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Tartuffe is a satire on religion, a mystery story about a master criminal, a drama about a dysfunctional family, a romance, and a plea for common sense and reason. Tartuffe is also one of the best-loved and most performed comedies in literary history. The play is a favorite of actors, with meaty roles for all the players in an ensemble. Even minor players get turns in the spotlight. Major players have opportunities to display extremes of human emotion and play lots of lines for laughs.

The two leading roles are Tartuffe, a con artist currently working the religion game, and Orgon, a rich and gullible merchant. Neither character is visible when the curtain rises on Act One. Instead, Orgon’s family is onstage. Orgon’s family functions as a collective character in the play. The rising action of the play consists of increasingly serious encroachments by Tartuffe on the family. The central conflict of the story is the family’s effort to get rid of Tartuffe.

Two family members stand in Tartuffe’s corner, however: Orgon and Orgon’s mother, Madame Pernelle. Both characters are ridiculously self-absorbed, imperious, hypocritical, and not terribly bright. Madame Pernelle, who makes her exit as the play opens, is a classic comedy role for an older female player. Madame Pernelle is the guest who won’t stop talking and depart. Orgon is an extravagantly emotional fool, oblivious to the contempt in which others hold him. Madame Pernelle and Orgon are the older members of the family. By taking money from them, Tartuffe is depriving the younger members of their potential inheritance.

Act One reveals how completely Tartuffe has taken over Orgon’s life and divided Orgon’s family. The first act also establishes Orgon as the major obstacle to the positive resolutions to the conflicts in the story. Through his arrogance, emotional extravagance, lack of family feeling, and self-delusion, Orgon has created a dysfunctional family with an uncertain future.

Act Two develops one of the play’s subplots: whether the young lovers, Mariane and Valère, will be able to marry. The act features Dorine, the wily, smart-mouthed servant, a stock character with great comic potential for a younger woman player. Dorine is contemptuous of Orgon, who is too absorbed with Tartuffe to notice her dripping sarcasm. She shamelessly manipulates the juvenile emotions of the young lovers, Mariane and Valère, keeping their hopes for love alive. Dorine is brash and fearless, which highlights the cowardice of the other characters. The romantic subplot adds to the rising action by promoting Tartuffe from a troublesome guest to a potential member of the family, as Orgon decrees that Mariane will marry Tartuffe. Orgon’s proposed marriage between Tartuffe and Mariane also introduces a new obstacle to the successful resolution of the conflict.

Tartuffe grows bolder in Act Three, with his literal advances on Elmire, Orgon’s wife. These scenes are the most psychologically complex in the play as the roles of major characters subtly change. Tartuffe’s character slides from sleazy to sinister. Orgon changes from buffoon to bully. Elmire moves from feeling self-confidence to wariness as she realizes how dangerous Tartuffe really is. The confrontation among Orgon, Damis, and Tartuffe reveals Tartuffe’s skill at manipulating Orgon’s insecurity and his patriarchal need for absolute obedience. By the end of the act, Orgon disinherits his son, Damis, and deeds most of his property to Tartuffe. Orgon’s antagonist seems to have triumphed.

The rising action continues in Act Four, as Tartuffe tightens his hold. However, the act also moves toward resolution of the conflicts. Elmire’s seductive scene with Tartuffe, which Orgon witnesses, finally restores Orgon’s reason and turns him against Tartuffe. The scene is infused with tension and titillation because Elmire is performing for two men. She pretends to seduce Tartuffe but also reminds her husband of the affection he’s been missing. Act Four ends with suspense. Orgon’s last-minute reference to a strong-box is a clue that there will be important revelations to come.

Tartuffe keeps winning through most of Act Five, and his character grows ever more dangerous. Orgon’s explanation of the strong-box reveals Tartuffe as a blackmailer, not just a shyster. The audience now recognizes that Orgon had a stronger motivation for following Tartuffe than self-deluded righteousness. The act provides comic relief with the character of Monsieur Loyal, the gracious but menacing bailiff who comes to evict Orgon. Monsieur Loyal’s turn in the spotlight is short, but it’s a rich opportunity for a skilled minor player. The plot’s suspense tightens with the arrival of a royal officer with an arrest warrant. His arrest of Tartuffe instead of Orgon is the climax of the play. The officer’s dialogue is short, but his speech contains all of the play’s falling action and resolution, and the player gets to represent the King, the all-wise, benevolent, godlike being who makes sure the comedy ends happily.

Tartuffe has simple and natural language, even though it’s written and spoken in verse. The play’s memorable characters behave in ways that are true to human nature and discuss universal themes that still resonate in our society. The plot mixes suspense, mystery, romance, and drama, and the satire still has a sharp bite. Tartuffe continues to delight audiences even after three and a half centuries.

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