Moliere Trivia

1. When was this play written? A knowledge of the century Molière lived in will be useful.

From Quiz Molière's "Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur"

Answer: 1664

The word "tartuffe" is now used in both French and English to mean a hypocrite who pretends to be virtuous, especially in a religious sense. The play is written twelve syllable lines of rhyming couplets.

From Quiz Moliere's 'Tartuffe'

Answer: Elmire

Poor Elmire has to fend off Tartuffe's amorous advances, whilst listening to her husband tell her what a wonderful man he is...In the end, however, Elmire forces her husband to observe with his own eyes Tartuffe's treachery. Madame Pernelle is probably a bit too old to interest Tartuffe, and you get the feeling that if he made advances towards Dorine, she would do him serious physical injury! Mariane is almost in the same boat as Elmire: her father is on the verge of giving her to Tartuffe in marriage. Tartuffe certainly doesn't do things by halves! He wants Orgon's wife, his daughter, and his money (although perhaps not in that order).

From Quiz Molière's "Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur"

Answer: Plans to wed her to Tartuffe, despite having already promised her to Valère.

Mariane begs her father not to go through with it, but there is nothing she can do to avoid the marriage, so she decides to kill herself instead.

From Quiz Moliere's 'Tartuffe'

Answer: He's his brother-in-law

Now is probably a good place for an outline of the character dynamics...Orgon (the head of the family) is married to Elmire, who is step-mother to his children by his first marriage, Mariane and Damis. Mariane has a suitor, Valere, who is practically her fiance. Cleante is Elmire's brother, Madame Pernelle is Orgon's mother, and Flipote (a non-speaking part) is her personal maid. Dorine is likewise the maid to Orgon's family, and confidante to Elmire, Mariane and Damis. Finally, Tartuffe is a con-man who has worked his way into Orgon's favour by posing as a visionary and pseudo-saint. In the list of characters, he is usually listed as: 'Tartuffe, a hypocrite'.

From Quiz Molière's "Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur"

Answer: He is in love with Orgon's wife, Elmire.

He confesses his love to Elmire, as he does not want to marry Mariane, either. Elmire rebuffs him, and is willing to keep quiet about his feelings, but Damis, her stepson, is hiding in a closet during their encounter and runs off to tell Orgon the truth.

From Quiz Moliere's 'Tartuffe'

Answer: Valere

In the first act of the play, we learn that Mariane is engaged to Valere, and that her father has actually set the date for their marriage. However, in a conversation with Cleante, Orgon reveals that he has changed his mind, and wishes to give his daughter to Tartuffe. It doesn't matter that Mariane can't stand the man - in fact, this seems to make Orgon even happier. The entirety of Act Two is devoted to this problem, as in Scene One Orgon reveals his plan to Mariane (to her horror), in Scene Two Dorine ridicules Orgon's plan and attempts to dissuade him by implying that his daughter will hate her proposed husband so much that she will be forced to be unfaithful (thereby shaming her father). In Scene Three, Dorine incites Mariane to defy her father and marry the man she actually loves. Mariane has a bit of a problem with this, as she is torn between her duty to her father, and her own hopes of happiness. In Scene Four, Valere turns up, having heard the news of Mariane's new engagement. The couple then have one of those classic fights, where both people are too stubborn to declare their feelings, and the pair nearly part. In fact, Valere goes to leave five times, and five times he comes back, hoping that Mariane will be the one to back down. Luckily, Dorine stops him from making a sixth attempt to leave, and makes the couple see sense...In the end, they realise that they are meant for each other after all, and fall into each other's arms.

From Quiz Molière's "Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur"

Answer: He is thrown out of the house.

Orgon disinherits and curses his son, even though Tartuffe admits that what Damis said is the truth. Orgon is so blinded by Tartuffe's charms that he later regrets throwing his son out of the house, instead wishing that he had slain him on the spot.

From Quiz Moliere's 'Tartuffe'

Answer: Under a table

This is the famous scene in which Elmire, determined to both end Tartuffe's incessant pestering and her husband's foolishness, arranges a situation in order that Orgon will see Tartuffe attempt to seduce her. To that end, she makes Orgon hide under a table, and when Tartuffe appears, she subtly encourages his advances. Effectively, she gives him enough rope to hang himself. Her plan works, as Orgon realises that Tartuffe is a thoroughly horrible little man.

From Quiz Molière's "Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur"

Answer: Orgon hides underneath a table while Elmire coaxes the truth from Tartuffe.

Orgon is devastated when he discovers the truth about his beloved Tartuffe, as it has caused him to lose his son, and made his daughter hate him. He orders Tartuffe to leave, but Tartuffe retaliates in reminding Orgon that he now has ownership of Orgon's home, as Orgon has previously given it to him. Flipote is Madame Pernelle's maid.

From Quiz Moliere's 'Tartuffe'

Answer: Dorine

Dorine is a wonderful character, as she freely converses with all the other people in the play, and doesn't hold back. She isn't afraid to tell people exactly what she thinks, and stands up for what she believes is right. Throughout the piece, you see her ridiculing Orgon for his foolish devotion to Tartuffe, and she even has a go at Tartuffe himself.

From Quiz Moliere's 'Tartuffe'

Answer: Madame Pernelle

And she really can talk! The whole of the first scene consists of her ranting to the whole family (except Orgon - he's probably off with Tartuffe) about how awful they are! She won't let anyone get a word in edgeways. If we take the word of Dorine (and it's usually a good idea to do so) Madame Pernelle is a complete hypocrite. Although she derides her family for dancing and having fun, she herself once did those things (and more). However, as she is getting old, and can no longer belong to that world or do those things, she denounces them out of spite. That's just plain nasty.

From Quiz Molière's "Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur"

Answer: The police officer who has come to the home with Tartuffe in order to arrest Orgon, arrests Tartuffe instead.

It is soon discovered that Orgon was in possession of a box full of incriminating letters, which involve a friend of his, now in exile. He had given Tartuffe the box to take care of. A police officer is sent to arrest Orgon over the letters, and Tartuffe is shocked when the policeman reveals that the king, having heard about the goings-on at Orgon's home, has realized that Tartuffe is a serial trickster, having gone by many names before, and Tartuffe is carted off to prison.

From Quiz Molière's "Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur"

Answer: He announces that Mariane and Valère will marry after all.

He is persuaded by his brother-in-law, Cléante, to visit and thank the king, as not only has Tartuffe received his comeuppance, but Orgon has also been pardoned of any involvement with the letters.

From Quiz Moliere's 'Tartuffe'

Answer: He saw Tartuffe trying to seduce his wife

In the end, this is what it took. When the happiness of his entire family was at stake, Orgon chose Tartuffe. But when he saw him try to steal his wife - well, that was too much. In the end, everyone gets a happy ending - except Tartuffe, who is arrested and thrown in jail (Yay!). Orgon goes back to being his own man, and Elmire gets rid of her unwanted suitor, as does Mariane, who is now free to marry Valere. The family gets to live in peace once more...

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