The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is Flipote?
Flipote is Madame Pernelle's personal maidservant and represents the most marginal figure in Tartuffe. She appears only in the opening minutes of Act I, Scene 1, contributes no significant dialogue, and exits with her mistress before the plot begins. Molière intentionally places her on stage. As a silent presence, her passivity functions as a form of characterization. In a play focused on power dynamics, Flipote embodies the lowest tier of the household hierarchy: a woman without a voice, wit, or the protection that even minimal social standing affords.
02·Arc & motivation
What is Flipote's arc and motivation?
Describing Flipote as having an arc in a traditional sense is a stretch. Her presence is confined to a single scene, and the audience perceives no interiority. If any motivation can be attributed to her, it is the basic instinct of endurance — she remains close to Madame Pernelle because her role demands it, following behind as her mistress delivers a sweeping condemnation of every member of Orgon's family. Her sustained silence becomes a form of action: Flipote absorbs the chaos of the opening scene without responding. She does not flinch, protest, or seek sympathy from the audience with a knowing glance. She simply waits to be dismissed — and instead receives a strike.
03·Key moments
What are Flipote's key moments?
The one scene that defines Flipote's stage presence is Madame Pernelle's exit in Act I, Scene 1. After lecturing Orgon's wife Elmire, mocking the children, and clashing with the sharp-tongued maid Dorine, Madame Pernelle sweeps toward the door and slaps Flipote, instructing her to hurry along. The slap serves as the scene's punctuation. Following Dorine's verbal confrontation with Madame Pernelle, the violence against Flipote emphasizes that wit and language serve as protections in this household. Dorine deflects with words; Flipote, lacking any, receives a blow. This moment is presented as physical comedy, though it carries a sharp edge — the woman championing Christian virtue and decorum has just struck a servant without justification. Molière establishes the play's central irony — piety masking cruelty — within this brief, almost dismissive moment.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are Flipote's most important relationships?
Madame Pernelle is the only relationship Flipote portrays on stage, characterized by pure vertical power dynamics. Madame Pernelle does not acknowledge Flipote as a person; she perceives her as an extension of her own will, a thing meant to move quickly. The slap stems not from anger alone — it reflects impatience devoid of self-reflection, the casual cruelty of someone who has absorbed Tartuffe's rhetoric about moral order without considering the consequences for those beneath her.
Dorine serves as a useful contrast. Both women are servants within the same chaotic household, but Dorine possesses intelligence, irony, and the courage to speak. She confronts Madame Pernelle with words and succeeds. Flipote faces her with silence and is struck. Together, these characters illustrate the spectrum of servant experiences in the play: one who can resist through language, and one who cannot resist at all. Flipote's voicelessness highlights Dorine's eloquence as remarkable and hard-won.
Orgon's household represents the broader context Flipote occupies without engaging. She is the furthest ripple of the disorder introduced by Tartuffe — someone so peripheral that the hypocrisy at the heart of the plot only reaches her as ambient violence, exemplified by a slap from a woman convinced of her righteousness.
05·Connected characters
How is Flipote connected to the other characters?
Study06–07
06·Questions
Questions readers ask about Flipote
Who is Flipote in Tartuffe?
Flipote is Madame Pernelle's personal maidservant and the most marginal figure in Tartuffe. She appears only in Act I, Scene 1, contributes no meaningful dialogue, and exits with her mistress before the main plot begins. Molière places her on stage as a silent presence whose passivity functions as characterization, embodying the lowest tier of the household hierarchy — a woman without voice, wit, or social protection.
What happens to Flipote in Act I, Scene 1?
Flipote is slapped by Madame Pernelle as the older woman sweeps out the door at the end of Act I, Scene 1. After lecturing every member of Orgon's family and clashing verbally with the maid Dorine, Madame Pernelle strikes Flipote and orders her to hurry along. The blow is presented as physical comedy, but it also exposes the casual cruelty hiding beneath Madame Pernelle's self-righteous piety.
What is Flipote's relationship with Madame Pernelle?
Flipote's relationship with Madame Pernelle is one of pure, vertical power: Madame Pernelle does not acknowledge Flipote as a person but treats her as an extension of her own will. The slap Flipote receives is born of impatience devoid of self-reflection — the casual cruelty of a woman who has absorbed Tartuffe's rhetoric about moral order without considering its effect on those beneath her.
How does Flipote compare to Dorine?
Flipote and Dorine are both servants in Orgon's household, but they represent opposite ends of a spectrum of servant agency. Dorine possesses intelligence, irony, and the courage to confront Madame Pernelle with words and succeed. Flipote, lacking any of those tools, faces her mistress in silence and is struck. Together they illustrate that in this household, language is protection — and Flipote has none.
Why does Molière include such a minor, silent character as Flipote?
Molière includes Flipote to make a structural and moral point in a single wordless moment. Her silence and her slap establish the play's central irony — that piety masks cruelty — before the main plot even begins. As the lowest figure in the household hierarchy, Flipote shows that Tartuffe's corrupting influence radiates outward to affect even those most peripheral to the action, reaching them as ambient, unjustified violence.
Does Flipote have any lines or famous quotes in Tartuffe?
Flipote has no recorded lines or memorable quotes in Tartuffe. Her role is strictly non-verbal: she follows Madame Pernelle through the opening scene in silence and receives a slap rather than a cue to speak. This total absence of dialogue is her defining trait, and Molière uses it deliberately to contrast her voicelessness with Dorine's eloquent defiance in the very same scene.
What does Flipote symbolize in Tartuffe?
Flipote symbolizes the lowest point in Orgon's disordered household and the hidden violence of false virtue. By silently absorbing a blow from a woman convinced of her own righteousness, she quietly condemns the hypocrisy at the heart of the play. She is, as the analysis puts it, a comic mirror — small, unnoticed, and struck — reflecting everything that Tartuffe's influence creates in those around him.
07·Essay angles
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Tool · Essay angles