Introduction
The story “Tartuffe” and “The death of Ivan Ilyich” have expansive themes, which touch on various issues and aspects of society. They expose the evil in unexpected places in society, including evil in religion and within families, where people should love and protect one another besides staying loyal to each other. A critical analysis of the two stories would reveal that there are situations in the two stories, where family life seems to be dysfunctional as it is faced with problems such as distrust and love.
This theme can be seen through the actions of various characters, which jeopardize the strength of the fabric that holds and keeps families close and in harmony. In both stories, material wealth is the threat to the normal and effective operation of family love and harmony, as characters put their material desires before the love and protection that is desired of their families.
Analysis
A major character in the play “Tartuffe” is Orgon’s mother, Madame Pernelle. Pernelle is convinced of Tartuffe’s righteousness so much that she fails to listen to the members of Orgon’s household on their views regarding Tartuffe. Tartuffe’s trick of pretending to be a beggar gets the most out of Madame Pernelle, who believes that there is no way that a person can be poor and be a dishonest person at the same time. This means that according to Madame Pernelle, poor people are most vulnerable because of their financial status. Orgon does not trust his wife and son when they warn him about Tartuffe and instead, believes Madame Pernelle’s perception of Tartuffe.
He sees Tartuffe as an honest and religious person, who means no harm to him or his family. Madame Pernelle and Orgon both let the wickedness of Tartuffe pull the family apart. Madame Pernelle thinks that Orgon’s family has become decadent and depraved by their negative perception of Tartuffe (Moliere 210). Rather than spend time with his ailing wife and other members of the family, Orgon starts to spend most of his time with Tartuffe.
Orgon, who is the major representation of family dysfunction in the story, betrays his son for Tartuffe. A family is built on the principles of love, honour, respect, loyalty, and the need to protect one another. Orgon, however, becomes so blinded by Tartuffe’s hypocritical genteel that he betrays his own family for Tartuffe. When his son attempts to expose the evil plot by Tartuffe for wanting to marry Orgon’s wife, Orgon disinherits Damis instead and gives all of his wealth to Tartuffe. This incident reveals an Orgon, who is more concerned with wealth than the welfare of his family members.
Mariane is the daughter of Orgon and represents a major cause of dysfunction in the family. Mariane is weak-minded and does not stand her ground against his father or be honest about her feelings towards Valere. Although Mariane is set to marry Valere, she accepts his father’s proposal that she marries Tartuffe instead, even though it is evident that she still loves Valere (she later makes up to Valere by kissing him).
It takes the initiative of a member outside of the family (Dorine) to intervene and help Mariane realize that she is making a mistake by accepting to marry Tartuffe (Moliere 190). This incident shows how much Orgon’s family has failed in its role to protect the members of its household and ensure their happiness and contentment at all times. Orgon does not care whether Mariane will be happy with Tartuffe as all he cares about is that he gets Tartuffe as a son-in-law.
The concept of family life is equally represented in the story, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”. Ilyich is more concerned with material welfare and wellbeing than the true values of a family, including love and respect. He, for instance, married Praskovya Fedorovna not out of love for her, but because of her social status, which matched his and which, would play to his advantage in gaining his respect among his associates.
He is not so much concerned about her inner values, but rather about the external values and most importantly, money. Ivan has a distorted view and understanding of marriage. Rather than share happiness in marriage with the people he loves (his family), he hopes that marriage will work to enhance his pleasure and happiness. He also hopes that he would not be required to give up any of his time or even concern for anyone else. Ivan is most unhappy in his marriage when his wife becomes pregnant and he realizes that she can no longer make him as happy as he expected. Besides, he realizes that they will be expecting a child, who will need the love and care of his parents, a sacrifice that Ivan is not prepared to make.
Ivan’s wife, Praskovya offers another representation of a dysfunctional family. She lacks sympathy for her husband even at death, casting doubt as to whether she actually married him out of love or convenience as well. Praskovya is not so sad about Ivan’s suffering in the final days of his life, but rather about the amount of misery that his suffering cost her and her comfortable life, “After many details of the really dreadful physical sufferings Ivan Ilych had endured (which details he learnt only from the effect those sufferings had produced on Praskovya Fedorovna’s nerves) the widow apparently found it necessary to get to business” (Tolstoy 1.45).
She is more concerned with her desire to get into business and make a lot of money now that she is a widow. This creates the implication that she might have thought about her fortunate business when she becomes a widow long ago, maybe when Ivan was still alive, “She began to wish he would die; yet she did not want him to die because then his salary would cease. And this irritated her against him still more. She considered herself dreadfully unhappy just because not even his death could save her, and though she concealed her exasperation, that hidden exasperation of hers increased his irritation also” (Tolstoy 4.2).
The effects of the dysfunctional marriage between Ivan and his wife trickle down to their daughter, Lisa. Lisa spends the most time with her mother as Ivan withdraws from all family responsibilities and as such, she acquires most of her mother’s traits. When Ivan is sick, Lisa shows him no more piety as did her mother, “She’s “impatient with illness, suffering, and death, because they interfered with her own happiness” (Tolstoy 8.48). Lisa complains to her mother about the way that her father’s illness has caused her suffering. This implies that she did not care about the wellbeing of her father but her own happiness and comfort.
Conclusion
From the two stories, it is evident that the personal and greedy desire for wealth distorts family life, creating dysfunctions, which cause anger and pain to the members of the family. Tartuffe was after the Orgon’s family’s wealth and fortune that he invented a scheme to divide the family so that Orgon would leave him his inheritance. Orgon views his son’s concern as a move to rid him of his family fortune that he disinherits him in favour of Tartuffe. Ivan Ilyich’s family is built on greed and ambition for wealth at the expense of true family values of love and genuine concern and care. This greedy desire leads to a tragic end when Ivan dies and loses his wealth, negating all that he had been fighting for all his life.
Works Cited
Moliere. Tartuffe. London: Nick Hern Books. 2002. Print.
Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilyich. NY: Penguin Red Classic. 2006. Print.