Misanthrope Essay Justin Cornford Period 5

The Misanthrope is an example of a comedy that passes George Meredith’s test. Meredith says, “The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter,” and The Misanthrope does just that. The main characters of this play, Alceste and Celimene, are without a doubt characters that awaken “thoughtful laughter” in the reader.
Alceste is the first character that awakens thoughtful laughter, and he does so through his interactions with Celimene. Alceste is hopelessly in love with Celimene, yet they are very different. Alceste, a man who believes that society has failed and wants nothing to do with it, has fallen in love with a girl that wholeheartedly loves society. With her gossip and flirtation to her several suitors, Celimene is the picure-perfect spoiled child, representing the society that Alceste so strongly despises. While funny and ironic, their relationship leads to profound thoughts about Alceste’s mentality. His perfect world would be one without hypocrisy and with brutal honesty, yet he himself is a hypocrite for falling in love with Celimene.
Celiemene is another character that awakens thoughtful laughter in The Misanthrope. When the reader learns that Celimene truly has feelings for Alceste, her disguise as a carefree girl disappears. She tries to act like she won’t be tied down, shown through her flirtatious personality and her interactions with suitors, yet she finds herself falling for Alceste. This irony leads to more profound thoughts about the play as well as Celimene’s mentality. Celimene seems to be a stereotype of society when she is first introduced, but she breaks her stereotype by showing her true feelings.
Both of these characters demonstrate thoughtful laughter through their feelings for each other. They both have a disguise put up where they seem to be stereotypes of their society, but that disguise eventually fails for both of them. This further adds to the Misanthrope’s view of society by showing the true feelings of people in society, not just their visible outside stereotypes.