Misanthrope Essay - Tori Kause

Tori Kause

Wylie

Period 1

Misanthrope Essay

Prompt: From The Misanthrope choose a scene or a character who awakens "thoughtful laughter" in the reader. Write a carefully organized essay in which you show why this laughter is "thoughtful" and how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

In Moliere's The Misanthrope, a French society displays the characteristics and comedies of the Enlightenment era. The main character, Alceste, who is also known as the "misanthrope", is a sullen yet opinionated man. Alceste's character summons thoughtful laughter through his dialogue and actions, contributing to the meaning of the work as a whole. Alceste is set apart from other characters in this comedy because of his attitude and his range of emotion.

Almost the entirety of the play is spent building up tension and choices that Alceste is forced to deal with. His lawsuit adds stress to his life, and his conflicted love interest, Celimene, causes him even greater turmoil due to her coquetry. Alceste claims to be a man in love, but he is one of the many men Celimene sees and "cares" for. In Act V, Scene VII, Celimene is forced to decide on the suitor she cares for most. Alceste asks her to marry him, which she refuses; as an ordinary man would feel, Alceste feels angered and upset. Yet when Celimene changes her mind and decides to marry him, Alceste outright declines Celimene. Their constantly changing feelings for each other is what illicits the thoughtful laughter. The laughter is "thoughtful" because whether the setting is the Enlightenment era or the twenty-first century, society finds it difficult to make decisions and stick to them. Also, feelings tend to change; for example, Alceste claimed to be in love with Celimene despite her numerous amount of suitors. At her moment of refusal, one would think his "love" would make him do anything to have Celimene marry him. However, his surprising action, denying her love when she changes her mind, evokes thoughtful laughter because their confused feelings for each other never quite seem to mesh together.

Alceste's failure with love is the thoughtful laughter of the play. It contributes to the work as a whole because not only does Alceste experience the ups and downs of love. Love is part of the theme in The Misanthrope which contributes to the main focus of the thoughtful laughter. Alceste's experiences are the driving forces behind many of the other characters' actions and brings about the comedy despite his depressing situations. The fluctuating emotions, jealousy, rage, kindness, are what make the play a comedy. Alceste, although quite negative, tries to remain so throughout the play.

Moliere's comedy, The Misanthrope, opens society's eyes to the silliness of live events and how the majority of the time life is not taken seriously. However, Alceste's severe seriousness is also comical because it shows that people need to find a balance; they can laugh, but they also need to be serious and think about situations, people or places. Thoughtful laughter is important today, and Moliere captured that significance despite the fact he wrote The Misanthrope over three hundred years ago.