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Act 3, Scene 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tartuffe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hypocrisy
Reason vs. Emotion
Religion, Piety, and Morals
Family and Fathers
Appearances and Beauty
Summary
Analysis
Fortuitously enough, Orgon immediately enters. Damis seizes the opportunity to tell his father that Tartuffe has made an offer of adultery to Elmire, calling him a liar and a traitor. Elmire, however, holds that Damis should not have told Orgon—she could have handled the situation herself—and she exits.
Damis, in his emotional anger, thinks that merely revealing the truth will be enough. Elmire, in contrast, understands appearances, that she could have managed the situation far better without revealing anything than Damis could by simply blurting everything.
Themes
