Tartuffe: every role by lines, words, and stage time

Molière, translated by Curtis Hidden Page. 11 speaking roles, 15,918 words, about 114 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Dorine has the most to say in Tartuffe: about 387 lines and 2,882 words, 18.1% of the play. Molière’s comedy follows Orgon, a wealthy father who falls under the spell of a religious hypocrite. Dorine and Orgon are almost level at the top with about 18% of the words each, and Orgon appears in the most scenes, 19 of 33. Tartuffe himself does not speak until Act 3, Scene 2, yet still holds about 15% of the words.

Speaking roles: 11
Scenes: 33
Words: 15,918
Speech time: 114 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Dorine	387	2,882	18.1%	20.6	15
Orgon	399	2,816	17.7%	20.1	19
Tartuffe	303	2,321	14.6%	16.6	8
Cléante	274	2,078	13.1%	14.8	15
Elmire	237	1,824	11.5%	13.0	14
Madame Pernelle	124	947	5.9%	6.8	4
Mariane	130	863	5.4%	6.2	7
Valère	102	706	4.4%	5.0	2
Damis	94	669	4.2%	4.8	10
Mr. Loyal	65	494	3.1%	3.5	1
The Officer	44	318	2%	2.3	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.6	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.6	3.7	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.8	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.8
Dorine
Orgon
Tartuffe
Cléante
Elmire
Madame Pernelle
Mariane
Valère
Damis
Mr. Loyal
The Officer

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Cléante: “I’m not the sole expounder of the doctrine,”	Act 1, Scene 6	424	57
The Officer: “You”	Act 5, Scene 7	285	39
Tartuffe: “Though pious, I am nonetheless a man;”	Act 3, Scene 3	277	35
Dorine: “Her case is nothing, though, beside her son’s!”	Act 1, Scene 2	273	33
Madame Pernelle: “There! That’s the kind of rigmarole to please …”	Act 1, Scene 1	256	33
Orgon: “Ah! If you’d seen him, as I saw him first,”	Act 1, Scene 6	255	30
Elmire: “If that refusal has offended you,”	Act 4, Scene 5	227	28
Tartuffe: “Love for the beauty of eternal things”	Act 3, Scene 3	224	28
Cléante: “That is the usual strain of all your kind;”	Act 1, Scene 6	220	28
Dorine: “Yes, so he says himself. Such vanity”	Act 2, Scene 2	177	22

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

Valère and Damis
Valère and Mr. Loyal
Valère and The Officer
Mr. Loyal and The Officer

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Tartuffe?

Dorine, with about 387 lines and 2,882 words, 18.1% of everything spoken in the play. Orgon is next, with about 399 lines (17.7%).

How long is Tartuffe?

The full text has 15,918 spoken words, about 114 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in Tartuffe?

11 named roles speak in this edition, across 33 scenes. 0 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.