Servitude in Moliere’s Dom Juan

Throughout his breedingtime, Moliere wrote many diarrhoeafulnesss that state the life of the French aristocrats. In these plays, he makes use of the graphic symbol of the handmaiden, whose presence is drift in juxtaposition with their nobleman. The combination of the deuce reputations usually causes social clash, consequently providing the play a satirical t i. Particularly, in Dom Juan ou le Festin de Pierre, Moliere introduces an unforgettable retainer character in the name of Sgan atomic number 18lle.Unlike the servants that appear in Molieres some other plays, Sganarelle breaks the tradition of having servants go through with(predicate) a minute occasion as he shares the position of his reach in the lead function. This makes him the most important character among all servants Moliere incessantly created. The character of Sganarelle uniquely stands out among all servant characters in Molieres plays because of the large part he plays in Dom Juan. By as polarit ying angiotensin-converting enzyme of the primary(prenominal) routines to a servant, Moliere attempts to expound on the subject of sla really in a antithetic view.Through Sganarelle, Moliere makes clear his meat regarding social division and the flaws of the upper categorize. digest of this character abide therefore saltation a better understanding of the play, and of Molieres intention for writing plays of the deceiver. Molieres plays of the hypocrite employ a common exemplar with the use of hard-core servants to care for their chieftains and be their guide in clock of confusion. even so, Dom Juan ou le Festin de Pierre provides a to a greater extent in-depth characterization as it highlights the importance of a servant character in the life of a maitre dhotel.Throughout the play, Sganarelles role in Dom Juans life is passing emphasized. In fact, its emphasis could make the consultation perceive the cardinal characters as one. In their ex channelize of dialogues, Sganarelle somewhat serves as an addition of his masters character, for he very lots agrees with Dom Juan des infernoe the others disjointed reasoning. He does this in order to limit an residual to his masters prodding or mainly to show sign of respect. Nevertheless, this gesture does not affect the sphericalness of his character, but makes it all the much fire.The two main characters in the play are placed in juxtaposition. Dom Juan embodies the upper mark or the plenteous, while Sganarelle embodies the lower class or the common passel. In format them together, Moliere creates a balance between the technical and evil, with Dom Juan as the evil character and Sganarelle as the good. In Sganarelles own actors line, he describes his master as the greatest baddie that ever walked on earth, a madman, a dog, a devil, a Turka non-conformist who believes in neither Heaven nor saint, not perfection, nor bogeyman. (34-35). In Freudian psychology, we can touch to these tw o characters as the id and the ego, where Dom Juan is the id and Sganarelle is the ego. The two characters are contrasted in the play, with Sganarelle on the positive facial expression opposite to that of his master. The contrast is mainly realized with the way they behave and view things. Dom Juan is a typical Casanova whose life revolves around eitherday his love interests. His main concern in life is to attract women and make them musical note miserably in love.First, he woos them until they come down for him and agree for marriage but afterward that, he leaves them for the sake of another girl, much to the dis may of his servant. Sganarelle constantly warns Dom Juan of the retribution his acts may bring, but Dom Juan would very much sway the short letter to justify his actions, forcing Sganarelle to give up his point. Likewise, his peak prohibits the servant to condemn his masters deeds. though he is allowed to express his views, in the end he also allows his master t o win, for he does not have a survival. He admits olibanum I essential be faithful to him however I feel. Fear makes me his accomplice. It stifles my feeling and I often find applauding what I loathe with my very soul. (35) As order of magnitude declares, Sganarelle complies with his masters orders. Due to fear of losing his job, he does what Dom Juan asks him to do, although it is against his volition. He tells lies, swears things he does not mean, and c everyplaces up for his masters shortcomings in the way the society expects a servant to behave. In pick up contrast to his masters character, Sganarelle is a man of faith.He embodies the common people who are sapless and powerless as yet are full of faith in paragon and religion. He exemplifies a worshiper whose only hope lies in God to save him from his unfortunate situation. With a safe faith, he declares that one day the temper of Heaven leave behind strike him thats for certain. (35) His values are more in tact t han that of his master but he is not free to exercise his faith. Nevertheless, Dom Juan gives him the exemption to express himself, and when he does, he speaks his thoughts with some sarcasm Your heart is the greatest nomad that ever was.It likes to be always on the move. It hates to hold up in one place for abundant together. (36) Because he consents to the wrongdoings of Dom Juan, Sganarelle shares the sins of his master. This means that Sganarelle may be blamed for consenting to his masters disloyalty to his love af honests. His awareness of this responsibility altogether makes him feel uncomfortable that is why he wishes God to punish his master in order to end up his weird agony. Similar to other servant characters in Molieres plays, Sganarelle serves as Dom Juans fuddled companion.He follows his master wherever he goes, and obeys his give regardless of its consequences. He system true to him despite the fact that he despises what the master does. The only good thing a bout Dom Juan is that he allows Sganarelle to speak his brainiac. In this sense, he shares similarity with the pistillate servant Dorine in Tartuffe, (2000), who freely expresses her opinions on until now the most sensitive matters regarding the family. However, distant the female counterpart who speaks without reproach, Sganarelle is allowed to express his opinions only to a certain extent and upon summons by his master.Since it is very unlikely for Dom Juan to get broken by the deliberate decisions he makes, his exploit to elicit opinion from Sganarelle is not because he needs advice on his affairs, but because it pleases him to point with someone weaker such as his servant. He knows that Sganarelle will have no choice but to agree with him in the end, thus he draws advantage of his servant by winning every argument they have. Although Sganarelle looks weak in Dom Juans eyes, looking most into his character, one may give away the skill in him. Amid the struggles he bear s in animation with Dom Juan, he remains faithful to his faith. flat though he obeys his master, this does not sweep away his faith in God. In fact, it flush makes it more intense. As Sganarelle struggles for freedom, his faith grows more each day, and the hope that he will soon be free from his masters ill doings grows yet more. He serves as the sense of right and wrong that tells Dom Juan what is fair and just, appealing to him to repent and change his ways. In Tartuffe Dorine similarly plays the role of a conscience in Orgons life. When the master decides for his female child to marry the hypocrite, Dorine tries to stop him, saying thus he who weds his child against her willOwes paradise account for it, if she do ill. Think consequently what perils wait on your design. (Act 2 S. 2) To a large extent, the similarity between Sganarelle and Dorine is their ghostlike wisdom. Unlike other people who cannot distinguish between truth and hypocrisy, both of them see what lies b eneath peoples acts of goodwill. In Dom Juan.. other people are fooled by Dom Juans look and his kind words except for Sganarelle who knows his master like the laurel wreath of his hand. (36) Dorine, on the other, sees the real intention of Tartuffe towards Orgons daughter, Mariane.She judges that his regular attendance at church is a sign of hypocrisy. Though Orgon refuses to believe her, she still insists on making him listen to her views because of her concern over Marianes future. Another servant character who speaks her mind freely is Nicole in Middle-Class human race (2001). In this play, Nicole plays the servant in Monsieur Jourdains home. Finding fault in her masters rather awkward and retard interest in the ways of the bountiful (such as dancing, fencing, poetic speech, etc. ), she openly comments and laughs at Jourdain, much to his disappointment.However unlike Sganarelle or Dorine, Nicole finds support from her masters wife, who despises her husbands social climbing. This puts Nicole in a better position to be more outspoken of her opinions. In addition, compared to the other servants, Nicole contributes greatly to the comic elements in the play. Although the earshot can find some belief in Sganarelle, it is only in the end that he could truly make the listening laugh while he cries over his lost wages. In contrast, Nicoles appearance throughout the play is well-noted in her gay dialogues that employ sarcasm and irony.Like Nicole, Dubois in Le Misanthrope (2000) also fosters obtain laughter from the audience with his farcical mistakes. The servants in Molieres plays serve different purposes. They take the role of a loyal companion, a critique, an advisor, and sometimes a fool. All these characteristics can be found in Sganarelle, making him an interesting servant in Molieres plays. This exposition triggers the question, Why did Moliere use a servant character instead of a friend whose attitude may be similar to that of Dom Juan?Indeed, a ssigning the role to a friend will make a different story, but one cannot help wonder about this issue. On the one hand, a best friend could in addition serve as a loyal companion and advisor, similar to the role play by Sganarelle. On the other hand, the role of the servant creates a more interesting story. First, it illustrates the infringe between the values of the rich and the brusk. Compared to a friend, the servant who comes from a different background has a different set of values acquired from his own social orientation.Sganarelles social status affords him views about God and salvation, which are in difference with his master. hardly imagine, if the two characters come from the same background, they will probably connive to disillusion every girl they meet, thus limiting the conflict in the plot. Second, Sganarelles social status restricts him to speak his views blatantly. Hence, this causes more conflict towards himself than to his master. With a friend as the critiqu e, the conflict will be between the two main characters, and this could make the plot very ordinary.However with a servant as the critique, the conflict resides only with the servant due to some limitations he has in expressing his thoughts. In the end, he builds a different conflict by form his masters, that is, how he could pretermit his master to avoid all the troubles. Third, with the servant character, the master falls into a pit that serves as his tragic flaw. Without its comic elements, the play would have been a complete tragedy, since Dom Juan maintains overcharge as his tragic flaw. He refuses to change his ways, believing that he is too in good order to have a need for God. disrespect reminders from his servant, he continues with his evil ways, because as expected, he will never listen to a mere servant. As such, the servant character contributes to the masters tragic flaw, which posterior leads him to his end. Considering this, one can sense a social commentary Moli ere wants to impart through the play. By using the character of a servant, the playwright presents the reality that sometimes those in the lower class who lack befitting education and possessions have better spectral wisdom and piety than the rich.Through the role of the servant, the juxtaposition between the rich and the poor becomes more visible and effective. Finally, the use of the servant in the play gives it a funny tone. Specifically, Sganarelles lousy effort to pass through up for his masters faults, together with his inner monologues, makes the play interesting and funny. At the end, those who watch it will find themselves ruminate on the message of the play at the same time laughing at Sganarelle crying, My wages My wages My wages (47)