Tartuffe (English: Le Tartuffe ou L'Imposteur)

A play by the French playwright Molière. A comedy in five acts. Its subtitle is The Trickster, and it was first performed in 1664. Orgon, a townsman in Paris, is infatuated with the mysterious false believer Tartuffe, and invites him into his home, treating him graciously as a model of faith, and trying to get his daughter, who has a lover, to marry him. However, Tartuffe also shows his brazenness by wooing Orgon's young second wife, Elmire. Elmire's scheme exposes the false believer's true identity. He then brazenly seizes the family's assets and accuses Orgon, using the secret documents entrusted to him by Orgon as a shield. However, the police, acting on the King's orders, arrest Tartuffe, saving the Orgon family from peril. This work, which deals with issues of faith, touched upon the taboo of the church, which held deep-rooted influence in society at the time, and was even banned from being performed.

[Junichi Imura]

"Tartuffe" translated by Suzuki Rikiei (Iwanami Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの劇作家モリエールの戯曲。五幕韻文喜劇。副題は「ぺてん師」、1664年初演。パリの町人オルゴンはえたいの知れぬにせ信者タルチュフにのぼせあがり、彼を家に招じ入れ信仰の鑑(かがみ)として手厚くもてなし、ほかに恋人のいる娘を彼と結婚させようとする。しかしタルチュフは同時にオルゴンの若い後妻エルミールをくどくという鉄面皮ぶりを発揮する。エルミールのたくらみによってにせ信者の正体は暴露される。と、彼は居直って一家の財産をのっとり、かつオルゴンの託した秘密文書を盾にとりオルゴンを告発する。しかし国王の内命を受けていた警吏はあべこべにタルチュフを逮捕し、オルゴン一家は危ういところを救われる。信仰の問題を取り上げたこの作品は、当時の社会に根強い力をもつ教会側の忌諱(きき)に触れ、上演禁止処分をも被っている。

［井村順一］

『鈴木力衛訳『タルチュフ』（岩波文庫）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例