Asher.P4.Yee-Lum Mak.Misanthrope Timed Essay

Yee-Lum Mak

Period 4

Asher

Timed AP Essay: The Misanthrope

From The Misanthrope, choose a scene that or a character that awakens "thoughtful laughter" is 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.

Moliere's The Misanthrope is a masterpiece of Restoration satire, disguising pointed criticism of high society and human folly in general under a lighthearted comedy. Though all of the play embodies the evocation of thoughtful laugher that Meredith cites as the "true test of comedy", Scene vii of Act III is a particularly notable exactly. As old, hilted Arsinoe attempts to manipulate Alceste, the titular misanthrope, the laughter evoked prompts deeper thought into Moldere's message.

The conversation in the scene focuses on Arsinoe's offer to help Alcest rise in the eyes of the court, in which she claims to have some standing. Through previous scenes, it is realized in Arsinoe harbors tender feelings for Alceste. Combined with the sheer absurdity of attempting to win affection by offering to curry favor for Alceste with the court, Arsinoe's established "prudishness" makes the development of this unrequited love ludicrous and thus humorous. Yet the laughter draws the reader to an observation of the nature of power as discussed in The Misanthrope. Arsinoe exemplifies the power play present in the entire work, which symbolized the self-centered, self-glorifying use of power that Moliere so criticizes in the French society. By enacting such a conniving plan, and by so willingly abusing influence to her own advantage, Arsinoe lowers herself to the moral level of the hated Celimene, even as she seeks to bring Celimene's iniquities to light. The irony illustrates Moliere's dissatisfaction with the hypocrisy of the French society while presenting it in a humorous context.

Another of Moliere's criticisms of the court is its homogeneity—its production of individuals who unthinkingly adopt the mores of their environments, who are hardly individuals at all. This loss of self is also touched upon in this scene as Arsinoe vehemently denies Alceste's suspicions that she is romantically interested in him, and as Alceste denies Arsinoe's accusations against Celimene. The biting language and indignant asperity of Arsinoe's rebuttal invites laughter, but that laughter leads the observer to note that Arsinoe's denial of her own true desires symbolizes a social malaise that The Misanthrope poignantly addresses. Alceste's determination to perceive only the best of Celimene is an example of the same condition, as it runs counter to the "misanthropic nature" that is so central a point of the play. The irony of the situation draws attention to the loss of identity amid the pervasive pressures of the court and the society, the devaluation of a natural self in preference to a 'self' dictated by others.

Though the scene is short and the characters few, Moliere draws parallels between the petty problems of these high-society caricatures and the more pressing problems of their real-life counterparts. Through their squabbles, he criticizes their perceptions of power and personal determination by evoking laughter that is followed by deeper examination of his symbolism. For this reason, The Misanthrope is considered a cornerstone of Enlightenment satire, and Moliere's one of its most prominent pens.