"Tartuffe" by Molière is a classic comical play, but the best part is the characters. They have fantastic personalities that you will love, love to hate, and connect with. One of the many great teachers I have had the honor of learning under gave us a great opportunity to write an essay based on "Tartuffe." However, this was no ordinary essay, we had to write a production idea of "Tartuffe," thus allowing us to voice our opinion on this classic play. I would like to share a part of my essay where I describe a number of main and minor characters in my version of "Tartuffe." I made my essay comical to match the originality of Molière's play. Enjoy!

First off is the main characters, who will have the most screen time! Starting with Tartuffe himself, the religious thirty-year-old hypocrite of the story, he will be the character that everyone loves to hate, they will find him hilarious and irritating at the same time. He is smug yet wears rags when we first meet him. Later he will acquire some nice clothing resembling that of a religious man. His hair would be short scruffy and black as night to match his suspicious black holes for eyes. He would surprisingly be not that bad looking; some would even call him handsome, but it would be the eyes that would give you an eerie uncomfortable feeling when you stare into them — not to mention that somewhat greasy shine to his black hair would just send shivers down your spine! He would be long and lean in like a string bean; you might think he is malnourished at first glance. When we look into casting for the voice of this character, it would have to be deep, low, and chilling to the bone.

Next on the list would be none other than the fool Orgon, who would be a stereotypical character, a “man's man," stubborn like his mother, and full of himself. He would be about 40-years-old and wearing a semi-fancy dark green tailcoat attempting to show off what little bit of wealth he has and have his dark brown hair slicked back trying to appear younger. However, he would mostly be average looking, with average height and weight, at best with dark brown eyes to match his hair. Lastly, his voice would be deep and strong willed.

Up next is Elmire, the wife of Orgon, and she would be a cunning smart intelligent woman, very modern for her time period. She would be about thirty years old with stunning looks and wear beautiful bright colored dresses on her long skinny build. Her hair would be pitch black and up in a bun with one lone strand hair hanging along the side of her pale face and bright blue eyes. Her voice would be sassy and just a bit on the high side.

The last of the characters with the most screen time is the maid of Mariane, Dorine. She is the type of woman that literally everyone in the audience could relate to as she will always say what you are thinking during the play. She is actually somewhat young, only twenty-nine years old, with average weight, height, and looks. She has fiery short wavy locks of hair that hang just below her ears with dazzling emerald colored eyes full of wisdom under her bangs. She is an outspoken hard worker with a tough sassy voice to match her wits. However, I wouldn’t consider Dorine to be the last of the main characters in general as there are a few others who make reoccurring appearances.

These next set of characters have slightly less screen time but in my opinion are just as important to the main cast and plot. Starting with the daughter of Orgon, Mariane, she would be a shy adorable nineteen-year-old with a charming round face and long curly light brown hair with green eyes. She would be wearing cute but modest light colored dresses with her hair down, hugging around her face and shoulders. Her body would be curvy and short for her age while her voice would be sweet, high — some would even say angelic — yet soft spoken.

She is part of a sub-plot romance with Valére. Valére is the fiancé of Mariane and would be a nervous young twenty-one-year-old that is your stereotypical nice guy. He would be slightly taller than Mariane but slender. He would also have somewhat good looks and dress in a nice bright blue tailcoat. His hair would be short, curly, and dirty blonde, and he would have light blue eyes. His voice would be soothing but would also be somewhat soft spoken like Mariane.

Another character who will pop every now and again is Orgon’s son, Damis. Damis is a somewhat spoiled brat with no skills whatsoever. He’s only 16-years-old and short and pudgy for his age with below average looks. His hair is dark brown in a short ponytail and matching brown eyes like his father. He’ll be wearing a worn down tailcoat that is also brown so people will not notice the dirt and grime from a lack of personal upkeep. His voice would be at that awkward “just hit puberty” pitch.

Next is Cléante, the brother-in-law of Orgon, who would be a major “know-it-all” who goes on and on when spoken to. He would be thirty-five years old with average looks and wear a decent light green tailcoat with his dark blue eyes and short black hair hanging just above his ears. His build is average in weight with similar height to Elmire. His voice would deep like an opera singer and long winded as he will start his speeches, or rather lectures, that seem to go on forever.

Last but not least is the ever so lovable Madame Pernelle, the mother of Orgon, who would be your stereotypical grumpy, religious, stubborn grandmother. She would be a short old woman, hunched over in a big dark dress with a wrap constantly around her. Her hair would be up in a big bun but messy and straggly, sticking out every which way and have dark almost black eyes. Lastly, she would have a cracked high pitched voice with spite and arrogance in every word she says. Now that would be the end of the main character roles but there are a few others I would like to mention that will have a few parts here and there.

One of these minor characters with a small bit would be Monsieur Loyal, a bailiff. He would be in his thirties wearing typical bailiff attire for that century. He would be average height but buff as hell, with veins bulging out of his clearly defined muscles. He would have a somewhat ugly and square face with short spiky dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, but a funny contradictory high pitched voice. Next would be an officer of the king, “the exempt.” This man would be a tall pale weak little thing — some would say even sickly looking in his late forties — and wearing typical attire for his profession. His voice would be squeaky and hesitant with a slight stutter. Flipote is the next minor character and will be playing as the lady maid to Madame Pernelle. She would be about 45-years-old, short, and round with a manly face (hinting that this character might actually be a man.) The character would still be in “her” typical maid attire, as Madame would be uptight and stubborn about those kind of customs. Flipote would have a mess of brown hair in a bun with dark green eyes. The voice of this character would coincidentally be a man sounding like a stereotypical man trying to talk as a female in a high pitched voice. Lastly we have Laurent, the twenty-three-year-old servant of Tartuffe. He would be extremely short, somewhat round, ugly like he has been beaten with a stick, and always out of breath like he is worked as hard as a pack mule (which he probably is.) However, he would be as nice as a button with a voice that is heavy, awkward, and yet loved by everyone who meets him (basically the complete opposite of Tartuffe).

Hope you enjoyed my funny little depictions of Molière's classic comical characters from "Tartuffe!" Even better, I hope you're inspired to read this classic play and envision these characters for yourself.