Tartuffe

by Molière from 1664

About

Molière's Tartuffe (1664) was banned by Louis XIV on its first performance — the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement found its portrait of a religious hypocrite who insinuates himself into a bourgeois household too close to the bone. Five years of political maneuvering preceded the definitive version's approval in 1669. The play's central figure, Tartuffe, has given French a common noun: a religious hypocrite. Its comic anatomy of how the pious manage the credulous remains surgically precise. The play ends with a deus ex machina in which the King personally intervenes to save the family — almost certainly Molière's political bargain with Louis for permission to perform at all.

Translated from the original French.

Comedy Baroque Sardonic Witty Absurden

Tartuffe

Characters: 9
Words: 15.6k
Acts: 5
Duration: ~1 hr 57 min

Characters

#CharacterPlayerLines

1

Orgon

—

143

2

Dorine

—

107

3

Mariane

—

71

4

Tartuffe

—

65

5

Cleante

—

55

6

Elmire

—

54

7

Valere

—

34

8

Damis

—

28

29 sections

15.6k words

#TitleWords

Act I

1

Act I Scene I

1.4k10:35

2

Act I Scene II

3372:32

3

Act I Scene III

760:34

4

Act I Scene IV

2912:11

5

Act I Scene V

1.4k10:26

Act II

6

Act II Scene I

2601:57

7

Act II Scene II

9977:29

8

Act II Scene III

8316:14

9

Act II Scene IV

1.1k8:33

Act III

10

Act III Scene I

2451:50

11

Act III Scene II

1791:21

12

Act III Scene III

1.2k8:41

13

Act III Scene IV

2231:40

14

Act III Scene V

1491:07

15

Act III Scene VI

5464:06

16

Act III Scene VII

3852:53

Act IV

17

Act IV Scene I

6805:06

18

Act IV Scene 3

7335:30

19

Act IV Scene IV

790:36

20

Act IV Scene V

1k7:44

21

Act IV Scene VI

660:30

22

Act IV Scene VII

990:45

23

Act IV Scene VIII

760:34

Act V

24

Act V Scene I

4413:18

25

Act V Scene II

1020:46

26

Act V Scene III

6524:53

27

Act V Scene IV

8156:07

28

Act V Scene V

1361:01

29

Act V Scene VI

1.1k8:14

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