Tartuffe · Character

Cléante

Orgon's brother-in-law, whose urbane reason keeps colliding with a household drunk on piety, and who dares to say what everyone else swallows.

supporting

Also known as Cléante But, Cléante To Mr. Loyal, Cléante To Orgon, Cléante Spoke

First appearance: tartuffe

See Cléante in tartuffe Book page

Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.

Cléante moves through Orgon's house as the one man unimpressed by Tartuffe's rolling eyes and torn kerchiefs, greeting his brother-in-law with level-headed questions while everyone else either fawns or fumes. His calm is both his strength and his frustration: he argues for moderation and honest speech, yet watches Orgon dote on a guest who eats two partridges while the mistress lies feverish upstairs. He matters because he gives the audience its clearest voice of sanity, and because his failure to shake Orgon's devotion shows just how deep the delusion runs.

Continue beside the text

The fuller portrait of Cléante sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Cléante in tartuffe

Character Web

12 connections

A slice of how Cléante sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Family
Friendship
Other

Character groups

Main Dramatis Personae
Protagonist

+7 more in the full Character Web

Open in reader

Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This scene is the dramatic climax because Orgon’s emotional and psychological peak—his blind, tearful rage aga…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

Follow the arc while reading

Relationships

Orgon
family · ambivalent
Dorine
friendship · positive
Madame Pernelle
family · ambivalent
Madame Pernelle
family · ambivalent
Orgon
family · ambivalent
Dorine
friendship · positive

Orgon
Cléante is Orgon's brother-in-law, who repeatedly tries to reason with him about Tartuffe's manipulation.
Dorine
Cléante and Dorine share a pragmatic alliance, both trying to restore reason to Orgon's household.
Madame Pernelle
Cléante is Madame Pernelle's son-in-law, and he attempts to moderate her extreme views with calm logic.
Madame Pernelle
Cléante is Madame Pernelle's son-in-law, and he attempts to moderate her extreme views with calm logic.
Orgon
Cléante is Orgon's brother-in-law, who repeatedly tries to reason with him about Tartuffe's manipulation.
Dorine
Cléante and Dorine share a pragmatic alliance, both trying to restore reason to Orgon's household.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Cléante in tartuffe