The Misanthrope: Celimene

Has your mother ever told you that if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all? That’s how I feel about Celimene. But in order to get this assignment finished, I guess I have to talk bad about her because that’s how I feel towards her. She reminds me of some of the girls from the movie called Mean Girls, which I think many of us have seen. She is young and lively and enjoys being a part of the social world. But in spite of her youth, she’s learned all the tricks that are needed to be successful in society. She stands out by her charm and wit.

I think Celimene represents the stereotype of a spoiled brat in a rich community, such as the society that takes place in this play. She criticizes others behind their backs and practically flirts with every man that comes her way. And nearly every man of the court has his eye on her. She’s also the only person who treats Alceste with no regard at all. Alceste deserves someone better than Celimene and Philinte even points that out to him and tells him to discern his affection towards Eliante, her cousin.

In Act II, she has all these suitors proclaiming their interest in her and she just flirts with all of them. And Alceste calls her out on it but can’t do anything about it except to scorn himself for being hopelessly in love.  He knows of all her faults and that they really aren’t that compatible in terms of values and manners but yet he still loves her. In Act V, Celimene’s gossip comes back to haunt her when several of her admirers discover a letter she wrote that pokes fun at all their faults. All of her suitors leave her except for Alceste of course. Alceste invites Celimene to spend solitude with him, but she refuses. Celimene lacks maturity. And once she has that then she’ll be able to take more responsibility for her words and actions.