Act II: Scene III
DORINE.Say, have you lost the tongue from out your head?And must I speak your role from A to Zed?You let them broach a project that's absurd,And don't oppose it with a single word!
MARIANE.What can I do? My father is the master.
DORINE.Do? Everything, to ward off such disaster.
MARIANE.But what?
DORINE.Tell him one doesn't love by proxy;Tell him you'll marry for yourself, not him;Since you're the one for whom the thing is done,You are the one, not he, the man must please;If his Tartuffe has charmed him so, why let himJust marry him himself--no one will hinder.
MARIANE.A father's rights are such, it seems to me,That I could never dare to say a word.
DORINE.Came, talk it out. Valere has asked your hand:Now do you love him, pray, or do you not?
MARIANE.Dorine! How can you wrong my love so much,And ask me such a question? Have I notA hundred times laid bare my heart to you?Do you know how ardently I love him?
DORINE.How do I know if heart and words agree,And if in honest truth you really love him?
MARIANE.Dorine, you wrong me greatly if you doubt it;I've shown my inmost feelings, all too plainly.
DORINE.So then, you love him?
MARIANE.Yes, devotedly.
DORINE.And he returns your love, apparently?
MARIANE.I think so.
DORINE.And you both alike are eagerTo be well married to each other?
MARIANE.Surely.
DORINE.Then what's your plan about this other match?
MARIANE.To kill myself, if it is forced upon me.
DORINE.Good! That's a remedy I hadn't thought of.Just die, and everything will be all right.This medicine is marvellous, indeed!It drives me mad to hear folk talk such nonsense.
MARIANE.Oh dear, Dorine you get in such a temper!You have no sympathy for people's troubles.
DORINE.I have no sympathy when folk talk nonsense,And flatten out as you do, at a pinch.
MARIANE.But what can you expect?--if one is timid?--
DORINE.But what is love worth, if it has no courage?
MARIANE.Am I not constant in my love for him?Is't not his place to win me from my father?
DORINE.But if your father is a crazy fool,And quite bewitched with his Tartuffe? And breaksHis bounden word? Is that your lover's fault?
MARIANE.But shall I publicly refuse and scornThis match, and make it plain that I'm in love?Shall I cast off for him, whate'er he be,Womanly modesty and filial duty?You ask me to display my love in public ... ?
DORINE.No, no, I ask you nothing. You shall beMister Tartuffe's; why, now I think of it,I should be wrong to turn you from this marriage.What cause can I have to oppose your wishes?So fine a match! An excellent good match!Mister Tartuffe! Oh ho! No mean proposal!Mister Tartuffe, sure, take it all in all,Is not a man to sneeze at--oh, by no means!'Tis no small luck to be his happy spouse.The whole world joins to sing his praise already;He's noble--in his parish; handsome too;Red ears and high complexion--oh, my lud!You'll be too happy, sure, with him for husband.
MARIANE.Oh dear! ...
DORINE.What joy and pride will fill your heartTo be the bride of such a handsome fellow!
MARIANE.Oh, stop, I beg you; try to find some wayTo help break off the match. I quite give in,I'm ready to do anything you say.
DORINE.No, no, a daughter must obey her father,Though he should want to make her wed a monkey.Besides, your fate is fine. What could be better!You'll take the stage-coach to his little village,And find it full of uncles and of cousins,Whose conversation will delight you. ThenYou'll be presented in their best society.You'll even go to call, by way of welcome,On Mrs. Bailiff, Mrs. Tax-Collector,Who'll patronise you with a folding-stool.There, once a year, at carnival, you'll havePerhaps--a ball; with orchestra--two bag-pipes;And sometimes a trained ape, and Punch and Judy;Though if your husband ...
MARIANE.Oh, you'll kill me. PleaseContrive to help me out with your advice.
DORINE.I thank you kindly.
MARIANE.Oh! Dorine, I beg you ...
DORINE.To serve you right, this marriage must go through.
MARIANE.Dear girl!
DORINE.No.
MARIANE.If I say I love Valere ...
DORINE.No, no. Tartuffe's your man, and you shall taste him.
MARIANE.You know I've always trusted you; now help me ...
DORINE.No, you shall be, my faith! Tartuffified.
MARIANE.Well, then, since you've no pity for my fateLet me take counsel only of despair;It will advise and help and give me courage;There's one sure cure, I know, for all my troubles.(She starts to go.)
DORINE.There, there! Come back. I can't be angry long.I must take pity on you, after all.
MARIANE.Oh, don't you see, Dorine, if I must bearThis martyrdom, I certainly shall die.
DORINE.Now don't you fret. We'll surely find some way.To hinder this ... But here's Valere, your lover.
Words in this poem 17
- broach v. t.
- To spit; to pierce as with a spit. [F. brocher, fr. broche. See Broach, n.]
- disaster n.
- An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent. [F. désastre; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See Aster, Astral, Star.]
- tartuffe n.
- A hypocritical devotee. See the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. [F. tartufe.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- apparently adv.
- Visibly. Hobbes.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- flatten v. t.
- To reduce to an even surface or one approaching evenness; to make flat; to level; to make plane. [From Flat, a.]
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- bounden a.
- Bound; fastened by bonds. [Old. p. p. of bind.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- filial a.
- Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
- mister n.
- A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- patronise v. t.
- To act as patron toward; to support; to countenance; to favor; to aid.
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- martyrdom n.
- The condition of a martyr; the death of a martyr; the suffering of death on account of adherence to the Christian faith, or to any cause. [Martyr + -dom.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act II: Scene III is in the public domain. This text is taken from Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite, Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, the Curtis Hidden Page translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Molière, Act II: Scene III, in Tartuffe; Or, The Hypocrite (1908), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2027, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moliere-tartuffe/act-ii-scene-iii.html, id L26929.
Form and metre
Act II: Scene III is 154 lines in 45 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -AABB dorine · headA · zedA · absurdB · wordB
- 5 --A--A- dorine · proxy · himA · done · please · himA · hinder
- 27 ------AA------ dorine · be · it · marriage · wishes · match · proposalA · allA · means · spouse · already · too · lud · husband
- 30 -A-A mariane · wayA · in · sayA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Say, have you lost the tongue from out your head? | 10 | ·········· |
| And must I speak your role from A to Zed? | 10 | ·········· |
| You let them broach a project that's absurd, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| And don't oppose it with a single word! | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| What can I do? My father is the master. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Do? Everything, to ward off such disaster. | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| But what? | 2 | ·· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Tell him one doesn't love by proxy; | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Tell him you'll marry for yourself, not him; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Since you're the one for whom the thing is done, | 10 | ·········· |
| You are the one, not he, the man must please; | 10 | ·········· |
| If his Tartuffe has charmed him so, why let him | 11 | ··········· |
| Just marry him himself--no one will hinder. | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| A father's rights are such, it seems to me, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That I could never dare to say a word. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Came, talk it out. Valere has asked your hand: | 10 | ·········· |
| Now do you love him, pray, or do you not? | 10 | ·········· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Dorine! How can you wrong my love so much, | 11 | ˘/˘········ |
| And ask me such a question? Have I not | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A hundred times laid bare my heart to you? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Do you know how ardently I love him? | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| How do I know if heart and words agree, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And if in honest truth you really love him? | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Dorine, you wrong me greatly if you doubt it; | 12 | ˘/˘···/˘···· |
| I've shown my inmost feelings, all too plainly. | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| So then, you love him? | 5 | ····· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Yes, devotedly. | 5 | ····· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| And he returns your love, apparently? | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| I think so. | 3 | ··· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| And you both alike are eager | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| To be well married to each other? | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Surely. | 2 | /˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Then what's your plan about this other match? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| To kill myself, if it is forced upon me. | 11 | ···/······· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Good! That's a remedy I hadn't thought of. | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| Just die, and everything will be all right. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| This medicine is marvellous, indeed! | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| It drives me mad to hear folk talk such nonsense. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh dear, Dorine you get in such a temper! | 12 | ··˘/˘·····/˘ |
| You have no sympathy for people's troubles. | 11 | ···/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| I have no sympathy when folk talk nonsense, | 11 | ···/˘˘···/˘ |
| And flatten out as you do, at a pinch. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| But what can you expect?--if one is timid?-- | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| But what is love worth, if it has no courage? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Am I not constant in my love for him? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Is't not his place to win me from my father? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| But if your father is a crazy fool, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And quite bewitched with his Tartuffe? And breaks | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| His bounden word? Is that your lover's fault? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| But shall I publicly refuse and scorn | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| This match, and make it plain that I'm in love? | 10 | ·········· |
| Shall I cast off for him, whate'er he be, | 11 | ······˘˘/·· |
| Womanly modesty and filial duty? | 11 | /˘˘/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| You ask me to display my love in public ... ? | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| No, no, I ask you nothing. You shall be | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Mister Tartuffe's; why, now I think of it, | 10 | /˘········ |
| I should be wrong to turn you from this marriage. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| What cause can I have to oppose your wishes? | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| So fine a match! An excellent good match! | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Mister Tartuffe! Oh ho! No mean proposal! | 11 | /˘······˘/˘ |
| Mister Tartuffe, sure, take it all in all, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Is not a man to sneeze at--oh, by no means! | 11 | ··········· |
| 'Tis no small luck to be his happy spouse. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The whole world joins to sing his praise already; | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| He's noble--in his parish; handsome too; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Red ears and high complexion--oh, my lud! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| You'll be too happy, sure, with him for husband. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh dear! ... | 2 | ·· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| What joy and pride will fill your heart | 8 | ········ |
| To be the bride of such a handsome fellow! | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh, stop, I beg you; try to find some way | 10 | ·········· |
| To help break off the match. I quite give in, | 10 | ·········· |
| I'm ready to do anything you say. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| No, no, a daughter must obey her father, | 11 | ···/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Though he should want to make her wed a monkey. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Besides, your fate is fine. What could be better! | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| You'll take the stage-coach to his little village, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| And find it full of uncles and of cousins, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Whose conversation will delight you. Then | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| You'll be presented in their best society. | 11 | ··˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| You'll even go to call, by way of welcome, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| On Mrs. Bailiff, Mrs. Tax-Collector, | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Who'll patronise you with a folding-stool. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| There, once a year, at carnival, you'll have | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Perhaps--a ball; with orchestra--two bag-pipes; | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| And sometimes a trained ape, and Punch and Judy; | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| Though if your husband ... | 5 | ···/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh, you'll kill me. Please | 5 | ····· |
| Contrive to help me out with your advice. | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| I thank you kindly. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh! Dorine, I beg you ... | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| To serve you right, this marriage must go through. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Dear girl! | 2 | ·· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| No. | 1 | · |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| If I say I love Valere ... | 7 | ······· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| No, no. Tartuffe's your man, and you shall taste him. | 11 | ··········· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| You know I've always trusted you; now help me ... | 11 | ···/·/˘···· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| No, you shall be, my faith! Tartuffified. | 9 | ········· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Well, then, since you've no pity for my fate | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Let me take counsel only of despair; | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| It will advise and help and give me courage; | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| There's one sure cure, I know, for all my troubles. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| (She starts to go.) | 4 | ···· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| There, there! Come back. I can't be angry long. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I must take pity on you, after all. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| MARIANE. | 2 | ·· |
| Oh, don't you see, Dorine, if I must bear | 11 | ····˘/˘···· |
| This martyrdom, I certainly shall die. | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘·· |
| DORINE. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Now don't you fret. We'll surely find some way. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To hinder this ... But here's Valere, your lover. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
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