leave.

Elmira

I can't even keep up with your fast pace.

Ms. Pernel

Please, daughter-in-law, please: you stay here.

All these wires are a waste of time.

Elmira

What we do is our direct position

But why are you in such a hurry, mother?

Ms. Pernel

But because this house is unbearable to me

And I don't see anyone here.

I'm leaving you offended blood:

Everything I say is met with reproach,

Respect for a penny, scream, noise, the same hell,

As if the beggars on the porch are making noise.

Dorina

Ms. Pernel

My dear, there is no maid in the world

Louder than you, and the worst brute.

Believe me, even without you I know what and how.

Damis

Ms. Pernel

My dear grandson, you are simply a fool.

No one tells you this, like your grandmother;

And I have already a hundred times my son, and your dad,

Warned that you are the last tomboy,

With which he is still exhausted completely.

Mariana

But…

Ms. Pernel

Everyone knows that you, his sister, -

Quiet from the quiet, the most modest girl,

But there is nothing worse than sleepy water,

And you probably secretly - a devil anywhere.

Elmira

But does...

Ms. Pernel

My speech, perhaps, is offensive to you,

But you behave shamefully in everything.

You should set an example for them,

As did the dead mother.

You are wasteful: you can not look without anger,

When you dress up like a queen.

To please your spouse

There's no use for such fancy dress.

Cleante

But still, ma'am...

Ms. Pernel

I do not hide you, sir,

I appreciate, love and respect in every possible way.

And yet, if I were my son, I would with great difficulty

She let such a brother-in-law into her house:

You start to preach,

Which would be very much to be guarded against.

I speak directly; I, sir, am

And in my heart I do not conceal truthful words.

Damis

Your Monsieur Tartuffe has settled enviably...

Ms. Pernel

He is a pure soul, it is a shame not to listen to him;

And I won't feel sorry for someone else's head,

When a fool like you denigrates him.

Damis

How? I have to put up with the fact that the hypocrite is unfortunate

He reigned in our house, like a domineering despot,

And so that we could not have fun,

Until his mouth pronounced judgment?

Dorina

When you listen to his moralizing

Whatever you do, everything will be a crime;

In his zeal, he judges everything and everyone.

Ms. Pernel

He judges rightly and condemns sin.

He wants to guide everyone on the path of salvation,

And my son must instruct you in love for him.

Damis

No, grandmother, no one, if he were my father,

I will not be reconciled with such a young man.

I would pretend to play hide and seek with you:

I can't see without getting angry, his habits

And I know in advance that this hypocrite

One fine day I will put it in place.

Dorina

And everyone else would probably be indignant,

Seeing how the stranger reigned in the family,

Like a beggar who came here thin and barefoot

And he brought a dress with him for six pennies,

Forgotten to the point that with great audacity

He rereads to everyone and imagines himself a lord.

Ms. Pernel

And everything would go better, I swear by my soul,

When would listen to his holy speeches.

Dorina

Though you stubbornly consider him a saint,

But, believe me, all this is feigned in him.

Ms. Pernel

Here's an ulcer!

Dorina

For him and for his servant

I can't vouch for anyone.

Ms. Pernel

What kind of servant he is, I do not know.

But for the owner, I vouch for you honestly.

You are unhappy with him, that's why he makes you angry,

That speaks the truth to your face.

He castigates all sinful things publicly

And he wants only what heaven wants.

Dorina

Yes, but why has he been

Do you want no one to set foot in our yard?

Is it really such a sin when guests come,

What do you need to get rid of rage and anger?

You know what I was already thinking:

(pointing to Elamira)

I think he is jealous of Mrs.

Ms. Pernel

Be quiet! Is such reasoning conceivable!

He is not the only one who is angry at these visits.

All this people scurrying towards you with a roar,

And the eternal line of carriages sticking out at the gate,

And a noisy crowd of crowding servants

An unfortunate rumor is spread around the district.

There may not be much harm here,

But people say - and that's the trouble.

Cleante

So you would like everyone around to be silent?

If our lives were filled with sadness,

When would we start hiding from friends

For fear of what the rotozey will say.

And even if I dared to,

How can you prevent someone from whispering somewhere?

You can't save yourself from malice.

So it is better to ignore gossip altogether.

It behooves us to live and think nobly,

And let the talkers interpret as they please.

Dorina

Hardly anyone else, like Daphne with her husband,

Neighbors are nice, they slander us secretly.

All those who are famous for shameful deeds,

With particular ease, others are vilified themselves;

They will look out for you as soon as possible.

The slightest tenderness is a barely visible light

And immediately the news of that spread amicably,

Giving her the turn they need.

By the affairs of your neighbor, tinting them to match,

They try to justify their deeds

And under the protection of dubious resemblance

Dress your sins in the guise of nobility,

Throwing two or three arrows to others

Public blasphemy directed at them.

Ms. Pernel

You are talking rather inappropriately.

How virtuous Oranta is, everyone knows:

holy woman; but they say she

I am very outraged by what is going on here.

Dorina

A most wonderful example, and a good person!

I believe that she will not sin to the grave.

All this zeal inspired her summer,

And - whether she wants to or not - she is now holy.

As long as the power to captivate hearts dwelt in her,

She did not hide charming charms at all;

But, seeing that there is no former brilliance in the eyes,

Decides to forget her changed light

And a thick veil of lush holiness

Throw on the beauty that has withered.

It's always like that with old dandies.

It is not easy for them to see that everyone has left them.

Orphaned, full of deaf anxiety,

With anguish, they rush to cut their hair in touch,

And the incorruptible court of pious women

Ready to punish everything, armed for everything;

They scourge the sinful world without mercy - -

Not to save him, but simply out of annoyance,

That others, they say, eat from delights,

Which old age cannot get back.

Ms. Pernel

(Elmira)

Here are the stupidities that are dear to you,

Daughter-in-law. Yes, here you have no strength to open your mouth;

She will drown everyone in chatter.

But still, it's time for me to say something:

I will tell you that my son was truly lucky,

When such a pious man was found by him;

That this man was heaven sent to you,

To point the way to lost minds;

What do you have to listen to him unquestioningly

And that only that he calls sin, which is sinful.

All these dinners, conversations, evenings - -

All this is Satan's crafty game.

There you will not hear soulful speech:

All jokes, songs and vain meetings;

And if their neighbor gets on the tooth,

So they finish it up and down.

And who is more sedate and more mature in mind,

He will simply die in such an assembly.

There gossip a whole cart is ready in a single moment,

And, as one learned theologian said,

There is pandemonium, as in those days,

And every one breeds Babylons with his tongue;

And then he remembered at the same time ...

(Pointing to Cleanthe.)

You, sir, I see, as if it were funny?

I don't want to be recorded as a cracker

And that's why…

(Elmira)

Snoha, sorry. I keep quiet.

From now on, I put the local house at half price,

And you won't have to wait for me soon.

(Giving Flipot a slap in the face.)

What are you? Somlela, huh? Look, I'm glad to beat the bucket!

God's thunder! I'll warm up your ears.

Well, messy, well!

Phenomenon II

Cleante, Dorina

Cleante

I won't go with them

And then after all, how long will it take to make trouble again

With such an old lady...

Dorina

Oh, I'm ready to regret

that now she does not hear the word;

You would be shown what he deserves

Who calls women, like her, old women.

Cleante

How she became furious over trifles!

And how sweetly she sang about her Tartuffe!

Dorina

And yet the mother is wiser than the son.

You should have seen what our master has become!

In the days of turmoil, he behaved like a man of the council,

And he bravely served the king in former years;

But only he is completely, as if stupefied

Ever since Tartuffe got into his head;

That one for him is like a brother, sweeter than everyone in the world,

A hundred times more kind than mother, wife and children.

He made him his confidante,

In all his affairs he leads them;

He cherishes him, kisses him and hardly

With such tenderness, beauties were adored;

At the table he puts him ahead of others

And joyful when he eats for six;

All the best pieces to him, of course, too;

And if he burps, ours: "God help you!"

In a word, he raves about them. Tartuffe-hero, idol,

The world should marvel at his virtues;

His smallest deeds are wonderful,

And whatever he says, there is a judgment from heaven.

And he, seeing such a simpleton,

He fools him with his game without end;

He made hypocrisy a source of profit

And they are preparing to teach us while we are alive.

And even well done, that he has a servant,

Every day a good lesson teaches us;

It flies like a thunderstorm, and flies zealously on the floor

All our lace and flies and blush.

The other day this rogue found and tore

The handkerchief that we had in the lives of the saints lay,

And he said that we are committing an immeasurable sin,

Soiling the shrine with such demonic filth.

Phenomenon III

Elmira, Mariana, Damis, Cleante, Dorina.

Elmira

(Cleanant)

You are wise that you decided to save yourself

And they did not come to listen to the parting speech.

Now the husband has arrived; my brother, I will leave you

And I'll go to our half to wait for him.

Cleante

And I, for speed, will see him here

And I'll talk for a few minutes.

Event IV

Cleante, Damis, Dorina.

Damis

Talk to him about Mariana's wedding.

I'm afraid Tartuffe is setting traps here too,

Advising his father to pull on day by day;

And it might affect me too.

How young Valer is captivated by my sister,

So to me his sister is dearest of all, I will not hide.

Dorina

Phenomenon V

Orgon, Cleanthe, Dorina.

Orgone

Ah, brother-in-law, good afternoon!

Cleante

I thought about leaving and I'm glad I met you.

Probably missed in the village in earnest?

Orgone

(Cleanant)

Dear friend, stay a minute

And to ease my worries,

Let me know about the business here.

Well, what happened here in two days? How are you? What do you? Who

what did you do? And are we all healthy?

Dorina

Yes, the mistress had the day before yesterday all day

There was a very strong fever and a terrible migraine.

Orgone

Well, what about Tartuffe?

Dorina

Tartuffe? And it's redundant to ask:

Portly, fresh in face and lips like cherries.

Orgone

Ah, poor!

Dorina

In the evening she had anguish;

At dinner, she did not eat a single piece - -

Still the same headache.

Orgone

Well, what about Tartuffe?

Dorina

Sitting and eating alone

In her presence. Lowering your gaze,

He ate two partridges and ate a lamb's butt.

Orgone

Ah, poor!

Dorina

The lady did not fall asleep at all;

On the stage of the Moscow Art Theater, Anatoly Efros staged one of his most Vakhtangov performances. He turned to Jean-Baptiste Molière's most popular comedy, Tartuffe, and staged an incredibly funny, but at the same time "smart" performance, where Stanislav Lyubshin made his debut on the Moscow Art Theater stage in the title role.

At that time, the work of the actor seemed controversial to many, but one thing is certain - it was precisely in the calculation of the personality of this artist, for a dialogue, or even an argument with him, that the production was calculated. It is no coincidence that even before the start of rehearsals, Efros wrote: “Tartuffe is impudent, purposeful. He is flexible. He is dangerous! I see an artist who would be able to play all this well - Smoktunovsky. Or maybe even Lyubshin? I think they have these scary colors. It is necessary to play not a hypocrite, but a contender for power. Politician. A man capable of conquering and intoxicating.

When the premiere came out, it seemed to many that it was by no means Tartuffe that occupied the first place here - Lyubshin's work seemed so faded at first glance in comparison with the brilliance of colors revealed by Alexander Kalyagin (Orgon) and Anastasia Vertinskaya (Elmira). But it was another efrosophic "shifter". Just as the inhabitants of the house of Orgon do not immediately notice how a “snake” crawls into their house, in the same way, Tartuffe-Lyubshin is not immediately taken into account.

Against the backdrop of a space draped with luxurious golden fabrics, against the backdrop of an incredibly huge chandelier with flickering candles under the caps, which rose at the beginning of each act and lowered at its end (set designer - Dmitry Krymov), against the backdrop of colorful and whimsical camisoles and dresses, unobtrusively stylized as an era "Sun King" (costume designer - Valentina Komolova), with his first appearance in a gray velvet suit, Tartuffe Lyubshina evoked associations with a gray mouse. You don’t get used to such a youthful, lean, self-confident Tartuffe immediately, but gradually, from scene to scene, the actor and hero, following the director’s will, reveal themselves into a frightening and extremely modern image. A rude, insolent cynic with a wry smile and an openly shameless look, he goes ahead. He does not shun petty deeds, is capable of outright meanness, but the worst thing about him is his frightening routine. Stanislav Lyubshin plays a person who is always there, who (under certain circumstances) each of us can turn into.

And he (Tartuffe) is this notorious hypocrite, which means that the actor is the only non-comedian in this festive Molière theater, where the first actress is the beautiful Elmira. Anastasia Vertinskaya plays a brilliant young woman who seizes all the threads of intrigue, and for this she has to show all the artistry of her nature, use all her charm and lull the suspicions of the incredulous Tartuffe. Someone called her "a bold seductress with frightened eyes", and, indeed, such an image in a seduction scene works best. Vertinskaya very precisely and gracefully conducts this scene - every gesture is inimitable and graceful, every glance enchants - it's true, in the words of Molière, "shameness with tenderness is fighting a fierce battle."

And if in Anastasia Vertinskaya's performance there is a high comedy: an elegant marvelousage, side by side with the brilliance of Beaumarchais's images, then Alexander Kalyagin, in the image of his Orgon, gives the viewer an example of a comedy of innocence. Comedy, bordering on genuine drama. After all, Orgon, as Kalyagin presents him, under the guise of charming good nature plays the drama of deceived trust, to say the least - faith. His Orgon desperately believes in the virtue of the person he has sheltered, and clings to this faith to the last, and when he is deprived of faith, he breaks down. The truth is deadly. And now the final scene: Tartuffe was tied hand and foot, he was about to be sent to court - it would seem that the enemy was defeated. And here, from the soft, good-natured person, as we have been watching Orgon throughout the performance, frightening features suddenly erupt: he rages, restrained by Valera and Cleante, flails his legs in impotent rage and spits at the one whom he recently exalted so high ...

And this finale, perhaps, even surpasses in its effect the climactic scene with the exposure of Tartuffe - the famous scene between Tartuffe, Elmira and Orgon. And such a dramatic, cruel note is the best fit as the final code for the mischievous and laid-back comedy played out by the Moscow Art Theater actors. For two hours, the action captivates the viewer with rapid rhythms, sparkling, like blades, replicas and unrestrained theatricality. The buffoonish sparkle spills out from the stage into the stalls, which gives in to the director's unbridled fantasy and pays for it with almost unceasing laughter. But the performance ends, very little time passes, and the fun begins to recede, giving way to not at all rosy thoughts about human nature. This is the aftertaste that remains after the “champagne bottle” offered to the viewer by Anatoly Efros and the Moscow Art Theater actors.

At the invitation of the owner, a certain Mr. Tartuffe settled in the house of the venerable Orgon. Orgon did not cherish the soul in him, considering him an incomparable example of righteousness and wisdom: Tartuffe's speeches were exceptionally sublime, teachings - thanks to which Orgon learned that the world is a big garbage pit, and now he would not blink an eye, having buried his wife, children and other relatives - extremely useful, piety aroused admiration; and how selflessly Tartuffe observed the morality of the Orgon family...

Of all the members of the household, Orgon's admiration for the newly-born righteous was shared, however, only by his mother, Madame Pernel. Elmira, Orgon's wife, her brother Cleanthe, Orgon's children Damis and Mariana, and even the servants saw in Tartuffe who he really was - a hypocritical saint who deftly uses Orgon's delusion in his simple earthly interests: to eat deliciously and sleep softly, to have a reliable roof over your head and some other benefits.

Orgon's household was utterly sick of Tartuffe's moralizing; with his worries about decency, he drove almost all his friends away from home. But as soon as someone spoke badly about this zealot of piety, Madame Pernel staged stormy scenes, and Orgon, he simply remained deaf to any speeches that were not imbued with admiration for Tartuffe. When Orgon returned from a short absence and demanded a report on home news from Dorina's maid, the news of his wife's illness left him completely indifferent, while the story of how Tartuffe happened to overeat at dinner, then sleep until noon, and sort out wine at breakfast, filled Orgon with compassion for the poor fellow.

Orgon's daughter, Mariana, was in love with a noble young man named Valera, and her brother Damis was in love with her sister Valera. Orgon seemed to have already agreed to the marriage of Mariana and Valera, but for some reason he kept postponing the wedding. Damis, worried about his own fate - his marriage to his sister Valera was supposed to follow the wedding of Mariana - asked Cleantes to find out from Orgon what was the reason for the delay. Orgon answered questions so evasively and unintelligibly that Cleanthes suspected that he had decided otherwise to dispose of his daughter's future.

How exactly Orgon sees the future of Mariana became clear when he told his daughter that Tartuffe's perfections needed a reward, and his marriage to her, Mariana, would be such a reward. The girl was stunned, but did not dare to argue with her father. Dorina had to intervene for her: the maid tried to explain to Orgon that to marry Mariana to Tartuffe - a beggar, a freak of a low soul - would mean becoming the subject of ridicule of the whole city, and besides, pushing her daughter onto the path of sin, because no matter how virtuous the girl was, she would not cuckolding a hubby like Tartuffe is simply impossible. Dorina spoke very passionately and convincingly, but, despite this, Orgon remained adamant in his determination to intermarry with Tartuffe.

Mariana was ready to submit to the will of her father - as her daughter's duty told her. Submission, dictated by natural timidity and reverence for her father, tried to overcome Dorina in her, and she almost succeeded in doing this, unfolding before Mariana vivid pictures of the marital happiness prepared for him and Tartuffe.

But when Valer asked Mariana if she was going to submit to the will of Orgon, the girl replied that she did not know. In a fit of despair, Valer advised her to do as her father orders, while he himself will find a bride for himself who will not change this word; Mariana replied that she would only be glad of this, and as a result, the lovers almost parted forever, but then Dorina arrived in time. She convinced young people of the need to fight for their happiness. But they only need to act not directly, but in a roundabout way, to play for time, and then something will certainly work out, because everyone - Elmira, and Cleanthe, and Damis - is against the absurd plan of Orgon,

Damis, even too determined, was going to properly rein in Tartuffe so that he forgot to think about marrying Mariana. Dorina tried to cool his ardor, to suggest that more could be achieved by cunning than by threats, but she did not succeed in convincing him of this to the end.

Suspecting that Tartuffe was not indifferent to Orgon's wife, Dorina asked Elmira to talk to him and find out what he himself thought about marriage with Mariana. When Dorina told Tartuffe that the lady wanted to talk to him face to face, the saint perked up. At first, scattering before Elmira in ponderous compliments, he did not let her open her mouth, but when she finally asked a question about Mariana, Tartuffe began to assure her that his heart was captivated by another. To Elmira's bewilderment - how is it that a man of a holy life is suddenly seized with carnal passion? - her admirer answered with fervor that yes, he is pious, but at the same time, after all, he is also a man, that they say the heart is not a flint ... Immediately, bluntly, Tartuffe invited Elmira to indulge in the delights of love. In response, Elmira asked how, according to Tartuffe, her husband would behave when he heard about his vile harassment. The frightened gentleman begged Elmira not to destroy him, and then she offered a deal: Orgon would not know anything, while Tartuffe, for his part, would try to get Mariana to marry Valera as soon as possible.

Damis ruined everything. He overheard the conversation and, indignant, rushed to his father. But, as was to be expected, Orgon believed not his son, but Tartuffe, who this time surpassed himself in hypocritical self-abasement. In anger, he ordered Damis to get out of sight and announced that Tartuffe would marry Mariana that same day. As a dowry, Orgon gave his future son-in-law all his fortune.

For the last time, Cleante tried to have a human conversation with Tartuffe and convince him to reconcile with Damis, to give up the unjustly acquired property and from Mariana - after all, it is not appropriate for a Christian to use a quarrel between a father and son for his own enrichment, and even more so to doom the girl to lifelong torment. But Tartuffe, a noble rhetorician, had an excuse for everything.

Mariana begged her father not to give her to Tartuffe - let him take the dowry, and she would rather go to the monastery. But Orgon, who had learned something from his pet, without blinking an eye, convinced the poor thing of the soul-saving life with a husband who only causes disgust - after all, mortification of the flesh is only useful. Finally, Elmira could not stand it - as soon as her husband does not believe the words of his loved ones, he should personally verify the baseness of Tartuffe. Convinced that he would have to make sure just the opposite - in the high morality of the righteous - Orgon agreed to crawl under the table and from there eavesdrop on the conversation that Elmira and Tartuffe would have in private.

Tartuffe immediately pecked at Elmira's feigned speeches that she supposedly had a strong feeling for him, but at the same time he showed a certain prudence: before refusing to marry Mariana, he wanted to receive from her stepmother, so to speak, a tangible pledge of tender feelings. As for the violation of the commandment, which would involve the delivery of this pledge, then, as Tartuffe assured Elmira, he had his own ways of dealing with heaven.

What Orgon heard from under the table was enough to finally break his blind faith in the sanctity of Tartuffe. He ordered the scoundrel to get away immediately, he tried to justify himself, but now it was useless. Then Tartuffe changed his tone and, before proudly departing, promised to cruelly get even with Orgon.

Tartuffe's threat was not unfounded: firstly, Orgon had already managed to straighten the donation to his house, which from today belonged to Tartuffe; secondly, he entrusted the vile villain with a casket with papers exposing his own brother, who was forced to leave the country for political reasons.

We had to urgently look for a way out. Damis volunteered to beat Tartuffe and discourage his desire to harm, but Cleante stopped the young man - with the mind, he argued, you can achieve more than with your fists. Orgon's household had not yet come up with anything when the bailiff, Mr. Loyal, appeared on the threshold of the house. He brought an order to vacate M. Tartuffe's house by tomorrow morning. At this point, not only Damis's hands began to itch, but also Dorina's, and even Orgon himself.

As it turned out, Tartuffe did not fail to use the second opportunity he had to ruin the life of his recent benefactor: Valere brought the news that the villain had given the king a chest of papers, and now Orgon was threatened with arrest for aiding the rebel brother. Orgon decided to run before it was too late, but the guards got ahead of him: the officer who entered announced that he was under arrest.

Together with the royal officer, Tartuffe also came to Orgon's house. The family, including Madame Pernel, who finally began to see clearly, began to shame the hypocritical villain in unison, listing all his sins. Tom soon got tired of this, and he turned to the officer with a request to protect his person from vile attacks, but in response, to his great - and everyone's - amazement, he heard that he had been arrested.

As the officer explained, in fact, he did not come for Orgon, but in order to see how Tartuffe comes to the end in his shamelessness. The wise king, the enemy of lies and the bulwark of justice, from the very beginning had suspicions about the identity of the scammer and turned out to be right, as always - under the name of Tartuffe was hiding a villain and a swindler, on whose account a great many dark deeds. With his power, the sovereign terminated the donation to the house and forgave Orgon for indirect aiding the rebellious brother.

Tartuffe was sent to prison in disgrace, but Orgon had no choice but to praise the wisdom and generosity of the monarch, and then bless the union of Valera and Mariana.

retold