Misanthrope Essay Wylie Period 5

by Lorena Huang Liu

In the play “The Misanthrope” by Moliere, he author mocks humans’ faults through the use of satire. Alceste, as the main character, awakens “thoughtful laughter” in the reader because he is very ironic, hypocritical, and many of his beliefs are often so ridiculous that they are laughable.

Alceste’s irony goes hand in hand with his hypocrisy. One of the scenes that elicits the most “thoughtful laughter” is when he confronts Celimene about her letter to Oronte. He seems so determined to end his relationship with Celimene, but when he actually talks to her, he begs for her love even though she had confessed her affection for Oronte. This is ironic because Alceste is always very determined about his opinions, but when it comes to Celimene, he is powerless. This is also hypocritical because Alceste loves everything about Celimene though she possesses all of the faults that Alceste despises in humanity. Despite Alceste’s claim to hating the flaws of humankind, he falls in love with the one woman who is just as vicious as Alceste describes.

Another characteristic of Alceste that elicits “thoughtful laughter” is that his opinions are often classified as ridiculous. His attitude toward the people around him is taken as extremely disrespectful. For example, Philinte is supposed to be Alceste’s best friend but Alceste often scorns him for almost anything that Philinte does. When Philinte chooses to be pleasant to the people around him, which is usually seen as courteous, to Alceste this type of behavior is an awful endeavor because Philinte is dishonest. This brings “thoughtful laughter” because one can see oneself in Philinte. Almost everyone has pretended at one time or another to like someone that they dislike in order to be civilized. Reading Alceste’s scorn for this kind of attitude is funny while it makes the reader think about his or her own actions compared to Philinte’s actions towards other people.

Alceste’s remarks often cause “thoughtful laughter” from the audience because people can identify and compare their own flaws with the flaws of the people that Alceste despises. “The Misanthrope” is a satire about humankind and many of the main points can be directly related to any human being who were to read the play.