THE HYPOCRITE on campus

Given that Moliere's TARTUFFE is subtitled THE HYPOCRITE, I thought it amusing to title this post as I did. The campus in question is that of Valley Forge Christian College, an institution with which my family has a very long and complex history. The play was produced by Curtain Call, the "college-approved" student theatre troupe, "created in 2003 by a group of students who felt a need on campus for artistic expression in the theatre arts" (this was a few years after VFCC and I parted ways). Those students "sought out faculty members who were like-minded," one of whom directed this production of TARTUFFE, Kristin Mathias.

In her director's note, she commented that when TARTUFFE was first performed in 1664, "it met with great opposition from the religious establishment of its time." She then wisely included what Moliere himself wrote in response to contemporary criticism of his play:

"If the function of comedy is to correct men's vices, I do not see why any should be exempt. Such a condition in our society would be much more dangerous than the thing itself; and we have seen that the theater is admirably suited to provide correction. The most forceful lines of a serious moral statement are usually less powerful than those of satire; and nothing will reform most men better than the depiction of their faults. It is a vigorous blow to vices to expose them to laughter."

Reading this, I just had to wonder how these same words would be read by any college personnel who happened to find it worthwhile to attend one of the performances. Satire does not sit well with some "saints" who sincerely have too strong a sense of what is supposedly sacred while being themselves less competent when it comes to having spiritually significant self-discernment. Such people are found in abundance, even if not especially on the campus of Valley Forge Christian College. One will hope that THE HYPOCRITE might spur certain other hypocrites to reconsider their own hypocrisy.