The religious hypocrite Tartuffe has wormed his way into the once ordered household and vulnerable heart of substantial merchant Orgon. Under the guise of piety, he looks set to succeed in driving away the son, marrying the daughter, seducing the wife, imprisoning Orgon and leaving the family destitute. Railed against as a sacrilegious outrage by the Church, the play was banned from public performance by Louis XIV in 1664.