Moliere's 'Tartuffe' Trivia Quiz

Answer: Truffle

It's a silly name, for a silly man. Tartuffe is a con-man after an easy ride, and finds it in the form of Orgon, a middle-aged man feeling sorry for himself. Tartuffe capitalises on Orgon's religious faith, and pretends to be an extremely pious holy man, in order to get his hands on Orgon's money. In the very early stages of the piece, we discover that no one but Orgon can stand Tartuffe, and that they all have to put up with him for Orgon's sake. We also discover that Orgon is something of a tyrant at home, and wilfully tramples over other people's feelings, just because he can.

Surprisingly, Tartuffe does not appear in the play until Act Three, Scene Two. Up until then, he's a strange shadowy figure that is on everyone's minds, without actually having to be physically present.

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).

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'.

Answer: False

Au contraire, it's exactly the opposite! Orgon is so blinded by Tartuffe's apparent piety that he disregards his family at every turn, and sees only Tartuffe wherever he goes. A famous exchange in the piece illustrates this quite well. In Act One, Scene Four, Dorine is telling Orgon (who had been away) about how Elmire had been very ill.

In return, all Orgon seemed interested in knowing was how Tartuffe had been...

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.

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.

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.

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.

Answer: Hot-headed, forceful and argumentative

Damis tended to lose his temper a lot, especially when he was trying to make his father see the truth about Tartuffe. He certainly meant well, though. He didn't want to see his sister shackled to a man she detested, and the family subjugated to Tartuffe's whims and Orgon's fits of pique.

There's quite a striking contrast between Damis and his sister Mariane, in that he argues where she conciliates. Unfortunately, neither approach is successful.

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...