Misanthrope Essay. Wylie. Period 1

In the play “The Misanthrope” by Moliere, the over-the-top irony and comical entertainment masks the true purpose of this enlightenment era work: to express a truth so obvious and trivial, this otherwise blinding reality cannot possibly be ignored and instead elicits deep reflective thought within the audience. Alceste and Celimene are the two contrasting factors of this irony—factors that are very much relatable, sad and true.

Alceste is at first looked up to in the play. He’s this overly honest, blunt man that the audience almost idolizes. His criticisms are downright hilarious, and the entirety of the audience agrees with him. However, agreeable laughter turns into thoughtful laughter when the audience sees that Alceste—who criticizes hypocrites and in genuine people—is hypocritical himself. He is in love and worships one of the most fake people in the play: Celimene. Of course the irony of the fact is what makes it funny, but deep within, the individual minds of the audience are reaching realizations and recognizing how this mirrors their own lives and reflects their almost “guilty pleasure”. Alceste is still idolized in the play—because honesty and martyr-like qualities are cherished—but the irony of his love for Celimene is there, and it reveals the most common and often ignored dishonesty; dishonesty with oneself.

On the opposite ends of the spectrum, Celimene embodies stark truths and ironies of her own. She is completely fake and overly kind with everyone, but at the end of the play the mean letters she writes about them elicits that same thoughtful laughter within the audience. Many of them could probably reflect on this irony because it mirrors their own relationships with people—fake on the outside, hate on the inside. Moliere really had a special “case” for everyone in the audience to relate to. That was his ultimate purpose in choosing two contrasting ironies and characters to relate these truths so everyone in the audience had something to reflect on.

Moliere’s purpose in evoking thoughtful laughter within his audience is because it is the most effective tool in bringing about individual improvement. Moliere wanted society to change and to realize the error is its ways. But the only way to do that is to start with the individual. No one wants to be told what to do, so the will to change must be discovered on one’s own. Thoughtful laughter evokes the reflection and realization needed to drive change in a person’s perception and ultimate behavior. Sometimes humor needs to be overly ironic because it serves as the only bridge for the truth to get across. It’s like this huge ugly thing that society tries to cover up. But once that thing is wearing a clown suit, it’s hard not to look, not to face it and frankly, not to laugh.

Lillie Moffett.