There is no circle of Hell deep enough for my kind.
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Eliante vs Maria
or The Deserving Woman
Here's a basic question: Which girl got the guy in the end? Simple enough to answer; Eliante in The Misanthrope, and Maria in The Contrast. So here's another question: Why? Why did those particular women get their "happiness" (or at least their pairing). I like to think it's because Eliante and Maria were both two women who played by the rules of society, without manipulating, bending, or even really deviating from those rules.
Eliante and Maria represent The Deserving Woman -- a woman who accepts her place, no matter how difficult it may be (re: Maria's situation with her duty to marry a man she doesn't love), and is not deceitful or harmful to the other characters around her. To the eyes of the audience, this woman deserves her happiness.
Celimene vs Dimple
or The Deceiver Straight-Up Playin'
On the other spectrum of things sit Celimene and Dimple. Both characters are very aware of the social game. They know the rules inside and out, and play to their advantage. But here, subtle differences shine through. Celimene uses her popularity to wind suitors around her little finger, but is also used by her suitors as a source of entertainment. As Alceste put it,
"You lead her on with laughter and applause,
And make her think that she's the more delightful
The more her talk is scandalous and spiteful."
In The Misanthrope, Celimene can be seen as a victim of the attention given to her. But in The Contrast, Dimple is the definitive "bad guy." Even when Charlotte and Letitia deceive, it is Dimple who has moved them to their deception.
Alceste vs Manly
or The Weird Kid Who Doesn't Play By The Rules
In The Misanthrope, Alceste is the outsider. He doesn't want anything to do with polite customs. He considers disproportionate civility a vile thing worth derision. Colonel Manly affects much the same attitude, but his stays firmly rooted in reality. Where Alceste is spiteful of the customs, enough to be labeled a misanthrope, Manly adopts his own sense of propriety. Where one throws out social politics altogether, the other embraces a better social policy -- one of honesty without crassness.
This difference is most importantly seen at the end of both plays. Where Alceste offers to take Celimene despite her flaws (so long as she ultimately chooses him), Manly, despite his love for Maria, can't bring himself to commit the faux pas of offering courtship to an engaged woman. Manly still has some propriety about him, enough to influence Charlotte and Letitia to achieve their own redemption (asking forgiveness for their wily ways), enough to gain the approval of a staunch father (Van Rough), and enough to achieve his own happiness with Maria.
First off, I thoroughly enjoyed your picture!
ReplyDeleteI liked that you called back to the previous reading and made connections between the characters. I'd also noticed some of these when I was reading. I think the more plays we read and analyse, the easier it is to spot the similarities and start to draw stereotypical characters from each. I know that we've already discussed the 4 causes, but some of these reoccurring characteristics seem to go beyond that, and I liked that you were able to find and point out some of these connections.