Moliere
wastes no time in presenting us with the protagonist of the story, Alceste.
In the first scene of the first act, Alceste proclaims, "I find
mankind so odious that I should hate to have it approve of me." This
is a line that well portrays Alceste as a character. Alceste despises the very
class that he is a part of. He goes on to say how he despises hypocrisy and apathy, but he takes little action in the play and does not
work, but spends most of his time instructing others of the correct way to act
or speak to others. This difference of what Alceste believes and what is
acceptable in society, isolates Alceste in the world of the play. Even
Philinte points this out by pointing out that the world will not change regardless
of what Alceste believes.
The
main component of his isolation is his hatred for everything that he surrounds
himself with. Philinte, regardless
of Alceste’s isolation, respects Alceste and Alceste seems to feel free and
comfortable when speaking with Philinte.
However Philinte is a mold of what Alceste despises. Philinte pushes Alceste to approach others
more mildly and is a very polite character that follows the rules of
society. It is surprising that the two
get along so well due to the extreme disparity between them. This could also be said about the woman
Alceste loves, Celimene. She shines in
the world of the play always saying the right things to the right people. Philinte and Celimene are two of Alceste’s
closest companions, but they stand for the very things that Alceste
consistently refutes.
With
this contradiction, the court case, and public opinion of Alceste, he is
continually alone and a resolution is never found throughout the play. For this reason, it could be argued that
Alceste can not fit within the world of the play. This is finalized when his relationship fails
with Celimene and he loses his court case.
He, then, goes to the only ending in which he could possibly be happy,
solitude. With the varying opinions and
actions, there could be no happy ending for him and Celimene. It is proven that the only world Alceste can
exist in, is one in which he is alone.
This provides the only resolution that Alceste can find due to the
structure of the play.
I agree with you in that the play could not end in any other way. My post was on love, and how people make irrational decisions when in love. Alceste's morals are too different from Celimene's for them to end up together. He sees they are too different, and the only logical thing for him to do is flee.
ReplyDeleteI also focus on the forms of comedic resolution in my research, and I find you argument compelling. Good work.
ReplyDeleteLots of people are friends with people who are very different from each other. I believe that Philinte is the likable/relatable character who is appropriately extroverted/sociable to counteract Alceste's isolationism.
ReplyDelete