Character list for Tartuffe

the mother of Orgon

the husband of Elmire. His first wife died.

the wife of Orgon and step mom to the kids.

the son of Orgon. Doesn't like Tartuffe at all.

the daughter of Orgon who is in love with Valere

the brother-in-law of Orgon. Brother of Elmire.

a hypocrite. a holy man.

Mariane's maid, also doesn't care for Tartuffe, very outspoken

a bailiff

Madam Pernelle's servant

mentioned end of pg 8

Madame Pernelle, visiting her son Orgon's house, uses the opportunity to criticize all the members of the house and to praise their boarder, Madame Pernelle, visiting her son Orgon's house, uses the opportunity to criticize all the members of the house and to praise their boarder, Tartuffe, because he is a man of such holiness and zeal. The others present offer objections to Tartuffe, maintaining that he is false and hypocritical, but Madame Pernelle will not entertain such thoughts. As she leaves, she admonishes everyone to follow Tartuffe's precepts. After Madame Pernelle's departure, Cléante and Dorine talk about Tartuffe and both agree that he has beguiled Orgon. Damis, Orgon's son, wonders whether his father will still allow Mariane to marry Valère; Damis must know Orgon's feelings because he wants to marry Valère's sister. He asks Cléante to question Orgon about his promise to allow the marriage to take place. Orgon arrives and seems much more concerned about the welfare of Tartuffe than he is about his wife's illness. Cléante tries to discuss Tartuffe with Orgon, but fails and discovers that Orgon is only interested in singing Tartuffe's praises. When Orgon is questioned about the intended wedding, he dodges the issues and refuses to give a direct answer. When his daughter arrives, Orgon tells her that he wants to ally Tartuffe with his house; this he can best do by Mariane's marrying Tartuffe. Mariane is so shocked that she cannot believe her ears. After Orgon departs, Dorine, the maid, reprimands Mariane for not having refused to marry Tartuffe. Mariane's beloved, Valère, arrives and accuses her of consenting to the marriage. Dorine listens to them argue and then, after they are reconciled, she promises to help them expose Tartuffe's hypocrisy. Damis, incensed about Tartuffe, is also determined to reveal Tartuffe's hypocrisy, and, as he hears Tartuffe's approach, he hides in the closet. Elmire, Orgon's wife, arrives and Tartuffe, thinking that they are alone, makes some professions of love to Elmire and suggests that they become lovers. Having heard Tartuffe make such a proposition, Damis reveals himself and threatens to expose Tartuffe. When Orgon arrives, Damis tries to inform his father about Tartuffe's proposition, but Orgon is so blind that he thinks his own son is evil in trying to defame Tartuffe's good name and he immediately disinherits his son. Alone with Tartuffe, Orgon reveals that he plans to make Tartuffe his sole heir and also his son-in-law. They leave to execute this plan. Cléante later confronts Tartuffe and tries to reason with him, but Tartuffe will only respond in religious clichés, and as soon as the opportunity presents itself, he hastily excuses himself from the room. Orgon and Elmire arrive, and when she hears Orgon's plans, she extracts a promise from him to hide in some concealed place and observe Tartuffe's actions. Orgon consents and Elmire sends for Tartuffe. When he arrives, he is accosted by Elmire, and soon he begins to make not only his declarations of love to Elmire but also derogatory comments about Orgon. Finally convinced of Tartuffe's hypocrisy, Orgon emerges and orders him from the household. Tartuffe then reveals that legally he is now the owner of the house, since Orgon has signed over all his property. Alone with his wife, Orgon reveals that he is frightened because, earlier, he had entrusted some secret documents to Tartuffe's care — documents which could ruin Orgon's trusted position in the court. When Orgon's mother arrives, he cannot convince her that Tartuffe is a hypocrite; it is only when news arrives that Tartuffe is having the entire family evicted that Madame Pernelle is convinced. Tartuffe brings with him officers of the court, but, as the family is about to be evicted, the officer reveals that the king has seen through the hypocrisy of Tartuffe and has ordered him to be imprisoned for this and for other crimes. The king has also restored to Orgon all of his rightful property.

Moliere wrote it in 1664

1. Hypocrisy 2. Foolishness and Folly 3. Religion 4. Women and Femininity 5. Lies and deceit 6. Morality and Ethics 7.Marriage 8. Sin

*Orgon's House in Paris, France; mid-17th century* this takes place at a time when Louis the XIV reigned At the same time, it's important to remember that the Catholic Church was an equally big player. To claim allegiance to God, as Tartuffe does, was to associate yourself with one heck of a powerful institution.

*Nimble, witty eccentric* Molière chose to write in *rhyming verse*. As a result, things can sound a bit silly and nursery-rhyme-y when that same style is copied in English. However, it can also sound swift and smooth, or just plain eloquent.

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 succeeds in putting everything off balance. That's the real problem with hypocrisy: it calls the truth of everything into question

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 impression that he is the only sane person left. In Tartuffe, that rule holds true as ever

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 reason and the representative of true religious understanding. Through Cléante, Molière makes sure that everybody knows how foolish Orgon is acting, and lets them know that he knows what religion's all about.

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 convention with gusto: they do some things that would still be audacious even today. They're quick-witted, strong-willed, and a bit saucy. They're a match for their male counterparts anytime, any day.

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 she gets results by lying, while Damis only creates more trouble by telling the truth. This isn't to say that one strategy is better than the other of course. If anything, it speaks to how slippery a thing the truth can become once the lying begins.

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 personally whenever he gets the chance. Those two throw their weight around, but they're not the only ones with an opinion or two. When you encounter Elmire and Dorine, be sure to watch them carefully.

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 marriage is important. Without the drama between Orgon, Mariane, Valère, and Tartuffe, there would basically be no play at all

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 pretending to be the authority on it - that you can't help but be reminded of the particular rules he's breaking.

Note the division of the scenes. It was a tradition in the French neoclassical theater for a scene to end when a new character appeared on stage or when a character left the stage. Sometimes when the entrance or exit occurs within the length of a few short exchanges of dialogue, this practice seems highly artificial; however, in the actual production of the play, none of these scene divisions interfered with the continuity of the action, because the curtain was never lowered except at the end of an act. Some modem editions do not adhere to these divisions, but the reader can use this explanation to determine the scene divisions. In the early history of the theater and well past Molière's time, the audience was not the attentive and polite audience that we expect in today's theater. Instead, it was often an unruly group; many of the public came to the theater to be seen rather than to see a play. In addition, prostitutes and vendors were often moving among the audience. The author, therefore, had to find some dramatic way of capturing his audience's attention. In Shakespeare's Hamlet or Macbeth, for example, remember that the play opens with the appearance of a ghost in one case and with witches in the other. These were dramatic ways of immediately catching the attention of the audience. Thus, Molière must also create a dramatic and theatrical way of opening his play. He does this by having Madame Pernelle ready to leave as the curtain opens, and constantly throughout the scene, she is on the point of leaving, but then feels the necessity of coming back to admonish or criticize one more person. Consequently, the play opens with several people (seven) on the stage amid a flurry of activity. The comedy of this first scene is based partly upon the physical activity on the stage. One must visualize the flustery and overbearing woman dominating all conversation and forcing her own egotistical opinions upon the others. Intellectually, the comedy is based upon the anticipation of seeing this woman proven wrong — an expectation which will not be satisfied until the third act. By this, we mean that part of Molière's comic technique is to set up a character or characters who are deviations from the norm of behavior and gradually reveal the absurdity of these characters. Consequently, we must observe how Molière is able to convey to the audience that Madame Pernelle is the absurd deviation from the norm. First, Molière has subtitled his play "The Hypocrite" (or as it is sometimes translated "The Impostor.") Thus, from the mere subtitle, we know that Madame Pernelle is praising a man unworthy of praise. Second, when there is a stage filled with characters and only one person is holding the opinion that Tartuffe is a holy and pious man, then the tendency is to side with the many and not with the one. Third, the manner in which Madame Pernelle defends Tartuffe automatically makes the audience doubt both her credibility and his honesty. That is, she is so overbearing, so talkative, and so superficial that we immediately tend to dismiss her opinions as absurd. Finally, when each person on the stage is criticized for the most minute aspect of his behavior and when we know that Madame Pernelle's advice to the people on the stage is absurd, then we tend to doubt the validity of all her advice. She tells her grandson that he is a fool; she accuses her granddaughter of being secretive; she reprimands Elmire for dressing elaborately; she dislikes Cléante because he is filled with worldly counsel; the maid Dorine is too impudent; in other words, the entire world is wrong and only she and Tartuffe are right. Thus, to conclude, since everyone on stage who seems normal and rational is against Tartuffe and the only person who praises him is a blustery and talkative old woman, the audience would immediately sense Tartuffe's true character. And, if we examine the comments of the other characters on the stage, the things they say seem to represent good logic and a good evaluation of society in general. Cléante, who will function throughout the play as the voice of reason, tries to get Madame Pernelle to see that one cannot stop foolish gossip however much one tries. To refuse to have guests would only cause another type of gossip to arise. In conjunction with Cléante's sound reasoning is the equally sound and realistic voice of the maid Dorine. She functions as a practical, common-sense viewpoint; she calls a spade a spade. If there is gossip, she feels that it has to come from someone named Daphne who gossips about other people only in order to conceal her own indiscretions. Furthermore, Dorine points out the psychologically sound idea that Daphne was once a great flirt until she began to lose her own beauty. Dorine reminds Madame Pernelle that as long as that woman could attract people she was a great flirt, but now that she is no longer captivating, she retires and condemns others for the same vice which she practiced. Madame Pernelle, however, has a closed mind and insists only that people should be proud to have such a virtuous man as Tartuffe living with them. Of course, later, she will have to eat these words, and she will have to acknowledge that she has been deluded. The audience now can easily see that she is deceived. She has talked about the virtues of Tartuffe, but at the same time she has not demonstrated a single virtue of her own; this is seen especially in the crude manner in which she orders her own servant about. One of the interesting techniques in this first act is the use of the maid, Dorine. She is the source of much of the comedy and she is also the voice of practical reasoning. It has since become a traditional stage technique in comedy to have a servant who can get the best of his so-called superiors.

These two short scenes serve mainly to establish the influence which Tartuffe has over Orgon and to push the plot forward by introducing the matter of the wedding. In Dorine's analysis of the influence which Tartuffe has over Orgon, we see again that she is the shrewd, practical realist who sees directly into the fundamental principles of things. Her explanation of Tartuffe's effect allows the reader to side with Dorine and, when Orgon appears on the stage, we are then prepared for Dorine's interpretation of her master. In other words, Molière is making certain that we have the right perspective. In characterizing the influence which Tartuffe has over Orgon, Dorine says that Orgon loves Tartuffe better than "mother, child, or wife." This statement will appear several more times in the play, and in its purest sense characterizes the religious man who will give up all earthly ties in order to follow a saintly life. At this point, the idea is not fully developed; it will be later on. At present, it is enough to note that the idea surely applies to Orgon, because in the next scenes, he shows no concern for the wishes of his own daughter. In a sense the only plot element in the play is the question of whether or not Mariane will be allowed to marry Valère. It is typical in Molière that the actual plot of the drama is considerably less important than his intent to satirize certain types of individuals. Consequently, the plot, for what it is, is not established until the third scene when Damis asks Cléante to inquire about the forthcoming wedding between his sister and Valère.

Scene 4 is a highly comic scene which leaves no doubt in anyone's mind that Orgon is completely duped and is also blinded in his devotion to Tartuffe. The comic technique of this relies basically upon the servant-master relationship in which we have the shrewd servant who ridicules the stupid master and the master who is never aware that he is being ridiculed. The other comic technique is simply the use of repetition. That is, when Orgon shows no interest in his wife's condition, she then tells him how content and well off Tartuffe is. That Orgon then feels sorry for Tartuffe and ignores his wife's condition indicates the extent of his folly. This lack of concern verifies Dorine's statement earlier that Orgon does not care for his wife or children and could easily dispose of them in his enthusiastic attention to Tartuffe. Dorine's closing remarks carry a sharp point of wit as she laughs in her master's face without his knowing it. In Scene 5, Cléante tries to admonish Orgon for being so wrapped up in Tartuffe that he does not even realize that the servant is ridiculing him, but at the same time he admits that Orgon is deserving of the ridicule. Orgon's first attempted defense of Tartuffe is highly revealing in that, when he tries to explain exactly what virtues Tartuffe possesses, he can only stutter, "He's a man . . . a man who . . . an excellent man." Obviously, Orgon is so influenced by this man that he has apparently lost all ability to evaluate anything rationally. Orgon's speech also sets the tone for all of the objections to the play during Molière's times. It should now be apparent that the clergy and others did not object to the obvious portrayal of a hypocrite in religious matters. Even though it was true that in the earliest productions, Tartuffe was often depicted as a member of the clergy, such forthright satire would not be highly objectionable, even to the clergy. Ironically, the objections rested upon Orgon's ready acceptance of many of the Christian doctrines and on his perversion of these basic doctrines. When Orgon says that Tartuffe "has taught me to view this dunghill of a world with scorn," he is expressing one of the cardinal principles of a saintly man. Many of his other expressions are also those which are admired in the saints of the church. The behavior of Orgon is revered when that same behavior is evinced by one of the church's saints. For example, a saint is a person who would despise the world and spend all of his time learning to reject the things of this world. Orgon thus exhibits the qualities which would define a saint. Orgon also says that his soul has been freed from all earthly ties or loves. If his brother, mother, wife, or children were to die, it would not matter to him. Again, the saint is often seen as a person who puts aside his earthly cares and allegiances in favor of more spiritual matters. This stems from the very roots of Christian doctrine, since the true saint cannot allow any earthly loves to interfere with his divine mission. Finally, in terms of the norm in society, a saint is a person who by definition is abnormal. He is separated from the mainstream of society and stands apart from the average person. Consequently, for Molière to choose a person such as Orgon to adopt the language of the saint and then to have him mouth certain basic Christian doctrines while at the same time acting so foolish and contrary to common sense — the combination of these qualities caused many people to react strongly against the play and demand that it be banned. We should also remember that Molière wrote in an age that demanded a certain adherence to common sense, good conduct, and rational behavior. Even though Orgon is advocating important Christian principles, we cannot say that he is conducting his life by any principles of good sense, thus causing the audience to condemn not only his actions but the very Christian doctrines which he advocates. For example, note how often Cléante exclaims, "Good God, have you lost all of your common sense!" What becomes apparent to the audience in Orgon's description of Tartuffe is that he is a person who plays upon the outward acts of religion. Orgon describes how loudly Tartuffe prays in church, how obsequious he is in performing minor tasks in the church, and what humility he has in accepting only small gifts. These descriptions make it obvious that Tartuffe is using the outward acts of religion to appear religious. Cléante, who has never met Tartuffe, recognizes the hypocrisy in such acts and tries to reason with Orgon. Cléante suggests that even in religious matters a man must employ common sense and criticizes the apparent "affected zeal" and the "pious hypocrisy" practiced by Tartuffe. He suggests that the truly religious person has no desire to parade his "holiness" before the world for all to see. Furthermore, Cléante points out that the truly religious man does not spend his time chiding and criticizing others; instead, he is moderate and humane, trying to teach by good examples rather than by vituperative criticism. Cléante concludes that Orgon has been greatly deluded by Tartuffe. Orgon, however, is so deluded that he cannot listen to any criticism. The high degree of his absurd deviation from the norm of behavior is rapidly becoming apparent to the audience and we now observe how far he will go in his absurdities before regaining his rationality. Act I closes with Cléante inquiring about Orgon's promise that his daughter could marry Valère. To the right-thinking religious man, a word of honor is binding. Yet Orgon, who has previously given his word of honor that the marriage can take place, begins now to retract. The first act, which opened with the blustering of Orgon's mother, closes with the fickle equivocations of Orgon

As Act I closed with the exposure of Orgon's wrongheaded obstinacy, Act II opens with his putting into action his plans to marry his daughter to Tartuffe. And, without having met Tartuffe yet, the audience immediately recognizes this as an absurd act; immediately, we wonder how much more ridiculous Orgon will become before he regains his sanity. Thus, again, we see that Molière's technique is one of exposing a character's deviation from the norm of behavior until the audience is ready to thoroughly condemn his absurd behavior. By trying to make Mariane say that she thinks highly of Tartuffe, Orgon takes advantage of the fact that his daughter is a dutiful daughter, who would obey him. It is paradoxical that Orgon, in his enthusiasm, would actually have his daughter lie about her feelings, merely because he is determined to have the wedding take place. At the end of this scene, Orgon has gone to a further ridiculous extreme in determining to force Mariane to marry Tartuffe. In terms of the development of character and plot, the reader should be aware that Mariane only functions as a convenient vehicle for the other characters. As a person, she acts as an intermediary between the other, more central, characters. When Dorine enters, we have some delightful comic techniques developed. One of the principal comic devices throughout the drama is the incredible statements made by a character and the absolute wonder of the other characters. Orgon finds himself now in a position of being laughed at because Dorine feels that his suggestions are so absurd that he could not be serious and, instead, is making a joke involving the entire family. The difficulty Orgon has in convincing Dorine of his serious intent is inherently comic and also functions as a commentary on the absurdity of trying to get Mariane to marry Tartuffe. The second comic technique involves the wise servant contradicting and ridiculing the master. That Dorine is a wise servant is shown in the logical arguments she puts forth against the marriage: (1) she suggests that Tartuffe is not a pious person who worships poverty; this cannot be because he is constantly bragging about his lands and his noble birth. Such wordly pride does not blend with his pretended piety; (2) if Tartuffe really cared for only saintly matters, he would not be interested in marriage or finances; and (3) if one marries a girl to someone whom she detests, this is the easiest way to make a wife violate her marriage vows. Orgon, in the grips of his absurd proposal, cannot listen to rational arguments. Consequently, Dorine begins to ridicule him. The comic technique then involves the master making a serious assertion only to be cut by a sarcastic observation from the maid. Furthermore, the exasperation which Orgon causes by his proposal is then reversed as Dorine exasperates him. She pretends that she cannot be silent because she loves her master so much that she can't let him make such a dreadful error. Throughout the scene, we note then that the servant is in control of the situation — and the master. Consequently, since Orgon cannot control even his servant, he is then exposed as being even more ridiculous.

In this scene between Dorine and Mariane, we come to understand that Mariane is the pliable daughter who finds it impossible to defy her father. She does not have the basic common sense of Dorine so as to understand that her father has become an unreasonable tyrant and thus she views her predicament as hopeless. When Mariane cannot bring herself to oppose her father, then Dorine begins to depict the horrors of being married to Tartuffe. By showing her the distasteful details of marriage to Tartuffe, Dorine is then able to get Mariane to become more firmly resolute in opposing Orgon. The comedy of Scene 4 depends largely upon physical actions. Dorine retires to the back of the stage, and as we observe the childish arguments between Mariane and Valère, we are constantly aware that Dorine is viewing the entire scene with comic detachment. She is merely waiting to see how absurd the two lovers can become before she steps in to reconcile them. Consequently, the comedy is that of the crossed lovers at cross-purposes, and then the entire scene is lightened by the reconciliation. To bring about the reconciliation, Dorine must be physically alert and the reader should imaginatively re-create the physical actions called for in this particular scene. For example, Valère is about to exit from one side of the stage when Dorine has to run over and tug him back and, just as she has accomplished this, Mariane is about to exit from the other side, forcing Dorine to rush over and bring her back. In bringing the lovers together, Dorine is the practical person who tells them that they can argue later but for the present they have to conceive some plan to stop Orgon from carrying out his project. For the present, Dorine gives them sound advice: to pretend to go along with the wedding until they can think of some way of bringing Orgon to his senses.

As was noted in the preceding act, Mariane represents the simple, sweet, demure, and obedient daughter. In contrast, we see that the son represents the typical hot-tempered young man whose anger interferes with the trap being set for Tartuffe. In this opening scene, Dorine is seen setting her plan into motion. As the wise and observant maid, she has noted that in the past Tartuffe seemed smitten with Elmire, and she now feels that Elmire might be able to persuade Tartuffe to reject the proposed marriage. Dorine, then, sets the plan in motion without having any idea that Tartuffe will later trap himself by his infatuation with Elmire. In other words, even though Dorine is responsible for beginning the revelation, not even she is aware of the exact nature of events about to occur. When Damis hides in the closet to listen to the conversation between Elmire and Tartuffe, Molière is using one of the oldest devices in the theater; that is, the idea of having a person concealed and listening to some type of revelation. This same technique will become the method later by which Orgon is awakened to Tartuffe's hypocrisy. Scene 2 presents the arrival of Tartuffe. The reader should be aware that Molière has held off presenting this central character until the third act. This is technically called "the delayed emergence." We have now heard about Tartuffe from all sorts of people and we have been anticipating his appearance. Now his actual arrival lives up to our expectations. He walks onto the stage spewing out pious clichés and announcing his intentions very loudly for Dorine and anyone else to hear. His opening remark, "Hang up my hairshirt" sets the tone for his character, in that a hairshirt would be the apparel of penance which a person would never reveal if he actually wore one. Thus when Tartuffe loudly announces that his is to be hung up, we are immediately aware of his hypocritical nature. As a historical note, when Tartuffe asks Dorine to cover her bosom, and earlier when he loudly proclaims that he is going to the prison to share his money with the prisoners, Tartuffe reveals that he is aligned with a group called The Company of the Holy Sacrament, which undertook to help prisoners and which acted as self-appointed critic of women's dress. The audience in Molière's day would immediately have associated Tartuffe with this organization. And this brotherhood was instrumental in getting the play banned in 1664 and constantly strove to keep it from being produced. Dramatically, Tartuffe's admonition to Dorine suggests that he is aware of lustful instincts and thus prepares us to accept his downfall because of his lustful desires for Elmire. Dorine's witty repartee places her as the sensible one who sees through Tartuffe's affectations and who understands now that Elmire will have some influence over him.

The reader of the play sometimes forgets that the audience would be fully aware that Damis is hiding during this scene and is thus overhearing everything that Tartuffe says to Elmire. This comic technique, called the comedy of concealment, is often used by Molière. Molière is careful here not to make Tartuffe a hypocrite in the abstract. Tartuffe is very human, a man who has all the basic impulses of any person, and the interest of the play lies partly in the fact that his own passion and desire for Elmire is the flaw that lets him forget his ultimate plan and causes him to abandon the careful disguise he has so far maintained. Earlier in the play, Dorine had hoped that Elmire could have some influence over Tartuffe, but Tartuffe's passion for Elmire comes as a surprise to us. The manner in which he cannot control his passion and the way he pursues Elmire, who constantly rebuffs him, constitute the essential comedy of this scene. Tartuffe's hypocrisy — once vicious — now becomes comic as we see the absurd manner in which he uses reverse logic to suggest that a woman is safe in having an affair with a pious man because the pious man himself must be careful to protect his name. Tartuffe's passion, furthermore, is so intense that he cannot discern that Elmire finds him repulsive. Elmire's primary role is to get Tartuffe to repudiate the marriage between himself and Mariane. To accomplish this, she allows Tartuffe to proceed so far in revealing his love, but rather than making a scene about it or actually revealing his hypocrisy to her husband, her first desire is to prevent the impending marriage. Damis' arrival, with his hot-tempered determination to reveal Tartuffe's treachery, spoils the more reasonable plan put forward by Elmire. Elmire's view is the more rational view as she maintains that a woman should not run and tattle to her husband every time a man makes an overture to her.

When Damis tries to reveal that Tartuffe has tried to make Orgon a cuckold, Elmire does not either affirm or deny the accusation, but merely puts forward the proposition that a wife should not always be running to her husband with tattle (particularly when her husband probably would not believe her). Here, at the close of the third act, Orgon is revealed in his total absurdity. This is the turning point of the drama and the last two acts will be devoted to forcing him to see his own mistakes. Orgon's absurdity is almost unbelievable, and it shows how completely he is deceived by Tartuffe's hypocrisy. The reader, to fully appreciate this scene, must understand that during the accusation, it is traditional to have Tartuffe assume a most pious attitude, and in some productions he would be reading piously from his prayer book during the entire accusation. In asking Orgon to believe all the dreadful things about him, he is adopting a basic religious attitude in which the saintly person over exaggerates his own sins. Here, the irony occurs because Tartuffe is guilty of all the crimes he confesses to, yet Orgon refuses to believe him and immediately turns on his son Damis. In an age in which rational behavior was extolled, this irrational behavior of Orgon's is the height of madness. As Cléante said earlier, even the religious man must, at times, exhibit good common sense and have a practical side to his nature. Orgon, in his enthusiasm for his newfound religion will not even listen to his own son; he angrily disinherits him — an act which might suggest a saint who would deny his family for the sake of spiritual values. However, driving one's son from the house and cursing him can hardly be called the acts of either a religious man or a sane man. Finally, as Orgon plans to sign away all of his property, partly to vex his own family, we see illustrated for us the extent of his religious fanaticism; in other words, such absurdity as can hardly be believed.

In all of Molière's plays there is always at least one character who represents the voice of moderation and rationality, qualities which were greatly admired by the age during which Molière lived. At the beginning of Act IV, it is obvious that Cléante functions as the expression of the reasonable view. In talking with Tartuffe, Cléante displays unassailable logic. He points out that Tartuffe is not acting as a truly religious person should and also demonstrates that Tartuffe's logic is faulty. For example, when Tartuffe tries to justify his taking Orgon's money and property so as to keep it from falling into wicked hands, the irony is double here because there are no more wicked hands than his for it to fall into; then, when Cléante reasons that the burden of handling such money should belong to Damis, that the son should be allowed to bear the burden, and that true religion does not demand that a person be disinherited, Tartuffe is unable to withstand this onslaught of logical consistency. Thus, as Cléante begins to trap Tartuffe by sound reasoning, Tartuffe suddenly realizes his danger and leaves with the hypocritical statement that he has to attend to some pious duties. Throughout the scene, Cléante does not realize that he is dealing with an unmitigated scoundrel and part of the comedy of this scene depends upon how the scoundrel cleverly escapes the rationalist's traps. The entire situation becomes more desperate as Orgon insists upon the marriage taking place that very night. This forces everyone concerned to create some plan of action so as to undeceive Orgon. Mariane's plea to her father to be spared such horror as marriage with Tartuffe arouses the first real note of feeling in Orgon. But, like a true religious fanatic, he forces himself to put aside his more humane values and adhere absolutely to his own religious views. Ironically, his statement that one should mortify the flesh in order to purify it is a strong principle of many religions. The intentional mortification of the flesh is often one of the customs of some monasteries and nunneries and is consistent with many other religious practices. Such statements as these spoken in such an absurd context also contributed to the censoring of the play. This scene (Scene 3) also contributes to the exposure Orgon's absurdity. For example, when he tells Cléante that though Cléante's advice is correct, he will not follow it, then we begin to doubt Orgon's sanity. Elmire, who, along with Cléante, represents the true voice of reason, must now step in and bring an end to the absurdity. When she says that she is astounded at Orgon's capacity to be wrong, she expresses the thoughts of all the readers and the audience. Orgon refuses to believe her accusations about Tartuffe because, earlier, Elmire had refused to be indignant. In true rational fashion, Elmire explains that she dislikes the type of prudish woman who screams about any flirtation. She herself offers a polite and distant rebuff and, therefore, is never involved in an embarrassing position. In spite of all of Elmire's explanations, Orgon refuses to accept her story. When she challenges him to be present at a scene where she can reveal the fact that Tartuffe is a hypocrite, Orgon accepts the challenge only because he is certain that he is right. Elmire is, however, confident of the outcome because she knows that lustful men such as Tartuffe can easily be trapped by their passions.

During the entire episode concerning Elmire's exposure of Tartuffe, the reader must remember that the comedy is more apparent to the viewing audience than it is to the reader because the audience is constantly aware that Orgon is hiding under the table, and, at various moments, the audience would have glimpses of Orgon as he momentarily emerges from his hiding place. When Elmire tells her husband to stop her whenever he has seen enough to satisfy his doubts and when he has been completely convinced, the situation illustrates Molière's general view of comedy as explained elsewhere. Molière, for example, would always show his main character in sufficient episodes until that character's total absurdity was exposed. Here, Elmire will continue in her charade with Tartuffe until her husband cries "enough." Her final remonstrance to him is that he is to save her from her plight because she does not want to carry the pretended rendezvous too far. Consequently, part of the comedy of the scene relies upon Orgon's refusal to be convinced. For example, after a couple of speeches, Elmire feels that Tartuffe has already said enough to prove that he is out to seduce her. She constantly coughs and talks to the table in a very loud voice, hoping that her husband will put an end to the farce. It is, however, even more comic when Orgon refuses to believe what he hears and allows his wife to be subjected to further indignities. However, from the perspective of the audience, the comedy lies in the way that Elmire holds off Tartuffe's advances while her husband remains stupefied under the table. The scene could be played with a great deal of physical action as Elmire verbally expresses her devotion for Tartuffe, but continually moves away from him. Furthermore, Elmire feels that Tartuffe's religious hypocrisy is fully revealed in the manner that he suggests that he will be responsible for any sin which they might commit. After coughing loudly a number of times and still not being rescued by her husband, Elmire finally pretends to consent to the seduction, but conceives of another ruse to gain time by asking Tartuffe to see if anyone is watching. She pretends to be afraid that her husband might catch them. At this point, Tartuffe finally seals his fate by saying that Orgon is too stupid to understand — even if he caught them. It seems that only when Tartuffe insults Orgon personally does he finally enrage Orgon sufficiently to make him emerge from his hiding place and denounce his friend. The irony is that he would allow his wife to be put in a compromising position, but only when he was the subject of a personal affront would he denounce Tartuffe as a scoundrel. Consequently, the comedy stems from a type of delayed emergence as we notice Orgon taking so long to be convinced and, finally, being convinced only when he is revealed as an object of contempt. In Scene 6, after Orgon has been so adamant in his view that only he is correct, we delight in Elmire's sarcasm when she tells him to go back to his hiding place until he is completely convinced. Dorine will later chide him for being too stubborn for too long. In Scene 7, we take delight in finally having the scoundrel Tartuffe confronted with his own hypocrisy. But when Orgon says that he has long suspected Tartuffe and thought that he would soon catch him in some type of hypocrisy, there is no evidence to support Orgon's claim. In fact, since he was so hard to convince in the preceding scenes, we must assume that he cannot accept all of the indications about his own stupidity. The scene offers another reversal. After Tartuffe's hypocrisy is exposed, the tables are turned when Tartuffe reveals that he is now master of the house and that it will be Orgon who will have to leave. Molière's technique here is not to dwell upon Orgon's stupidity — it would be too easy to merely make him the butt of more sarcasm. Instead, once illuminated, Orgon then feels the weight of his own stupidity by being made the victim of Tartuffe's machinations. Molière does not allow us to revel in Orgon's mortification, but immediately makes us feel a bit sympathetic for him, since he now stands in danger of losing everything. The final scene of the act offers one more bit of suspense as Orgon states his concern about a certain strongbox which we later discover contains some important papers pertaining to the State.

These opening scenes are devoted to pushing the plot forward and explaining the amount of difficulty Orgon has gotten himself into as a result of his devotion to Tartuffe. It is ironic that earlier Orgon was not concerned about money — said to be the root of all evil — but, having now been enlightened he is suddenly very much concerned about worldly things. And, in the same way that Orgon was a fanatic about his devotion to Tartuffe and his religious feelings, now he is seen as being equally fanatic about his hatred of all pious men. Cléante, who, as noted previously, represents the voice of reason in an age devoted to reason, offers the advice which everyone in the audience in Molière's day would recognize as the ideal of the century. The point of Molière's comedies was to ridicule any type of extravagant emotion and to emphasize the rational middle course. The person who goes to absurd extremes is to be ridiculed and Cléante explains this to Orgon. He advises him to learn to distinguish between the true man of worth and the charlatan, and to be cautious in bestowing his admiration. As Cléante speaks of the need for a reasoned view of life, Damis runs in, impetuous and hot-tempered, determined to kill Tartuffe. Again, Cléante has to calm him, with words which were obviously spoken to flatter the King of France and the aristocracy in the audience. Cl6ante maintains that murder is not the proper way of handling things in this enlightened age, and that in a just kingdom such as France, one does not resort to violence. If we remember that Molière was under the protection of the king and often had to appeal directly to him in order to get his plays produced, then it is understandable why he included such blatant flattery as this.

The comedy of Scene 3 relies upon a subtle reversal. Earlier, Orgon had refused to believe anything evil about Tartuffe. Now the entire position is reversed and he cannot convince his own mother of Tartuffe's hypocrisy. The utter exasperation which he feels delights the audience because he had earlier so exasperated everyone else by his stubbornness. Note also that the clichés that Madame Pernelle recites about Tartuffe and all righteous men in general are almost exactly the same clichés that Orgon used earlier. The entire episode is summed up for us when Dorine says, "You wouldn't trust us earlier; now it's your turn not to be trusted." M. Loyal, both by his name and his deportment, is highly comic. He arrives thinking naively that he brings good news because any subject is anxious to obey the law, even if the law is dispossessing him of his house. He is also proud to have been a loyal servant to Orgon's father and he is continuing his loyalty by evicting Orgon. It is indeed comic that every time Orgon starts to object, M. Loyal reminds him that a man so esteemed as Orgon would never think of trying to obstruct justice and a man so upright as Orgon must be pleased to help the law function without difficulty. Again, Dorine makes Orgon the butt of her sarcasm when she explains that Tartuffe is doing him a favor because only yesterday Orgon said that material things enslave the soul and for salvation one should look to Heaven and not the possessions of this world. She stands as a constant reminder to Orgon of his own stupidity and gullibility.

The arrival of Valère with the news that Tartuffe is closing in thickens the plot and brings everything to a climax. Orgon is suddenly the recipient of a kindness from Valère which he does not deserve in view of the way he has previously treated Valère. Tartuffe's last chance to be hypocritical occurs when he is faced with his devious ways and he can only respond that his first duty is to his king. In order to serve his king, he would sacrifice anyone. These are almost the same words which Orgon used earlier in the play concerning his newfound religion. Thus, the repetition of these same ideas give a final ironic twist to the situation. The final scene in the drama has been severely objected to on occasion by critics as being extraneous to the plot. In other words, there is nothing in the earlier parts of the play to indicate that the king will play any role in the play. The ending of a drama should arise out of the parts of the drama which have preceded it and should never be imposed upon the drama in such an artificial manner. One of the purposes of this ending, however, was to flatter the king, who was Molière's patron. In view of the fact that this particular play was banned several times, it seems necessary that Molière try to offer some type of flattering ending. The flattery is quite blatant when we realize that the qualities attributed to the king are in direct contrast to those exhibited by Orgon. While Orgon was hasty, domineering, and tyrannical over his family, the king is reported to be judicious and forgiving. And whereas Orgon was completely duped by Tartuffe, the king sees through Tartuffe's hypocrisy immediately. In other words, all of the qualities attributed to the king in the speech by the officer are qualities which were missing in Orgon.