Study Guide

Tartuffe Characters

By Molière

There are many words that could be used to describe Orgon: idiot, dunce, sucker, chump,...

Tartuffe's reputation precedes him. His name is the title, and the characters of this play spend...

Dorine is Mariane's maid. She's also saucy, sassy, and streetwise. She's always ready with a...

Cléante is both a wise man and a wise guy: he's a perceptive, learned, intellectual, you...

Elmire is what you might call a strong woman. And we're not talking 17th century strong, no...

Mariane is daddy's little girl. She loves her guy, Valère, there's no doubt about it, but...

Damis lays it all on the line in Act 1, Scene 1, when he tells Madame Pernelle that Tartuffe's...

Madame Pernelle is Orgon's mother. Like her son, she's enamored with Tartuffe. She eats up every...

Valère is a nice guy who very nearly finishes last. Sure, he and Mariane have a little...

Monsieur Loyal is a bearer of bad news and a lackey for Tartuffe. Which makes sense: he's just as...

The officer is responsible for arresting Tartuffe in the play's final scene. More importantly, he...

Flipote is Madame Pernelle's maid. She gets slapped and generally disrespected by Pernelle at the...