Henri Bergson says in 'Laughter': "A cut and dried agreement amoung persons will not satisfy it (society), it insists on a constant striving after reciprocal adaptation."
Before applying this to the Misanthrope, I'll try to break down what I think Bergson is trying to say. First, reciprocal adaptation is the relation of two or more different ideas that result in a certain expression of these characteristics. The two ideas that Bergson is referring to in this excerpt are tension and elasticity. When these two elements are mashed together, they form behaviour patterns that are believable and interesting to the audience.
What is important to invoke laughter, then, is a situation that frequently causes the protagonists to adjust and readjust their plans and ideas.
If we were to remove all tension and elasticity from the Misanthrope, we would be left with a play that could be acted out in about three scenes. First, Alceste and Philinte would discuss Alceste's love for Célimène. Next Al and Phil would run into Oronte and bash his poetry. Finally, they would arrive at Cel's house and Al would demand that she get rid of her other lovers, she would oblige, and they would live happily ever after and everyone would be wondering what the point of watching the play was.
However, this is not the case. The Misanthrope is full of tense situations and developments that cause many characters to change their opinions. The reader is constantly surprised by the plot twists and grows fond of (or to despise, in some cases) the characters as they navigate the situations in ways that are relatable.
It is because of the tension and elasticity in the Misanthrope that makes the play so humorous. As Bergson says, "(Without tension and elasticity) (society) is confronted with something that makes it uneasy...a certain rigidity of body, mind and character, that society would still like to get rid of in order to obtain from its members the greatest possible degree of elasticity and sociability. This rigidity is the comic, and laughter is its corrective." Without some tension and elasticity, it is far harder to laugh and enjoy a comedy.
I agree with the need to have tension and elasticity. It reminded me of last week when Tonino and Zanetto were constantly trying to figure out what was going on and everything was tense for a while. Then there would be a break and you would have the elasticity.
ReplyDeleteI think that tension and drama are things that people can't not pay attention to, so to speak. Like in soap operas, the drama keeps people engaged, because when you break the rules of social interaction, you open the door to a virtually unlimited window of reactions and interpretations that you can see in the characters. In this case specifically, you see Alceste trying to answer a question and solve the problem of his beloved's fidelity, and because the rules of social interaction have been broken (both as a result of his character and the fact that there are allegations being made), the audience can't predict the outcome; this unpredictability makes it more interesting to an observer.
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