Misanthrope Essay

Thoughtful laughter is evoked in The Misanthrope, by, Moliere, in the various comedic scenes involving the two lovers Alceste and Celimene. Despite having polar personalities, Alceste and Celimene love each other in an ironic way. Alceste is straightforward, grave, and serious, quite the opposite of Celimene who displays traits like that of a playful child: flirtatious, gossip-loving, and talkative. The ironic love they have for each other truly shows a true test of comedy" within the play.

In the introduction of the play, the audience learns that Alceste has a bleak outlook on life, preferring to be dead serious and even harsh at times not suited to be so. This creates a sense of superiority and a want to distance himself from the world in Alceste. Although Celimene, his lover, is the opposite of him, Aleceste despises her personality, loathing the very qualities and habits that make her unique. Celimene shows obvious affection for other men and for the world her lover despises as shown by her attachment to society and social situations. Being a very social person, Celimene has a strong connection with the world and those around her, exactly what Alceste detests. So how can these two lovers have feelings for each other? Is it quite humorous to see these two polar personalities bounce off each other as they contribute to the overall meaning of the story: love is a foolish and temporary fantasy. Only those with similar character can discover love and in a world with such great diversity, love is only a dream. As readers, we can recognize Alceste's and Celimene's flaws, and we may laugh and find humor in their love deadlock, but the funniest fact that indeed invokes "thoughtful laughter", is that we are no different.

Alceste and Celimene may be able to confess their love to each other, despite their flaws. But because of their strong ideals, their relationship takes a turn for the worst. Celimene, following her own views, rejects Alceste's offer of life long solitude. Alceste, following his own views, flees the scene to separate himseld from the rest of the world. Knowing that love is a fantasy, we can laugh at the misfortunes in The Misanthrope as we can recognize and relate to these events with our own lives. This "thoughtful laughter" can help us understand the meaning of the play, as well as the role of love in our own lives.

Seeing the irony in the lovers' relationship, we can understand that love is a fantasy as we can understand the characters' situations.

-Caleb Ong