The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is Madame Pernelle?
Madame Pernelle is Orgon's widowed mother, a domineering matriarch whose entrance in Act I opens the play with a storm of reproaches. She sweeps out of Orgon's household in a fury, pausing only long enough to insult every person she passes: Elmire is a spendthrift, Dorine an insufferable chatterer, Cléante a dangerous freethinker, Damis a dunce, and young Mariane too quiet for her own good. Her final, wordless act before exiting—cuffing her maidservant Flipote across the ear—distills everything essential about her character into a single gesture: she exercises authority reflexively over anyone she considers beneath her. Though she appears only in Act I and then again in Act V, she is the ideological cornerstone of the play's central problem. Tartuffe could not have taken root in the household without the social legitimacy she and Orgon collectively confer upon him, and Molière frames her as a study in how self-righteous conviction can be far more dangerous than simple ignorance.
02·Arc & motivation
What is Madame Pernelle's arc and motivation?
Madame Pernelle's arc is deliberately inverted and delayed. While Orgon's delusion erodes steadily across Acts II through IV—worn down by Elmire's hidden-table gambit, by Tartuffe's brazen seizure of the deed to the house, and finally by the letter implicating Orgon himself—Madame Pernelle's faith in the hypocrite remains entirely intact. Her motivation is less religious devotion than it is the ego of the established authority figure: to admit that Tartuffe is a fraud would mean admitting that her judgment is worthless. She finds in Tartuffe a mirror for her own severity and her contempt for worldly pleasure, and she has publicly proclaimed his virtue too many times to recant without humiliation. When the family confronts her in Act V with the full evidence of his treachery, she retreats into increasingly strained defences—suggesting that the household has misread events, that Tartuffe is being persecuted by jealous enemies—until the facts become simply too overwhelming. Her eventual admission of being "struck dumb" and "utterly amazed" arrives as relief rather than triumph; it is enlightenment at the very last possible moment, when it can help no one.
03·Key moments
What are Madame Pernelle's key moments?
The opening scene of Act I is her definitive moment. Her rapid-fire denunciations establish the household's existing fracture lines and, crucially, tell the audience that Tartuffe's influence predates the play's action; he has already, through figures like Madame Pernelle, reshaped how the family is judged and how it judges itself. Her clap at Flipote's ear punctuates the scene with dark comedy—piety coexisting seamlessly with casual cruelty.
Her reappearance in Act V is dramatically ironic in the sharpest way Molière constructs. The audience has watched Orgon be disabused; now his mother occupies precisely the position Orgon held in Acts II and III, dismissing Elmire's direct testimony about Tartuffe's attempted seduction just as Orgon once dismissed it. Seeing the same error replayed in a new character at the moment of greatest crisis intensifies both the comedy and the critique. When she finally yields, it registers as the closing of a circuit rather than a redemption.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are Madame Pernelle's most important relationships?
Orgon is her ideological twin. Her Act I lecture prefigures his own obstinacy so precisely that she functions as his prologue, establishing the pattern he will enact for four full acts. The irony of Act V is that by the time she finally comes around, Orgon is already convinced; mother and son are perpetually one act out of sync.
Tartuffe receives her most unconditional devotion—she never encounters him directly on stage, which is itself significant. Her veneration is built entirely on reputation and projection, which makes it impossible to shake through evidence.
Dorine brings out Madame Pernelle's class contempt most vividly. Their Act I sparring, with Dorine refusing to be silenced, dramatizes the play's repeated suggestion that servants and women see more clearly than the men who hold authority.
Cléante represents everything she refuses to engage with. She cuts off his reasoned argument mid-sentence, and Molière makes clear that her refusal is not incapacity but choice—dogmatism performing itself.
Elmire and Damis are both direct witnesses to Tartuffe's misconduct, and she dismisses both. Her rejection of their testimony is the measure of how completely vanity masquerades as faith in her.
05·Connected characters
How is Madame Pernelle connected to the other characters?
Study06–07
06·Questions
Questions readers ask about Madame Pernelle
Who is Madame Pernelle's son in Tartuffe?
Madame Pernelle is the mother of Orgon, the head of the household. They share similar ideologies, both idolizing Tartuffe and dismissing warnings from other family members. Her lecture in Act I foreshadows Orgon's obstinacy, positioning her as his prologue. The play's irony is that by the time she acknowledges Tartuffe's guilt in Act V, Orgon is already convinced—mother and son remain perpetually out of sync.
How does Madame Pernelle treat Dorine in Act I of Tartuffe?
Madame Pernelle treats Dorine with contempt, labeling her an insufferable chatterbox and a presumptuous servant. Dorine, undeterred, responds with mockery, matching Madame Pernelle's tone. Molière uses their exchange to illustrate that servants and women often perceive pretension more clearly than the men in formal authority.
Why does Madame Pernelle refuse to believe Tartuffe is guilty?
Madame Pernelle's refusal to believe Tartuffe's guilt stems from the implication that acknowledging his fraud would undermine her own judgment. Having publicly proclaimed his virtue, she is unable to recant without facing humiliation. Her defense of Tartuffe relates more to her ego as an authority figure than to genuine religious devotion—she sees in Tartuffe a reflection of her own severity and disdain for worldly pleasure.
Does Madame Pernelle ever change her mind about Tartuffe?
Yes, but only at the very last moment. In Act V, after her family presents overwhelming evidence of Tartuffe's betrayal, she finally yields, stating she is "struck dumb" and "utterly amazed." Molière characterizes this as reluctant enlightenment that arrives too late to be of any help—more a relief than a triumph, highlighting the persistence of self-deception.
What is Madame Pernelle's most famous line in Tartuffe?
No lines are formally attributed to Madame Pernelle in the recorded materials, but her admission in Act V—"I am struck dumb; I'm utterly amazed"—is her most significant statement. This moment marks the collapse of her stubborn credulity under irrefutable proof, closing the ideological circuit that began with her defiant exit in Act I.
What does Madame Pernelle do to Flipote in Act I, and why does it matter?
Madame Pernelle cuffs her maidservant Flipote across the ear as they exit in Act I. This small act is a revealing piece of physical comedy, showcasing the coexistence of piety and casual cruelty, encapsulating Molière's critique that Madame Pernelle's ostentatious morality is oblivious to the real wrongdoing occurring right in front of her.
How does Madame Pernelle react to Elmire and Damis's eyewitness testimony against Tartuffe?
Madame Pernelle completely dismisses both witnesses. She rejects Elmire's account of Tartuffe's attempted seduction and ignores Damis's firsthand accusation, suggesting instead that Tartuffe is being persecuted by envious enemies. Her dismissal of two direct witnesses highlights how her vanity masquerades as faith—her stance in Act V mirrors the delusion from which Orgon has only just escaped.
What is Madame Pernelle's view of Mariane's marriage to Tartuffe?
Madame Pernelle implicitly supports the marriage of Mariane to Tartuffe, viewing it as a suitable pious union. She disregards Mariane's love for Valéere and her personal happiness. This position aligns with her broader role as an enforcer of rigid religious conservatism, prioritizing outward conformity over the actual wellbeing of those under her authority.
07·Essay angles
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Tool · Essay angles