Tartuffe 1

Discuss at least 3 important trends in literature during "The Enlightenment of Europe."
Three important trends during "The Enlightenment of Europe" were society, human reason, and convention & authority. Writer's in the 18th century most always "assumed the superior importance of the social group and of shared opinion" (297). The writers always wanted what was in the best interest for the group and the community instead of being selfish and what was best for themselves. They firmly believed in individual submission for the good of the group. Also society had an effect on the roles of women in the literature. Since erotic love plays were less popular and important, this caused women's positions in literature to become insignificant. The women's work seemed to be in the home and for the home. Another trend among the Enlightenment was human reason. The Enlightenment thinkers and writers encouraged people of this time period to think for themselves, and think deeper into the messages that they were truly saying. Finally, another common trend of Enlightenment literature is authority. In the book it says "...all important writers attempted to ally themselves with the authority of tradition, declaring themselves part of a community extending through time as well as space" (300). Authority came into conflict during satire. Writers did not want to seem peculiar when describing the actions of others', thus pulling away from tradition they wrote about conflicts of reason and passion, and forces of stability and instability.


Why do you believe that "Moliere" continues to be read and beloved?
In today's society literature's main purpose is to entertain the reader. Although, Moliere usually commented and wrote about the problems that were facing his society he used humor and a storyline to tell the story and message. In the 17th century, readers were able to see the message of the story and also be entertained. I believe the reason that "Moliere" is still able to be read and loved by many today is because he uses humor to tell his stories. Humor allows readers to be actually have fun while reading and truly be entertained. Humor is used by Moliere just as it is used by many present day successful writers, which is why his stories are still read by many today.


What insight do you gain from the preface and petitions leading up to the play?
The purpose of the preface and the petitions were to defend his work. He took these pages to explain that although his work offended them, the purpose wasn't to offend. He wanted to poke fun at people in a joking way. I believe the preface and petitions show Moliere's determination, and dedication to his work. It shows he is determined to show people that the purpose of "Tartuffe" was not to completely make fun of anyone. It shows that he truly loves writing and satire and that he is dedicated to show people that. It shows insight that he was very delighted by his works and would stand by them, regardless of who disliked them or were offended by them. Also these writings leading up to the plays give insight that people are still the same today as they were in the 17th century generally speaking. Today, people of all ages don't like to be made fun of and equally is true for the people who were offended by Moliere's "Tartuffe."