Tartuffe - Character of Dorine

Within the play Tartuffe, Dorine is depicted by Moliere as a rational character outside the family and therefore untainted by its innate prejudices and expectations, yet close enough that she feels an empathy to the family, and knows how it operates. She is the incarnation of truth, the blunt observer who isn’t afraid to point out what is stupid and what is not. She provides comic relief as well as bluntly pointing out to …

…and witty remarks are placed strategically to poke fun at society and all its trappings. Dorine is used to make the revelations humorous, as not to offend the members of the audience, and is also used to secretly poke fun at the audience members who happen to be part of the class being made fun of. Her clever retorts are disguised to trick the audience member into laughing at himself, fulfilling the author’s intent.