Considering the fact that Valentine’s Day
was so recent, I found it relevant to talk about love. Love in today’s society can be described in
many ways, but for me it seems to be a whirlwind, which is both confusing and
irrational. The actions behind those in
love do not make sense, and seem quite unwise at times.
In The Misanthrope, love seems to be portrayed this same way—senseless
and perplexing. Alceste seems to be
madly in love even though he knows Celimene has many faults. He sees that his morals and manners do not
match up with hers (I guess the phrase opposites attract is applicable here)
yet he loves her anyways. Alceste lives
by a strict code of ethics that he sees as rational. However, he soon figures out that love is not
rational and it does not fit into his life like he thinks it should. Even though he has a lot of self-control in
some aspects of his life, Celimene is still able to hold his heart no matter
how much he wishes he could move on.
Finally in the last scene, Alceste is able to move on in a way, “May you
be true to all you now profess,/And so deserve unending happiness./Meanwhile,
betrayed and wronged in everything,/I’ll flee this bitter world where vice is
king,/And seek some spot unpeopled and apart/Where I’ll be free to have an
honest heart” (152). The only way this
can end happily for Alceste is if he is able to escape from this grip that
Celimene has on him. His flee from
society is the only way Alceste is able to keep his morals and be content. On the other hand, a happy couple is able to
emerge at the end. Philinte and Eliante announce
their love for each other. This shows
true love can exist no matter how messed up the world is.
I really like the idea that this play demonstrates true love instead of you'll have to flee society after falling in love. Philinte and Eliante were my favourite part of the play and I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who focused on their happy ending . :)
ReplyDeleteGood point! And Philinte and Eliante resolve at the end to bring Alceste back to society, despite his protestations.
ReplyDeleteThe coupling of Alceste and Celimene, contrasted with Philinte and Eliante, is actually super interesting. Alceste was a misanthrope, told everyone exactly what he thought. Celimene was on the exact opposite end of that spectrum, and their combination failed miserably. But Philinte and Eliante seemed to have a degree of temperance towards either side. If anything, the love stories in The Misanthrope made me think the play praised temperance above passion.
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