Misanthrope Essay

Kelsey Nakamura

Period 5
Wylie

Often times, we as humans act in many ways that seem ridiculous and humorous, but don't realize it. In The Misanthrope, the author, Moliere, creates a play where his characters act in such a manner. As Moliere incorporates satire and plays on these flaws, he invokes thoughtful laughter from the reader through his characters and scenes as he makes the readers realize how the play is not as ridiculous as it seems.

One character who invokes thoughtful laughter through his words and actions is Alceste. Alceste's bluntness with everything often becomes illogical and confusing, especially when he is dealing with love. Alceste continues to talk of his dire love for Celimene, and how he realizes she possesses all the faults that should make him despise her, yet he still loves her. In addition, after Celimene admits her unfaithfulness to him, Alceste continues to love her. His actions cause the audience to laugh, as they see how ridiculous he is with his decisions, and how they do not correlate with his beliefs. The audience knows that, logically, most people would choose to love someone else rather than accepting broken love. However, after some thought, though Alceste's actions were irrational, many people could relate to his situation. Alceste was overtaken by love, and though this definitely invokes laughter, it also makes sense when thought is put into it. Here, Moliere is able to connect with the reader by relating Alceste's actions to one that someone in today's society might commit as well.

Additionally, Arsinoe is a character who's actions invoke thoughtful laughter from the audience. Jealous of Celimene, Arsinoe acts in a way where she expresses her feelings in hopes of getting the response she wants. She reprimands Celimene for all the lovers that she has out of jealousy, and she similarly praises Alceste in hopes of gaining his love. The reader finds this humorous, seeing as Arsinoe tries to remain discreet about her intentions, but fails. Arsinoe clearly has strong feelings that she attempts to hide, but her actions and words give those feelings away. Through her actions, however, the audience then realizes how Arsinoe's actions were not so humorous as they seem. Although Arsinoe seemed desperate, she was only trying to fulfill her desires as best she could. Here, Moliere brings up the idea that humans often times act out of desire, and their actions may seem ridiculous, but are ultimately true to their wants. Despite its humor, Arsinoe's actions become relatable to the actions of someone in society who merely wants something for himself or herself.

Finally, another character that invokes thoughtful laughter is Celimene. Known in the play for her flirtatious nature, Celimene acts as an innocent, loving woman, and manages to win the heart of many men. Her true nature is revealed when Alceste and Oronte confront her and ask her of her true feelings towards them. When Celimene admits that she never really had any real feelings for any of he men she was with, the audience finds this humorous. The laughter came with the idea that Celimene never really loved anyone, and that she was merely having fun and exploring her options. Though this idea may seem intolerable for many, they realize that often times this is true amongst people in society, especially today. Moliere brings up the idea that commitment sometimes is not always in the mindsets of people, and through this, invokes thought in the reader as they realize Celimene's actions were not so irrational after all.

Despite the many actions that brought about laughter in the reader, Moliere makes it clear that his intentions were to show the actuality of the actions of his characters. By tying the actions of the characters to actions of people in today's society, the reader thinks twice about the humor of the characters. Moliere not only is able to show this through satire, but is able to address society's flaws in a manner that is indirect and non-confrontational.