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Quiz about Molieres Tartuffe
Quiz about Molieres Tartuffe

Moliere's 'Tartuffe' Trivia Quiz


In which a slimy little man does despicable things...'Tartuffe', written in 1669, is one of the great plays, and loses nothing in translation. Who says comedy can't be serious?

A multiple-choice quiz by _elbereth_. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
_elbereth_
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
232,778
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
438
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 24 (2/10), Guest 75 (10/10), Guest 75 (10/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. First things first. What does 'Tartuffe' mean? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. A good deal of Act Four is taken up with Tartuffe's lust for one of the female characters. Who is she? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What is Cleante's relationship to Orgon? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Orgon isn't taken in by Tartuffe's false piety: it's everyone else that's the problem.


Question 5 of 10
5. Orgon's daughter Mariane is in love (aww...). Who is the lucky man she wants to marry? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. A famous scene in this play involves Orgon having to hide. Where is his traditional hiding place? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The family is fortunate enough to have a maid who gives very good advice. (Although you never see her doing anything remotely maid-y). Who is this outspoken woman?

Answer: (Six letters)
Question 8 of 10
8. When we first happen upon the family, who is the first person to speak in the play? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which of the following characteristics best describes Damis? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Eventually, Orgon sees the light about Tartuffe, and accepts that he is nothing but a nasty con-man, not the saint he was led to believe. What does it take to make him change his mind? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 13 2024 : Guest 24: 2/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 75: 10/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 75: 10/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 99: 9/10
Mar 05 2024 : Guest 97: 8/10
Mar 05 2024 : Guest 97: 9/10
Feb 25 2024 : Guest 105: 7/10
Feb 25 2024 : Guest 102: 10/10
Feb 20 2024 : Guest 92: 9/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. First things first. What does 'Tartuffe' mean?

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.
2. A good deal of Act Four is taken up with Tartuffe's lust for one of the female characters. Who is she?

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).
3. What is Cleante's relationship to Orgon?

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'.
4. Orgon isn't taken in by Tartuffe's false piety: it's everyone else that's the problem.

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...
5. Orgon's daughter Mariane is in love (aww...). Who is the lucky man she wants to marry?

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.
6. A famous scene in this play involves Orgon having to hide. Where is his traditional hiding place?

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.
7. The family is fortunate enough to have a maid who gives very good advice. (Although you never see her doing anything remotely maid-y). Who is this outspoken woman?

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.
8. When we first happen upon the family, who is the first person to speak in the play?

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.
9. Which of the following characteristics best describes Damis?

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.
10. Eventually, Orgon sees the light about Tartuffe, and accepts that he is nothing but a nasty con-man, not the saint he was led to believe. What does it take to make him change his mind?

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...
Source: Author _elbereth_

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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