Tarttuffe

Auth
or
Jean-Baptiste
Poquelin known by his
stage name Molière
was a French
playwright and actor
who is considered to be
one of the greatest
masters of comedy in
Western literature.
Molière was well suited
to begin a life in the
theatre. Thirteen years
as an itinerant actor

Molière wrote Tartuffe, originally
entitled Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur (Tartuffe the
Imposter) in 1664. In the play, Orgon, a wealthy
Parisian patriarch (male head of household) falls
under the influence of a self-righteous hypocrite
named Tartuffe. Orgon becomes obsessed with
Tartuffe and the religious ideals the trickster
supposedly stands for. Molière was apparently
very fond of plot lines where a guy becomes
obsessed with something. Many of his plays have
similar plots. In Tartuffe, it's religion; in Le
Bourgeois Gentilhomme (The Bourgeois
Gentleman), it's social status; in L'Avare (The
Miser), it's money; in Le Malade Imaginaire (The
Hypochondriac), it's doctors, etc. In each case,

Tartuffe, by Moliere’s standard considered
it (quite possibly) his best-known play.
The reasons behind the play's fame are
simple: it was scandalous. By
1664, Molière was already a big name in
French theater. That same year, King
Louis XIV had agreed to be the godfather
of Molière's first son. Molière's theater
troupe was called the Troupe du Roi.
That's The King's Troupe. Major success
seems to always cause lots of problems.

Tartuffe riled up Molière's critics even
more than his previous plays. At the
time, the Catholic Church was a major
political power in France. As you might
imagine, a play about a hypocritical
criminal masquerading as a holy man
didn't go over too well. The dévots, a
group of ultra-conservative Catholic
nobility, were especially offended. And it
didn't help that Orgon, a member of the

"Tartuffe" (along with the noun tartuffery )
has entered into the dictionary in both
English and French. A tartuffe, as you
might expect, is a hypocrite, religious or
otherwise; tartuffery is, well, acting like
Tartuffe.

 Orgon- the head of a prosperous family
 Tartuffe- a man who purports to be holy, but
is really a fraud.
 Dorine-is Mariane's maid. She's also saucy,
sassy, and streetwise. She's always ready with a
snappy comeback and some good advice.
 Cléante- Orgon’s Brother-in-law;both a wise
man and a wise guy: he's a perceptive, learned,
intellectual etc..
 Elmire- Wife of Orgon.
 Mariane-is daddy's little girl. She loves her

 Damis- Son Of Orgon.
 Madame Pernelle- Mother of Orgon.
 Valère- Mariane’s fiancé
 Monsieur Loyal-is a bearer of bad news
and a lackey for Tartuffe.
 Police Officer-The officer is responsible
for arresting Tartuffe. More
importantly, he acts as the mouthpiece for
the King.
 Flipote- Madame Pernelle's maid.

There's a storm brewing at Orgon's
house. According to his mother, Madame
Pernelle, Orgon's family has become
decadent and depraved. They're unable to
see the greatness of Tartuffe, a beggar
and holy man Orgon recently took in.
According to the rest of Orgon's family,
Orgon has been "taken in." They think
Tartuffe is a hypocritical, self-righteous
con artist. When Orgon returns from the

When Orgon attempts to explain why Tartuffe is
such a great and admirable man, Cléante sees
right through his brother-in-law's unsound
reasoning. Cléante asks Orgon about the rumored
postponement of Mariane's (Orgon's daughter)
wedding. Orgon confirms that it has indeed been
postponed, but he will say nothing further.
Cléante is rightfully concerned. Orgon calls
Mariane in for a chat. He wants to know how she
feels about Tartuffe. When she acts surprised, he
tells her how she's supposed to feel: she respects
him, is fond of him, and will marry him. Mariane is
speechless, but luckily Dorine, a saucy

Once Orgon leaves, an irritated Dorine
tells Mariane that she can't believe how
weak she acts in front of her father.
Although she is hard on Mariane, Dorine
eventually relents and agrees to help the
girl. Valère, Mariane's fiancé, enters. He's
heard the bad news about their wedding
plans. Soon enough he and Mariane are
arguing over nothing in particular. Dorine
gets them to kiss and make up. The

When Damis, Orgon's son, hears about his
father's plan to marry Mariane to Tartuffe, he
flips out and tells Dorine that he's going to
give Tartuffe a knuckle sandwich. Dorine has
a better idea: she's arranged for a meeting
between Tartuffe and Elmire, Orgon's wife.
Damis insists on watching, and spies on the
conversation while hiding in a closet. During
the meeting, Tartuffe makes a rather
awkward attempt to seduce Elmire. When he
fails, Elmire strikes a deal with him. If he
refuses to marry Mariane, she says, she
won't tell Orgon about what just happened.

Cléante attempts to reason with Tartuffe
and get him to give Damis a second
chance, but Tartuffe refuses. All the
while, things get worse: Mariane can no
longer bear the stress of her impending
marriage. When Orgon appears, marriage
contract in hand, Mariane, Dorine, and
Elmire plead with him. Though he has
pangs of conscience, he stands firm.
Elmire takes matters into her own

When Tartuffe arrives, she does her best to
"seduce" him. He is skeptical of the whole
situation, given the quick about-face, and
demands that she give him some concrete
sign of her affection. Elmire becomes
increasingly antsy, and eventually asks
Tartuffe to step outside the room and look
to make sure her husband – Orgon – isn't
around. When he does, Orgon pops out
from under the table, enraged. Elmire
tries to get him to hide again, in order
that he might watch more and really

As it turns out, not only does Tartuffe have
the rights to Orgon's property, he also has a
number of documents that, if they were to
come to the attention of the King, could get
Orgon in serious trouble. Damis
returns, ready to fight Tartuffe – literally –
but he's interrupted by Madame Pernelle.
She can't believe the rumors she's heard
about Tartuffe. Orgon
attempts, unsuccessfully, to convince
her, and only becomes frustrated in the
process. Their argument is cut short by the
arrival of Monsieur Loyal, a messenger sent
by Tartuffe. He serves Orgon with a notice of

Orgon is just about to leave with
Valère, when Tartuffe shows
up, accompanied by a police officer. He tells
Orgon what he already knows and, after
being insulted, tells the officer to arrest
Orgon. The officer arrests Tartuffe
instead, telling Orgon that the King saw
through Tartuffe's scheme immediately.
Turns out, Tartuffe is also a well-known
criminal. Orgon is pardoned by the King, on
account of his loyalty and prior aid to the

Initial Situation

 Orgon, the head of a prosperous family,
has taken in and been taken in by
Tartuffe, a man who purports to be holy,
but is really a fraud. Orgon and his
mother are the only ones to have fallen
under the trickster's spell – the rest of
Orgon's relatives, including his wife and
brother-in-law, see right through Tartuffe.

Conflict

 Orgon tells his daughter Mariane that she
will be marrying Tartuffe instead of Valère,
her longtime fiancé.

Complication

 Tartuffe attempts to seduce Orgon's
wife, Elmire. Elmire shuts him down, then
makes a deal with him: if he'll convince
Orgon to let Mariane marry Valère, she
won't tell Orgon about the incident. When
Damis decides to tell Orgon what
happened, Orgon refuses to believe him –
and disinherits him instead. Tartuffe is

Climax

 Elmire decides that Orgon needs to be
shown the truth as quickly as possible.
She makes Orgon hide under a table while
she "seduces" Tartuffe. Orgon is horrified
by what he sees and confronts Tartuffe.

Suspense

 Tartuffe vows to get back at Orgon. He
leaves quickly. Orgon realizes he's in quite
a pickle. He's already signed over all his
possessions to Tartuffe, and, to top it all
off, the swindler has run off with some
incriminating documents.

Denouement

 We hear that the documents Tartuffe has
gotten off with could land Orgon in jail.
Tartuffe's representative, Monsieur
Loyal, shows up and tells Orgon that he's
being evicted and will have to leave the
house by the next morning. Valère rides in
and convinces Orgon to flee the country
immediately; he's made preparations for

Conclusion

 Tartuffe shows up, policeman in tow, to
arrest Orgon. He's shown the damning
documents to the King. The policeman
arrests Tartuffe instead, and explains that
the wise King could see through Tartuffe's
ruse instantly. Orgon is given back his
property and absolved of any
wrongdoing, Tartuffe is taken away, and

Hypocrisy

 Hypocrisy is a slippery thing. To some, it's
obvious: Tartuffe is called a hypocrite
pretty much right off the bat. The more
we're told about him, the more noticeable
his hypocrisy becomes. At the same time,
hypocrisy goes hand in hand with
deception; it represents an effort to
project a false image. It's a hard act to
pull off, and Tartuffe doesn't do a
particularly good job of it, but he still

"Y o u s e e h i m a s a
s a i n t . I 'm f a r l e s s
a we d ;
I n f a c t , I s e e r i g h t
t h r o u g h h i m . H e 's a
f r a u d .“

--D o r i n e

Foolishness and Folly

 Orgon may be the king of fools
in Tartuffe, but he's not the only one
that's off his rocker. As Dorine points out,
Mariane and Valère are suffering from a
bit of what the French call l'amour
fou (mad love). And, indeed, Tartuffe's
undoing is his own foolish love for Elmire.
Unfortunately for just about everyone
involved, this kind of folly is catching;
more often than not, the fool is under the

 Cléante:
"M y , w h a t a s c e n e s h e
ma d e , a n d w h a t a d i n !
A n d h o w t h i s ma n
Ta r t u f f e h a s t a k e n h e r
i n !"

Do r i n e :
"H e r s o n i s w o r s e
d e c e i v e d ;
H i s f o l l y mu s t b e s e e n

Religion
 Religion was a touchy subject back in
Molière's day…but Molière himself didn't
seem to have any qualms with making some
jokes about it. The thing is, Molière's
play Tartuffe doesn't make fun of religion: it
makes fun of those who manipulate religion
to get what they want – like, you know,
Tartuffe. Still it's worth noting that there is
no direct religious foil for Tartuffe; instead,
Cléante has to do double duty as the voice of

 Or g o n :

"H e u s e d t o c o m e i n t o c h u r c h
e a c h d a y
A n d h u mb l y k n e e l
n e a r b y , a n d s t a r t t o p r a y .
H e 'd d r a w t h e e y e s o f
e v e r y b o d y t h e r e
By t h e d e e p f e r v o r o f h i s
h e a r t f e l t p r a y e r ;
H e 'd s i g h a n d w e e p , a n d
s o me t i me s w i t h a s o u n d
Of r a p t u r e h e wo u l d b e n d

Women and Femininity
 Considering Tartuffe was written in the
17th century, you might expect the female
characters to be soft-spoken, demure, and
generally pretty dull. But that couldn't be
further from the truth – well, except in
the case of Mariane; she's soft-spoken,
demure, and generally pretty dull. But
Elmire and Dorine – that's a whole
different story. Each one defies

"Y o u 'r e m u c h t o o f r e e
w i t h m o n e y , a n d I 'm
d i s t r e s s e d
To s e e y o u s o
e l a b o r a t e l y
d r e s s e d .
Wh e n i t 's o n e 's
h u s b a n d t h a t o n e
a i ms t o p l e a s e ,
On e h a s n o n e e d f o r

Lies and Deceit
 Here's a question for you: should one
always tell the truth under all
circumstances? Molière seems to think
not. Sure, Tartuffe is the one that does
most of the lying, but what are we to
make of, say, Elmire? She's willing to lie
and cover up the truth – twice – in order
to manipulate and expose Tartuffe. It is
important to remember that shegets
results by lying, while Damis only creates

Ma d a me P e r n e l l e :

"A n d y o u , h i s
s i s t e r , s e e m s o p u r e ,
So s h y , s o
i n n o c e n t , a n d s o
d e mu r e .
Bu t y o u k n o w wh a t
t h e y s a y a b o u t s t i l l
wa t e r s .

Morality and Ethics
 So, on one hand we've got Tartuffe. He
acts like a moral authority while doing
tons of immoral and unethical things: he
lies, steals, blackmails, attempts to
commit adultery…the list goes on and on.
On the other hand, we have Cléante. He
has a handle on these sorts of matters,
and he's not afraid to share his opinions.
He explains to Orgon why Tartuffe is full
of lies, and he confronts Tartuffe

Ma d a me P e r n e l l e :

"Wh a t h e r e p r o v e s
d e s e r v e s r e p r o o f ,
H e 's o u t t o s a v e y o u r
s o u l s , a n d a l l o f y o u
Mu s t l o v e h i m, a s my
s o n wo u l d h a v e y o u
d o ."

Marriage
 Marriage is many things in Tartuffe. It's
political; that is, it's just as much about
making alliances as it is about love. It is
about love, of course, but the workings of
love are hampered throughout the play.
We're told that marriage is ultimately
decided by the father of the bride. We're
also told, however, that a father's mistake
will cost him dearly, that the bonds of
marriage are only as good as the match
that's been made. All this is to say that

Ma r i a n e :
"You can't mean, Father…"

Or g o n :
"Y e s , T a r t u f f e s h a l l
be
Allied by marriage to this family,
And he's to be your husband, is that
clear?
It's a father's privilege…"

Sin
 We hear some strange opinions about sin
in Tartuffe. Madame Pernelle tells
everyone that Tartuffe is the authority as
far as sin's concerned. Nobody listens of
course…well, except for Orgon. Now, you
may be wondering what separates "sin"
from "morality and ethics." Truth is,
they're intimately related. But in this case,
it's a matter of specifics. Tartuffe manages
to ignore so many real, Christian rules
about proper behavior – even as he's

 We find ourselves in Paris, inside the house
of Orgon.
 Madame Pernelle, Orgon's dear mama, is
headed out the door, and fast. She's sick of
what's going on in her son's house.
 Everyone – meaning Elmire, Orgon's
second wife, Damis, his son, Mariane, his
daughter, and Cléante, his brother-in-law –
try their best to get her to chill out.
Nothing, however, can stop the old lady
from complaining and hating on anything
and everything.
 It seems that Madame Pernelle is angry
because her man Tartuffe gets no respect.

 Each member of the family has their own
strategy for convincing Madame Pernelle:
Damis just sort of gets angry, Elmire
pleads, Cléante appeals to her reason, and
Dorine, well…Dorine is, as you'd expect from
a French maid, pretty saucy.
 None of this works, of course. Madame
Pernelle tells them they should all be grateful
to have Tartuffe bossing them around and
telling them how to live. As far as she's
concerned, he's pretty much the ultimate life
coach.

 Cléante and Dorine stay behind and
discuss the situation.
 Cléante is amazed at how quickly Tartuffe
has bamboozled Madame Pernelle.
 Dorine agrees, but she's even more afraid
of the way he's tricking Orgon. Though he
was once a wise and prudent advisor to
the king, he seems to have gone a bit soft
in the noggin. Now, she says, he's
obsessed with Tartuffe and ignores

 Elmire, Mariane, and Damis come back,
looking worn out. They've been getting
another lecture from Madame Pernelle.
 Elmire has seen Orgon coming, and she
decides to head upstairs.
 Cléante agrees to have a chat with him,
and promises to bring up the question of
Mariane's upcoming marriage to Valère –
he wants to make sure he can marry
Valère's sister once all is said and done.

 Orgon rolls in, having just come from a trip out of
town.
 He proceeds to ignore Cléante.
 He wants to hear about what's happened to the
family in the time since he left.
 Dorine tells him that Elmire has been sick with a
fever, but all Orgon really wants to hear about is
Tartuffe. Every time Dorine tells him anything
about his wife – all about how she's felt sick and
suffered – he says, "And Tartuffe?"
 Dorine tells him that he's been doing fine, eating,
drinking and sleeping altogether too much for
such a pious guy.

 Now it's time for the title bout between Cléante
and Orgon.
 Cléante tells his brother-in-law that Dorine was
disrespecting him – and with good reason. He
asks him how he could fall for Tartuffe's tricks.
 Orgon will hear none of this. He tells Cléante
about how cool, how brilliant and humble Tartuffe
is. Soon enough, Orgon promises, Cléante, will
see the light. Oh, and Orgon also says
that, thanks to Tartuffe and his most excellent
teachings, he could lose his whole
family, mother, children, brother and wife, and not
feel a thing. Yuck.
 Cléante listens to Orgon babble on for a
while, listens to him talk about his first encounter

 He goes on to tell Cléante how Tartuffe helps to "keep
an eye" on Elmire, and that he's a veritable sin
detector. Heck, he won't even hurt a fly.
 Cléante, ever reasonable, can't believe what he hears.
 When Orgon accuses him of impiety, he flies off the
handle – in the most reasonable way possible, of
course – and tells Orgon what a dunce he is to
believe in all of Tartuffe's righteous clap-trap.
 Cléante makes it clear that he's no atheist – he simply
knows the difference between truth and lies, real
piety and hypocrisy. The difference between the two
of them is, well, that Cléante isn't a gullible idiot.
Cléante likes big, important terms like Nature and
Reason and he, well, really likes to use them. A lot.
He talks a lot.
 Orgon makes some sarcastic remarks about how wise

 He lists some key virtues which all good, Christian
men should demonstrate: humility, good
intentions, a desire to do good works, sincerity,
humility, humility and…humility.
 At this point, Orgon is sick to death of hearing
Cléante lecture, and he asks if he can leave.
 Cléante lets him go, but quickly gets him to come
back.
 He asks about the whole Mariane-Valère wedding
thing, as per Damis's wishes.
 Orgon tells him that, yes, he gave them his
blessing and set a date. Cléante asks if he's now
postponed it. Orgon has, but he won't say why.

 Orgon decides it's time he had a little heart-to-
heart with Mariane, but before the confab can
begins, he checks the room for eavesdroppers.
 That done, he starts buttering her up, telling her
how good a daughter she is. He goes on to say
that in order to repay him for his love she should
do what she's told. She, being the good daughter
that she is, responds in the affirmative.
 Orgon pops the question, or, uh, a question: How
do you like Tartuffe? It's the kind of thing you
might have had your best bud do for you in
Middle School – he's like Tartuffe's wingman.
 Mariane doesn't really know what to say
and, so, she tells Orgon that whatever's good for
Daddy's good for her.
 Unfortunately, Orgon wants her to marry Tartuffe.

 Dorine shows up; Orgon accuses her of
eavesdropping and tells her to buzz off.
 Dorine says to Orgon, that the gossip around
town is that he wants to Mariane to marry
Tartuffe, The maid says that the idea is so silly
she has to laugh.
 Orgon can't believe that Dorine can't believe that
he would want Mariane to marry Tartuffe.
 The more he tries to convince her the more she
mocks him.
 She tells Mariane that it's all just a hoax and that
she shouldn't believe her father.
 Dorine finally drops the hoax thing and tells
Orgon straight out that nobody can believe he's
acting like such a twit. How could you have your
daughter marry a man who claims to be so

 Dorine tries another strategy. Wouldn't it be
something of a strange match, she asks Orgon,
considering that Mariane really doesn't like
Tartuffe? Because, she says, when a bride doesn't
like her groom, she usually cheats. Oh, and a
father who gives her daughter to such a man will
pay for his sins. Yeah, she really lays it on thick.
 Orgon can't believe what he's hearing from the
servant-girl; he tells Mariane to ignore Dorine. Oh,
and it turns out that Valère gambles and doesn't
go to church too often.
 Orgon tries to convince Mariane that he's doing
the right thing.
 Dorine continues to make fun of him and Tartuffe.
 She interrupts him again and again, until Orgon
finally threatens to hit her.

 Dorine criticizes Mariane for not taking a stand
against her father.
 Mariane doesn't really have a good answer. She's
just used to doing what she's told; she's done it
for so long.
 Dorine puts her on the spot. Do you love Valère,
she asks, or don't you?
 Mariane is insulted for a bit, but then she tells
Dorine how much she loves, really loves Valère,
She says she would rather kill herself than marry
Tartuffe.
 Dorine thinks this is just about the stupidest
solution to the problem she can think of. She has
no sympathy for that kind hopelessness. She tells
Mariane to buck up.

 Valère comes in, looking concerned. He's heard
that Mariane is supposed to marry Tartuffe
now, and he wants some answers.
 Mariane gets him up to speed.
 When Valère asks Mariane what she's going to
do, she's reluctant to tell him.
 Eventually, she says, she doesn't know what she's
going to do.
 Valère, clearly annoyed, tells her to go ahead and
marry Tartuffe.
 Mariane tells him that of course she'll follow his
advice. The two continue fighting – for no reason
in particular – while Dorine watches.

 Of course, when Mariane calls his bluff and tells
him to get lost, Valère pretends not to hear her.
 At this point, Dorine has had enough, and she
tells the both of them to get their acts together.
She gets them to put aside their silly, totally
made-up problems, at least long enough to
discuss the whole Orgon-Tartuffe problem.
 Dorine tells Mariane to pretend to play along with
her father's plan, but to find anyway possible to
delay the proceedings-- faking sick, seeing bad
omens etc.
 Valère, on the other hand, has to go tell his
friends what's up and try to get them to pressure

 Damis is ready to kick the crap out of
Tartuffe.
 The servant tries to calm him down and
redirect his energy into some more
productive enterprise like, maybe, talking
to Elmire. Elmire, it seems, has some
"power" over Tartuffe – power, no doubt,
of the feminine persuasion – and thus
might be the key to catching the
scoundrel.
 Dorine has also gotten word that Tartuffe

 Tartuffe enters, talking loudly to his servant
Laurent, who is off-stage; he's going to go to the
prison, he says, to give money to the prisoners.
 Dorine can't stand his pretentiousness.
 Tartuffe can't stand the sight of Dorine's breasts,
and he gives her a handkerchief to cover her
bosom; he says the sight of it creates unclean
thoughts – no doubt in his dirty mind.
 Dorine calls him out and says that she would feel
nothing if hewere prancing around naked.
 Tartuffe doesn't want to listen to her jibes – and
he doesn't have to; Dorine is on her way out.
Elmire, she tells him, is headed downstairs to

 Elmire enters.
 Tartuffe immediately showers her with
blessings. She asks him to sit down.
 Tartuffe asks about her health, and tells her
that he prayed and prayed for her…but that
he didn't think his prayers were enough.
 Elmire thanks him for his concern and tells
him not to worry. Still, Tartuffe does not
stop. She tells him that there's an important
matter she'd like to discuss. She's glad
there's no one around to annoy them.
 Tartuffe is very glad to hear her say this… It
seems he's prayed and prayed for the chance
to be alone with her.

 At this point, he starts trying to put the
moves on her…but he's not very smooth.
 He takes her hand, but manages to pinch
her.
 When he puts his hand on her knee – and is
caught – he tells Elmire that he was only
feeling the fine fabric.
 Elmire starts moving away from him, but he
continues. He feels the lace on her collar and
compliments its quality.
 Elmire ignores him and gets down to
business. She asks him if the whole Tartuffe-
Mariane wedding thing is true.

 Tartuffe tries to tell her that a man of God can
appreciate worldly beauty, and that it's especially
easy to see the magnificence of God's creation
in her. He confesses his love to Elmire, and tells
her that his fate is in her hands.
 Elmire tells Tartuffe he should have thought a little
longer before opening his trap.
 Tartuffe uses the whole "I'm just a man, I'm not
an angel!" defense, and tells her that he simply
couldn't refuse her charms. He promises her that
everything will be one hundred percent secret, on
the down-low.
 Elmire asks Tartuffe if, you know, he might be a

 This is where things get a bit crazy.
 Damis jumps out of the closet –
remember, he's been hiding in there the
whole time – and contradicts Elmire's
promise.
 He wants to tell everyone about what a liar
and a sleaze Tartuffe is; it's the second best
thing to punching him in the face.
 Elmire tries to do some damage control and
convince Damis to keep his mouth shut; she
wants to honor her promise and avoid
upsetting Orgon.
 Damis can't imagine letting Tartuffe get off

 When Orgon enters the room, Damis lets
the cat out of the bag. He tells Orgon all
about Tartuffe's "adulterous offer," how
Elmire was going to keep it a secret, and
how he, Damis, just had to let Orgon
know.
 Elmire defends her position, tells Damis
that he should have kept silent, and
leaves.

 Orgon immediately asks Tartuffe if what
Damis is saying is true. (Remember, the old
hypocrite has been watching this whole thing
unravel).
 Tartuffe tells Orgon that he is, in fact a bad
guy, that he's awful, sinful, terrible, the worst
person this side of Judas. He tells Orgon
to believe what he has just been told, and to
kick him to the curb, please. No, really.
 Orgon doesn't seem to hear what Tartuffe
has said. He screams at Damis and calls him
a liar.
 Damis can't believe it; he can't believe

 He turns to Damis, kneels before him, and
asks him to accuse him some more; he says
that he deserves every last bit of
punishment.
 Orgon comforts Tartuffe then turns and
insults Damis.
 Damis tries to talk some sense into him.
 Orgon insults his son, asks Tartuffe to stand
up, then insults him again.
 This cycle repeats itself a few times until
Tartuffe finally falls to his knees again and
asks Orgon to pardon Damis.
 Orgon is, of course, blown away by Tartuffe's

 Once Damis's out of the room, Tartuffe tells
Orgon how awful Damis has made him feel.
 Orgon runs to the doorway through which
Damis has just exited and shakes his
fist, cursing his son some more.
 Tartuffe tells Orgon he simply has to
leave, that he's caused too much trouble for
everyone.
 Again, Tartuffe proves himself a master of
reverse psychology…or maybe just proves
that Orgon is a buffoon. Or both.
 Orgon talks Tartuffe into staying – as if he

 When all that is settled, Tartuffe makes one
more request: he tells Orgon that he simply
must avoid Elmire, just in case, you know,
something might happen.
 Orgon will hear nothing of the sort. He wants
to get back at his mean, deceitful relatives.
In order to do so, he tells Tartuffe to spend
as much time as possible with his wife. He
also decides to make him "his only son and
heir"; he matters more, he tells Tartuffe,
"than wife, child or kin" (3.7.21).
 Tartuffe is cool with the arrangement; as far

 We find Cléante and Tartuffe having a
conversation concerning the recent ruckus
between Damis and Orgon.
 Cléante tells Tartuffe that the town's abuzz
with rumors about the conflict, then lays
down a hypothetical: Assuming that Damis's
to blame, shouldn't Tartuffe, being a good
Christian and all, forgive him and let him
reclaim his inheritance?
 Tartuffe tells Cléante that he would love to
patch things up with Damis, but at this point
it really isn't possible; it's just not in the
divine cards. If he were to start acting

 Tartuffe tells him that he has already
forgiven Damis, but even so he doesn't have
to live with the jerk who defamed him.
 But, Cléante asks, surely you didn't have to
accept Damis's inheritance.
 Tartuffe insists he doesn't really care for
earthly things; he just wants to, you
know, make sure bad guys don't get their
hands on it. Just like he watches over Elmire
to make sure bad guys don't get their hands
on her.
 Cléante counters; as far as he can
see, Damis should at least be given the

 Dorine, Mariane, and Elmire roll in looking
concerned.
 It seems Mariane isn't taking the whole
"marrying Tartuffe that evening" thing too
well.
 She wants to do whatever she can to stop
it from happening.

 Orgon comes in and interrupts their brainstorming
session before it's even begun.
 He has the marriage contract in his hand and
wants Mariane to sign it.
 Mariane pleads with her father, asking him not to
force the marriage upon her. She tells him that
she'll hate her life.
 The girl says, that if Orgon insists she not marry
Valère, the least he could do is not force her to
marry Tartuffe.
 She alludes that if the marriage is forced on her
she may take some unspecified "desperate
course" (4.3.2).
 Orgon is moved a bit by her appeal, but he stands
firm.
 Mariane goes on, telling him that he can give

 Dorine attempts to get a word in, but she's
denied. As is Cléante.
 Elmire steps into the fray and tells Orgon
what a gullible dope he is.
 Orgon accuses her of being "partial" to
Damis, implying that the whole thing was a
ploy to discredit Tartuffe. If it were the real
deal, he says, you should have been angrier.
 Elmire resents Orgon's claims, and tells him
that she prefers to play it cool. She's not a
catty prude, she tells him, but a classy
broad.
 When Orgon still won't budge, Elmire tells

 Elmire pulls up a table and tells Orgon to
get underneath.
 He's a little confused by the whole
thing, but he eventually consents.
 Elmire warns him that things are going to
get a little bit weird, a bit shocking
maybe, but that it's all an act. She's going
to do her best to encourage Tartuffe, to
fan the flames of his lust, as it were. You
have the right to stop things whenever

 Tartuffe strolls into the room.
 Elmire gets right to the point…but not before
telling Tartuffe to close the door and "look
about for spies" (4.5.2).
 He apparently doesn't look very well, as he
fails to find Orgon.
 Elmire tells Tartuffe that she only acted the
way she did earlier in the day because she
was caught off guard.
 Now that everything has blown over, she tells
him, they can get busy without fear of
interference.
 Tartuffe is justifiably confused by this turn of

 Women, according to Elmire always act coy;
even when they say no, or
perhaps especially when they say no, they
really mean yes.
 Would I have listened to your whole
confession of love, she asks, if I didn't, you
know, want you? Would I have asked you to
convince Orgon to let Mariane marry Valère if
I didn't want to keep you all for myself?
 Despite the persuasiveness of her arguments
– at least compared to those of Tartuffe –
the trickster is still wary of being tricked. He
won't believe her, he says, until she
demonstrates her love "somewhat more

 When Elmire pulls the whole "Isn't this a sin?"
card, Tartuffe promises that he can clear the
whole thing up with the Man Upstairs.
 When she acts surprises, Tartuffe promises to
teach her all his tricks, let's call it Hypocrisy 101.
He also tells her that, if anything goes down, the
fault will be his.
 This prompts Elmire to cough again. Tartuffe
comments upon it and offers a piece of licorice to
help her feel better. She declines.
 Tartuffe tries to reassure Elmire again, telling her
that, really, no one will know about what
happens.
 Elmire coughs again and then finally gives up. She
tells Tartuffe that yes, clearly she has to
"demonstrate" her love. Before anything

 Orgon comes out from under the table.
He's fuming. He can't believe what a
"monster" Tartuffe is (4.6.1).
 Elmire tells him to go back under the
table and wait until he's completely sure
of Tartuffe's treachery.
 She tells him to hide again, but he can
only just manage to hide behind Elmire
when…

 Tartuffe comes in, ready to go. Everything
is clear. He does not see Orgon.
 Orgon comes out, guns blazing. Well, not
literally. He starts chewing Tartuffe
out, and claims to have "long suspected"
him (4.7.2). It seems Tartuffe doesn't
have a monopoly on lying.
 When Orgon tells Tartuffe to hit the
road, Tartuffe turns the tables. Before
running he declares, "This house belongs

 Elmire is confused by this last remark; she
asks Orgon what Tartuffe meant.
 Orgon, dolt that he is, has signed a "deed
of gift," a document that transfers
ownership of something to another party.
In this case, that something, seems to
be, well, everything. To top it all off, he
fears that Tartuffe may have made off
with something else very, very valuable
that Orgon kept locked away.

 At this point, Orgon is running around like a
chicken with its head cut off.
 Cléante tries to calm him down. He asks him
what's the matter.
 As it turns out, Orgon's fears were
confirmed. Tartuffe has made off with the
contents of the "strongbox," also known as a
safe. It seems that, long ago, Orgon's friend
Argas brought him the box just before
he, that is, Argas, fled the country. As far as
Orgon knows, the papers contained within
would ruin Argas's reputation if they were
ever released. They're what you might call

 Cléante doesn't understand why Tartuffe would
even know about such things.
 Orgon, it seems, saw fit to let Tartuffe hold onto
the box; he felt guilty about keeping such a
secret.
 Cléante, usually quick with advice, has nothing to
say. Orgon has really messed things up this time.
 Orgon curses Tartuffe and swears that he'll never
associate with "pious men" and that he'll
"persecute them worse than Satan could"
(5.1.10).
 Cléante tells Orgon to stop talking such drivel and
wise up. One bad apple doesn't spoil the barrel,

 Damis enters; he's heard the bad news
about Tartuffe, and he's ready to help…by
killing him.
 Cléante tells him to cool his jets.

 Madame Pernelle, Mariane, Elmire, and Dorine show up.
 Madame Pernelle can't believe the stuff she's been
hearing.
 Orgon gets his mom up to speed on what's happened.
He tells her how Tartuffe duped him, took his stuff, and
tried to seduce his wife.
 Madame Pernelle still can't believe what she's hearing
and she tells Orgon as much.
 Orgon is flabbergasted – he doesn't know how she can't
see Tartuffe for what he is after hearing all that.
 Orgon and his mother argue for a while; she insists that
Tartuffe is good, and that he, Orgon, doesn't have
enough proof of his guilt. This is what some people call
"getting a taste of your own medicine."
 Finally, Cléante tells them to cut it out. Tartuffe, they
have to remember, is planning to take control of Orgon's
estate.

 Monsieur Loyal enters. He's looking for the
master of the house.
 As it turns out, Loyal has been sent by
Tartuffe.
 Before going to meet him, Orgon asks
Cléante for some advice. Cléante tells him
that he just needs to keep a cool head.
 When Loyal greets Orgon kindly, Orgon takes
this as a sign of good will, and hopes
Tartuffe is willing to compromise.
 Instead, Loyal serves him with a writ, a
written court document, calling for the

 Hotheaded Damis attempts to intervene, but
he's talked down by Loyal.
 Loyal is sure that, with Orgon's compliance,
everything will go off without a hitch. He
tries to appeal to Orgon, to remind him that
he is a wise and "temperate" man, and tells
him that he loves "all men of upright
character."
 Orgon appeals to Loyal.
 Out of the kindness of his heart, Loyal
agrees to give Orgon a reprieve…until the
next day.
 Loyal will, he tells Orgon, need to spend the

 Cléante steps in and tells Orgon to chill.
 Damis, of course, wants to kick his butt.
 And Dorine tells Loyal to his face that
she'd like to see him whacked with a
stick. Loyal warns that he might have to
take her in if she continues to act like
that.
 Cléante tells Loyal to give him the paper
and leave, which he does. Orgon curses
him as he walks out the door.

 Orgon turns to his mother and says, "I told
you so."
 Of course now she's shocked by what she's
seen.
 Dorine tells them all not to be so ungrateful
(sarcasm alert!); after all, Tartuffe's just
trying to rid them of all the earthly things
that are separating them from heaven.
 Orgon tells her to shut up.
 Cléante reminds everyone that they still don't
have a plan.
 Elmire proposes that they let everybody

 Just then, Valère shows up – and he's got
even more bad news.
 He's just had word that Tartuffe has
denounced Orgon to the King and used
the contents of the strongbox to back up
his claims. He tells Orgon that he must
flee the country immediately.
 Cléante states the obvious: Tartuffe's
done this to make sure he can seize
Orgon's estate without trouble.
 Valère urges Orgon to leave; he's got a

 Tartuffe shows up, with a police office in tow.
He's got even worsenews for Orgon: he's
headed to prison.
 Orgon curses Tartuffe and calls him a villain.
 Tartuffe pays no attention, saying that "those
who serve Heaven must expect abuse"
(5.7.3). He still hasn't given up his self-
righteous act.
 Cléante and Dorine insult Tartuffe, then
Mariane, then Orgon again. He doesn't care;
even when Orgon reminds him that he saved
him from poverty, Tartuffe merely says that
his "first duty is to serve [his] King." He

 Tartuffe pays no attention to this; he sics the
police officer on Orgon.
 Plot twist! The officer turns around and
arrests…Tartuffe. Tartuffe is, of
course, blown away.
 The office turns to Orgon and explains
himself. The King, it seems, is a little more
with it than Orgon; he saw right through
Tartuffe's little scheme. He's the kind of guy
that Cléante would love: he knows true piety
when he sees it, he's wise, and he has
experience foiling these kind of liars. Oh, and
as it turns out, this isn't the first time

 The King also pardons Orgon for hiding the
papers, on account of his loyal deeds in the late
civil war. Orgon a war hero? Whodathunkit?
 Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and praises the
Lord.
 Except for Orgon. He begins to chew out
Tartuffe, but luckily Cléante intervenes before he
can say anything too stupid. He reminds Orgon
that Tartuffe is already going to suffer for what
he's done. Hopefully, he says, Tartuffe can
actually find God, become a good person, and
maybe get out on parole. You'd be better off, he
tells Orgon, thanking the King for his kindness.

Tarttuffe

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Tarttuffe

Similar to Tarttuffe (6)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Tarttuffe