Monologue:

“There are too many such mean hypocrites in the world; but from them the truly pious are easy

to distinguish. Our age offers us abundant and glorious examples, my brother. Look at Ariston,

look at Périande, Oronte, Alcidamus, Polydore, and Clitandre. No one will refuse them this title.

They are no pretenders to virtue. You never see in them this unbearable ostentation, and their

piety is human and tractable. They never censure the doings of others; they think there is too

much pride in such censure; and leaving lofty words to others, they only reprove our actions by

their own virtue. They do not trust to the appearance of evil, and are more inclined to judge

kindly of others. We find no cabals, no intrigues among them; all their anxiety is to live a holy

life. They never persecute the sinner, but they hate the sin. They do not care to display for the

interest of Heaven a more ardent zeal than Heaven itself displays. These are people after my own

heart; it is thus we should live; this is the pattern for us to follow. Tartuffe is not of this stamp, I

know. You speak with the best intention of his goodness, but I fear you are dazzled by false

appearances.”

Answer these 9 questions as your character. You will be turning this in as part of THE PREP

WORK for your monologue performance.

1. Who Am I?

I, Cleante, am the brother in law of Orgon. I am a reasonable and logical man, one committed to

stopping this imposter Tartuffe from taking advantage of my family. Though my family may not

understand, and they may not see, I will do all I can to help them see through the wicked disguise

this man wears, and should they be rid of me, they will one day see the extent of their error. I am
a holy man, one who values piety, and I am a man of honor, not one to play games with words or

twist truth for personal gain. I am an adult, though whether I am twenty years old or sixty is in

the eye of the beholder. My appearance is not what matters – What matters is the truth of my

words. I have no doubt that every word I speak is absolute truth, and if I speak falsely, may god

strike me down where I stand. I am not only a pious man; I am a pious man who pays attention to

the world around me and sees other pious men and their pious acts. I know what I know, and I

know that Tartuffe is a liar and a cheat. I was at first unsure whether my brother in law was

playing some sort of cruel joke on me at first – surely, he didn’t believe this wolf was a man of

god. However, I have quickly learned that the only joke here is my faith in my family’s

intelligence. Truly, I have been a fool, and I now don my jingly and colorful hat, which will keep

me company as I perform here in this house, playing a game of words with Tartuffe until I am

shut out from the home entirely.

2. What time is it (in the scene that the monologue comes from)?

This year is somewhere between 1659 and 1670, who really keeps track of time anymore. I am

speaking this monologue to the rest of the house, and the time of day is unclear. Perhaps the

curtains are drawn, or maybe dark, ominous clouds block the sun from my vision. What a fitting

metaphor, because the curtains are truly drawn in this home, if not over the windows, over the

eyes of my brother in law and sister. Dark clouds block their perception of the dark motives of

this Tartuffe character, and the downpour of rain interrupts their hearing of his constant spouting

of drivel. Perhaps it is night, a dark and weary night which drains the reason straight from men’s

heads, causing them to act as fools, blind and unknowing of the dangers which surround them so

thickly. Perhaps this is a land out of time – a personal hell for me, devised by the foul torturer of
the deep as a punishment for my sins left unrepented. If there is a way to shear the wool from the

eyes of my family, I am not talented enough a shepherd to cut it. If the corks can be pulled from

their ears, I have yet to find a screw long enough to gain hold. If the cataracts that blind them

from this imposter’s trickery can be removed, I am without scalpel sharp enough to free them.

Perhaps it is a perfectly bright day, and our discussion has brought us to evening, and I have been

too stressed to notice, too busy to see, too weary to ask. Once this whole situation is over and

done with, I will not say “I told you so”, I will merely continue my work and pray for these sad,

stubborn souls. Oh, on second thought, the sundial says it is around 4 PM.

3. Where am I?

I stand in the home of my brother in law Orgon, my sister Elmire, and I attempt to speak wisdom

to these pour, misled souls. I hope that they will see the reason of my words in time, even if they

ignore them now. I stand in their grand dining hall, amazed at their ability to sense the difference

between the age of different cheeses, but their absolute lack of a developed palate towards lies.

This hall is a wonderful hall, decorated well and lavishly, enough to satisfy any reasonable man.

It is absolutely understandable why rodents such as Tartuffe would seek to invade such a place,

and it is just as understandable why a man of god such as I would be offended by the vile

trickery played by the filthy creature. It is the job of righteous men of god to plug up holes which

rats may use to wriggle their way into places where they may harm the holy and worthy, and it is

my divine duty to protect my sister from the foul plans of this wretched man. This home belongs

to my family, and I would not have it infested by vermin, lies, and deceit. It is unfortunate,

therefore, that my family would be so stubborn and unrelenting in their trust of Tartuffe. France

is a wonderful place to be a catholic, a salesman, or a liar, and I know which of those three
Tartuffe falls under. This manor is a great and venerable house, and it is my privilege to visit

here when I do. It is a shame that my family are so easily tricked by imposters masquerading as

men of god, as I will no longer have any desire to visit this wonderful home if it is a house of sin

and debauchery. What sin is greater than the desecration of the holy covenant between man and

wife? Surely the only thing which can top that is the impersonation of a pious man of god.

4. What surrounds me?

I am surrounded by stubborn fools, with heads so dense it’s a miracle their necks have yet to

break. I speak to them and speak to them, but they hear less than a word, dismissing me as a

naysayer and downer despite the cutting truth to my language. The world of politics and money-

hungry schemes is something I despise and avoid at all costs, but I believe that god and his

servants have a duty to lead by good example. I am surrounded by those which should be led

well, taught well, and judged well. The people of this house are gullible and easily manipulated

by tricksters and imposters, and despite my strong warnings against Tartuffe’s wicked intent,

they were fooled into believing every godforsaken word he uttered. The tricks of this man are

filthy, and, god willing, I wish he should repent and become one of the lords’ sheep. But I fear

this hope may be entirely in vain, as a man with intentions this foul is typically reticent to repent

for anything but taking time away from his work of relieving men of their hard-earned money. I

am surrounded by my family, a lying cheat, and this home. I am surrounded by knives, pointed at

me, trying to silence my truth. These knives will surely succeed in silencing me, as I am willing

to waste time, breath and effort on these people, but I refuse to spill my blood for this home. I

will not allow myself to become a victim of this lying scum, because I am a man smart enough to

know when my words are wasted. I am intelligent enough to know when I should leave. Perhaps
I have already wasted too much of my time here. Perhaps I should change my surroundings to

my home, my family, and pursue my leisure. I believe my mind is wasted here, toiling away to

attempt to change the iron will of these folks.

5. What are the given circumstances?

Tartuffe, a man putting on a mask of piety, has invaded the home of my brother in law under the

false guise of holy action. This worm has wriggled his way in through the soft wood, and the

holes he leaves allow in rain and wind and all manner of rot. He has foul intentions, and means

to seduce my sister, and I see through his act like a jagged shard of glass. His disguise is an insult

to the good men of god this world has remaining, and that anyone would be fooled is a testament

to the sinful weakness of mankind. That one could have this pointed out to him over and over

and still not see through it is foolishness bordering on self-destructive and willful ignorance. I am

not working here for my own good, but out of compassion, a love for my brother in law and my

sister. I also work out of a sense of duty to the lord to strike down this false prophet, this lying

traitor, this wolf in sheep’s clothing. I only hope that when I leave this place, my family does not

forget who it was that made sure they knew what they were getting into. I hope they remember

that I did not lead them astray, but was the sole tether keeping their ship from drifting out to the

tides of unreality. I stay here now, fraying and splitting as they pull harder and harder towards

that dark, deep blue in the distance, with Tartuffe as the wind in their sails and the strength

behind their oars. I am the only one in this building unconvinced by the lies of Tartuffe, save the

man himself. Or maybe, perhaps, I am not, and everyone simply wants to lose their money,

holiness, and good standing. Perhaps I am in circumstances of great madness, and I am the sole

sane man in this dark asylum. Maybe this house is a cursed place, one which saps the suspicion
right from the minds of mankind, leaving them weak to such subterfuge. The devil works in

mysterious ways, but then again, so does the lord. Whose plan this is, I do not know, but I

suppose I can only pray for guidance in this most difficult and upsetting time. I wish to god

above that this will not be the end of this family, but in my heart of hearts I know it will be. If

only these fools would listen to me, this could all be avoided, with ease!

6. What are my relationships?

I am not a man of this house, and I have no personal stake in the matter, but out of respect for my

brother in law and a protective seal for my sister, I must intervene to stop this worm Tartuffe

from getting away his acts of debauchery. I am not here for myself, but the lord has led me here,

and who am I to ignore his word? I have been It is with great pain that I see my family fall for

tricks such as this despite my warnings, but it is a pain that cannot be avoided, and one that

accompanies all men of high intellect with stubborn fools for family members. I hope that one

day I can look back on this and be proud of my actions, and that the lord will one day praise me

for my actions in this matter. Perhaps I am mistaken, and Tartuffe is simply a misguided soul,

reaching out through plot and deceit for anyone to hold him. If this is true, maybe he will be

willing to repent on his deathbed, one day, in the far future. I pray that this is the case, as it pains

anyone of the faith to see someone as foul and wrong as he being sent directly to hell. After this,

I think I will prepare a few rooms, so that once this situation is over, I will be able to provide

board for my family members here, when they are kicked out from their own home by this foul

man Tartuffe. I will certainly have to discuss this matter with the father at the chapel, and I hope

that he sees things as I do. If not, I understand that it is my duty as a Christian to repent for my
misdeeds, but I do not think I will ever be able to believe this Tartuffe character as a Christian,

his acts are foul and his disguise is weak.

7. What do I want?

Right now, I want a nice meal and a drink of fine wine, but more importantly, I want my family

to see their error and banish this traitor from their midst at once. I wish that they were as good at

seeing through disguise and false piety as they are at defending Tartuffe with words, but

unfortunately, I was not blessed with such luck. I want the best for my family, for them to be

able to live in peace and in the ways set out by the lord as what is proper and right. However, I

fear that they are led astray by this Tartuffe man, and I know that such fear is surely justified. My

wonderful family already wanders the desert, led only by the compass that is their sense of what

is and isn’t true, but little do they know, that compass is broken, and points in whichever

direction you tilt it. Hopefully, they are set free by the lord, but if their 40 days and 40 nights are

to be, then they are to be. Nobody tells the lord what to do, and nobody can question his plans. I

pray that his plans involve safety and happiness for all of us, but if suffering is our lot in life, so

it is. Toil and misery is temporary compared to the joy eternal that is in heaven, and I shall act as

a servant of the lord on this earth until I am called out on that final day to join the lord in his holy

kingdom. When I am buried under the earth in this town, I will fly high with the lord for the rest

of time, and I will be joyous in my praise of his name. Praise be to the lord and may we all serve

him well before that final day is upon us.

8. What is in my way?
The seemingly obvious obstacles to my goals are Tartuffe’s subterfuge and silver tongue, but the

foolishness and stubbornness of my family are the true cause of my troubles. My family rushes

towards this sinful man like scared horses, full of unreason and fear. They are manipulated by

him, tricked and lied to. When my sister is seduced by this man, the sin will be his for

perpetrating, but hers for refusing to realize his true intent despite ample warning, and despite

my continued persistence to convince her of his evil nature. The fact that I am still here trying to

convince these people is a miracle in and of itself, and I am amazed the lengths these people are

willing to go to in order to avoid facing the truth of the situation which we have all found

ourselves in. Chief among them, my sister, it is a marvel that she can be warned and told as much

as she has and still not even be the least bit suspicious. Maybe she could work as a professional

brownnoser in the capital, be the lackey of some up-and-coming noble, she certainly has the

aptitude for ignoring problems and ingratiating herself to fools. There goes my mouth again,

spouting off unpleasantries for no reason other than to satisfy myself. That sort of talk is

ungodly, and it is unbecoming of a man of god like me. But sometimes coarse and bitter words

like this must be heard, taken like bitter medicine to cleanse the soul. It might be wrong but

getting it out helps to keep it from festering into a deep and bitter resentment. Hate unreleased is

what made the devil the devil, I say. That’s just the word of a pious man wanting to be better,

though. Who knows what it’s worth, but I’ll keep talking until I’m out of time.

9. What do I do to get what I want?

I am not a man of violence, but I use my words to try to convince my family to see Tartuffe for

what he is – a liar and a cheat. I point out the discrepancies between this man and the truly pious

men of this land, and I try to make my family see reason through reason, some light sarcasm, and
logic. However, my attempts are in vain, as nobody listens to me, a mistake they will come to

regret later. I work and work to try to convince my family to believe me, and no matter what I

say, they ignore me, excuse Tartuffe, and try to gain what they can from this situation. However,

little do they know, the only one gaining here is Tartuffe, a terrible liar masquerading as a man of

god. Tartuffe gains a house, one which belongs to another. My family loses their home, their

piety, and their honor. Why my family refuses to see this is truly a mystery to me, and how they

could continue to defend Tartuffe after all this eludes me. I will never understand why I am

ignored, made fun of, and disliked for my work to honor my family, the lord, and the creed man

has made with god, but it is not my concern what the people of this world believe. It is my

concern what the lord on high thinks of me, my work, and my life choices. If there was a way to

hear what the lord thought of me, I certainly would pursue it, and I am certain he would tell me

that I have done honorably here at this junction. Perhaps he would even speak on the foolishness

of those who hear the truth and deny it, or those who bury the truth beneath layers of excuses and

lies. That anyone could still excuse this dark seducer, this traitor, this imposter, this liar, is truly

beyond me – I will never understand my family’s insistence on the innocence of Tartuffe.

Stage
“Collage”