Tartuffe Hypocrisy Quotes Page 1

Page (1 of 4) Quotes: 1 2 3 4

How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used Richard Wilbur's translation.

Quote #1

Damis:
"Good God! Do you expect me to submit
To the tyranny of that carping hypocrite?
Must we forgo all joys and satisfactions
Because that bigot censures all our actions?" (1.1.18)

Damis comes right out and says what everyone is thinking. He drops the H-bomb mere minutes/pages into the play.

Quote #2

Dorine:
"You see him as a saint. I'm far less awed;
In fact, I see right through him. He's a fraud." (1.1.23)

This notion of "seeing right through" is an important one. Hypocrisy is a way of hiding one's own faults. In this case, Tartuffe doesn't seem to be doing such a great job of hiding his.

Quote #3

Dorine:
"Those who have greatest cause for guilt and shame
Are quickest to besmirch a neighbor's name.
[...]
By talking up their neighbour's indiscretions
They seek to camouflage their own transgressions" (1.1.31)

Dorine lays out a simple motive for hypocrisy; it's a means by which one's own wrongs can ignored or swept under the rug.

Next Page: More Hypocrisy Quotes (2 of 4)

Previous Page: Themes