Misanthrope essay

Erica Trinh
In the play Misanthrope by Moliere, Alceste is described as being a man with high standards. He believes that everyone should be honest and constantly criticizes society for being superficial. His crude comments about society and the people who belong to it often invoke laughter at the expense of others, such as Oronte. However, his hypocrisy to break the very same codes he preaches causes readers to reassess the way people view the standard of society, ultimately creating “thoughtful laughter” in readers.

In the opening scene, Alceste discusses with Philinte his dislike for how society works. He believes that people are too superficial and often criticizes them for that. To him, people should all live honest lives, and should never lie to other about their flaws even if it is considered rude to tell the truth. When Oronte asks Alceste to judge a poem he had written, Alceste doesn’t hold back all the faults he sees with the Oronte’s poem. As Alceste bashes Oronte’s poem, readers cannot help but to laugh at the two’s bantering. This laughter that is created as Oronte’s expense reveals to readers how truly strict is in his code of honesty and in how he views people.

Alceste’s tendency to criticize others create humor but when it is revealed that Alceste reveals loves Celimene, Moliere causes readers to rethink how one views one’s value. Alceste hypocrisy of loving such a superficial woman even when it goes against everything he hates shows how one shouldn’t always be too critical of others. It also makes one think about how easy it is for people to judge others and criticize them for their flaws but not themselves. Alceste’s inability to let go of Celimene despite the fact that she knows she betrayed him adds to Moliere’s theme that everyone has a flaw. Although Alceste prides himself in being honest about other people’s flaws, it was important for him to realize his own and to realize that it is better to accept the flaws of other rather than criticize them.

Alceste’s humorous comments on other people’s flaws may have caused laughter but it is his hypocrisy that changes this laughter into thoughtful laughter. In the end, Moliere’s use of Alceste’s downfall as a way to causes people to reassess themselves and to truly think about their own flaws before they criticize others for theirs.