What character in a genuine literary work was the most hypocritical?
2006-11-09 16:39:22 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Well, at the risk of upsetting Iago from Othello, I cast my vote for Julien Sorel of The Red and the Black.
2006-11-09 17:05:39 · answer #1 · answered by Mistress in Chains 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say that the Pardoner in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is one of the most hypocritical characters in literature. He preaches (even though in those times, Pardoners weren't supposed to preach) against drinking, swearing, and gluttony, but he is guilty of all of those things. As a figure of the church he is supposed to be a truthful person, but he deceives people by selling them fake relics and telling them that they are real. In my opinion, the Pardoner is the most hypocritical, but there are others like him in the other Canterbury tales.
2006-11-09 16:47:15 · answer #2 · answered by Persephone 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps not the greatest, but the most humorous one that comes to mind is Tom Marshfield from Updike's A Month of Sundays.
2006-11-09 16:59:18 · answer #3 · answered by antigone 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My all-time favorite and best hypocrite is Tartuffe, a play by Moliere. He is a horrible con artist. He pretends to be a super-religious holy man, weasels his way into a rich man's household, tries to seduce his wife and marry his daughter, and steals all his benefactor's possessions---until the King of France straightens everything out. O man is Tartuffe evil!
2006-11-09 16:46:05 · answer #4 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋