Asher Period 3 Sophia Liu- Misanthrope Essay

It seems that Alceste in Moliere’s Misanthrope, is so harsh and unapproachable to a point that it is humorous. Moliere purposely gives Alceste these specific traits to evoke thoughtful laughter, encouraging the audience to ponder why they are laughing. Although Alceste is refined in wit and cynicism he cannot control his love for the fickle coquette Celimene. Alceste’s humorous struggle to balance his personal principles with love provides the audience entertainment and deeper insight about human nature.

One of the most humorous aspects of the play is Alceste’s love for Celimene. Celimene is extremely flirtatious, hypocritical, and extremely skilled in using the mannerisms of the French court to her advantage. On the other hand, Alceste is the complete opposite and he often contemplates why he would love such a women. He honors sincerity and brutal honesty which causes him to adamantly reject the behavior of his peers. When Oronte ask Alceste to critique his sonnet written for Celimene, Alceste immediately tells Oronte not expect any praise him. After hearing the sonnet, Alceste bashes the sonnet for being overly emotional and shallow. Despite scorning this way of wooing a women, Alceste discovered Celimene’s love letter to other suitors and attempts to make her solely commit to him through angry and despreate plead. In doing this way he is too is overley emotional and unsophisticated. These two characters evoke thoughtful laughter because of their contrasting natures. Most importantly Alceste’s love fore Celimene shows that some things like love are uncontrollable and may make people in a way that they normally condemn.

The Misanthrope is hailed as one of Moliere’s greatest work because it uses comical characters and their actions and behavior to point out more serious flaws about the French aristocratic lifestyle. Alceste shows the audience that people cannot survive in society if they cannot play by the rules or if they entirely give up all there values. The play allows the audience to consider the people in their lives that parallel those of the characters and the same problems and situations that they encounter in their everyday lives.