Tartuffe recap

Orgon brings the apparently devout Tartuffe into his home and becomes so infatuated with him that he disregards his family, breaks his daughter's engagement to Valere, and plans to give Tartuffe both Mariane and his estate. Tartuffe privately propositions Orgon's wife, Elmire. When Damis reports this, Orgon believes Tartuffe and disinherits his son. Elmire then makes Orgon hide and witness a second attempt at seduction. Convinced too late, Orgon orders Tartuffe out, only to learn that he has already transferred the house to him and entrusted him with compromising papers. Tartuffe tries to evict the family and have Orgon arrested. A royal officer instead arrests Tartuffe as a known criminal, restores Orgon's property, and pardons him. The family is saved, and Mariane may finally marry Valere.

Madame Pernelle leaves her son Orgon's house after censuring its residents and insisting that their guest Tartuffe is right to condemn their behavior. The others regard Tartuffe as an opportunist whose show of devotion has captured Orgon's judgment. When Orgon returns, he is almost indifferent to news that his wife Elmire has been ill and repeatedly asks instead about Tartuffe's comfort. Cleante challenges this misplaced devotion and warns Orgon against confusing ostentatious piety with genuine virtue. He also asks whether Orgon still intends his daughter Mariane to marry Valere, but Orgon avoids a clear answer.

Orgon tells Mariane that he wants her to marry Tartuffe. Although distressed, she has been trained to obey him and cannot directly refuse. Dorine intervenes, ridiculing both the match and Orgon's blindness, but he remains determined. Valere hears of the plan and, hurt by Mariane's hesitant response, quarrels with her. Dorine stops them from separating and makes them admit that they still want one another. The three agree to delay the imposed marriage while looking for a way to change Orgon's mind.

Tartuffe finally appears and performs exaggerated modesty before Dorine. Alone with Elmire, he abandons the pose and declares his desire for her. Elmire promises silence if he will support Mariane's marriage to Valere. Damis, who has been hiding nearby, bursts out and reports the proposition to Orgon. Tartuffe responds with a display of self-accusation so calculated that Orgon treats it as proof of humility. He denounces Damis, drives him from the house, disinherits him, and announces that Tartuffe will marry Mariane. To demonstrate absolute trust, Orgon also makes Tartuffe his heir and gives him legal control of the estate.

Cleante cannot persuade Tartuffe to reconcile Orgon with Damis or release Mariane from the proposed marriage. Elmire adopts a more direct plan: Orgon hides under a table while she receives Tartuffe. She pretends to accept Tartuffe's advances and repeatedly tries to make the hidden Orgon act, but he waits until Tartuffe's intentions are unmistakable. Orgon then emerges and orders Tartuffe out. Tartuffe leaves with a warning that Orgon has no power to expel him. Orgon admits that he has already signed the house over to Tartuffe. Worse, he entrusted him with a box of incriminating papers that belonged to a friend who had fled the country, giving Tartuffe leverage beyond the property itself.

Orgon cannot initially convince Madame Pernelle that Tartuffe deceived them. Monsieur Loyal then serves an eviction order confirming that Tartuffe owns the house and intends the family to leave. Valere arrives with money and a carriage, warning that Tartuffe has also given Orgon's political papers to the authorities. Before Orgon can escape, Tartuffe enters with a royal officer and expects to see him arrested. The officer instead arrests Tartuffe, whom the king has recognized as a criminal operating under false identities. The king restores Orgon's property and pardons his custody of the papers. Cleante restrains Orgon from gloating over Tartuffe's fall, and the rescued family prepares to celebrate Mariane's marriage to Valere.

Tartuffe returns with an officer, expecting Orgon to be arrested for possessing politically dangerous papers. The officer instead takes Tartuffe into custody. The king has investigated the case, recognized Tartuffe as an offender with a history of false identities, and understood that Orgon was deceived rather than disloyal. The royal decision cancels Tartuffe's claim to the house and pardons Orgon's earlier indiscretion. Orgon's family is therefore spared eviction and prosecution. Even after being rescued, Orgon is ready to vent his anger on Tartuffe until Cleante urges him to accept justice without vindictiveness. With the household restored, Orgon turns at last to the promise he nearly broke: Mariane and Valere are free to marry.