AIP: The Misanthrope Social Network Experience

he Misanthrope, being an older comedy, is harder to read and comprehend than most of today’s works.  One of the many reasons for this is the archaic style of the plot. Many details are often lost on students who are then left looking to Sparknotes for answers.  Additionally, the choice of outdated language obscures some of the humour of the plot, causing confusion in the readers, rendering the text a boring or even frustrating read.  One can wonder which girl Alceste really likes, but which will he want to settle for in the end? Many want him to pick Célimène, but keeping track of all these people can be difficult and most portrayals and descriptions of these characters are long and tedious, and the word choice will lull any eager student into a nauseated slumber.  

How could this story be more easily remembered and understood? By using Facebook and other social media! Most students and other people struggling to understand or find interest in the text are readily familiar with many of these social networking sites, so the setting will not only be clear to people, but it will also draw in their attention. When the language is updated to a more modern dialect and the dialogue in the play is translated to the formats found in these websites, the Misanthrope can be rewritten into a drama that will be more attractive to younger people.

What we hope to do is recreate all of the action of the Misanthrope while enhancing the experience by using social media. Since the action in The Misanthrope is all dialogue, this should be relatively simple.  Each of the characters in the Misanthrope will have their own Facebook page with which they will be interacting with each other. Conversations that once took place in person as the book described it will now take place using status updates in a language that is more readily understood by the students of today.  Wall posts, direct messages, and phone texts will also be used as tools of communication between characters. Specifically, we will recreate the second scene of act one, where Alceste and Orionte get in an argument about poetry, using these methods. Also, each character's personality will be explored using the informational page in these Facebook profiles which includes favorite music, movies, books, and sports teams. For example, analyzing Alceste's character in the original play implies that if Alceste were a person in today's society he would like obscure music, would not be into sports, and read lots of books and informational internet sites detailing great thinkers’ ideas and philosophies. Célimène's page would have many posts from friends on her wall, and her likes would include many of the popular artists and books.  Her communications to her suitors would likely be done through text messages or other discrete forms of communication.

In addition to recreating the dialogue in the play to social media, we will also be creating a social network visualization in order to help explain each characters’ relationship with the other characters. This visualization will be done while still keeping the updated theme i.e. using the slang and manner of speech used today. The network visualization will help to illustrate and clarify the relationships, feelings, and motivations for each character. 

​We believe that creating these social media resources will lead us to create a retelling of the story that will be entertaining and more compatible from a language perspective to a newer generation that may not otherwise appreciate this gripping comedy. The humor will be clearer, the characters better fleshed out, and the implications of certain actions easier to grasp, not because it was more explicitly explained, but simply because it was translated into the language of the electronic age.

Sources: 

Moliére. The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. Trans. Richard Wilbur. Harcourt Brace and Company, 1965. Print. 

Erin Ekart

Christian Grondin

The Misanthrope Facebook Experience

The Misanthrope, being an older comedy, is harder to read than most of today’s works.  One of the many reasons for this the Archaic style of the plot, and many details are often lost students that are left looking to Sparknotes for answers.  Additionally, due to the choice of language, some of the vivaciousness of the plot is lost on most readers, rendering the text a boring or even frustrating read.  One can wonder which girl Alcèste really likes, but which will he want to settle for in the end? Many want Célimène, but keeping track of all these people can be difficult and most portrayals and descriptions of these characters are long, tedious and will lull any eager student into a nauseated slumber.  

How could this story be more easily remembered and understood? By using Facebook and other social media! Most students and other people struggling to understand or find interest in the text are readily familiar with many of these social networking sites, so the setting will not only be clear to people, but it will also draw in their attention. If the language is updated to a more modern dialect and the action in the play is translated to the formats found in these websites, the Misanthrope can be rewritten into a drama that will be more attractive to younger people.

What we hope to do is recreate all of the action of the Misanthrope while enhancing the experience by using social media. Since the action in The Misanthrope is all dialogue, this should be relatively simple.  Each of the characters in the Misanthrope will have their own Facebook page with which they will be interacting with each other. Conversations that once took place in person as the book described it will now take place using status updates in a more modern setting.  Wall posts,direct messages and phone texts will also be used as tools of communication between characters. Each character's personality will be explored using the informational page in these Facebook profiles which includes favorite music, movies, books, and sports teams. For example, analyzing Alcèste's character in the original play implies that if Alcèste were a person in today's society he would like obscure music, would not be into sports, and read lots of books and informational internet sites detailinggreat thinkers’ ideas and philosophies. Célimène's page would have many posts from friends on her wall, and her likes would include many of the popular artists and books.  Her communications to her suitors would likely be done through text messages or other discrete forms of communication.

​We believe that following this method will lead us to creating a retelling of the story that will be concise and more emotionally appealing to a newer generation that may not otherwise appreciate this gripping comedy. The humor will be clearer, the characters better fleshed out, and the implications of certain actions easier to grasp, not because it was more explicitly explained, but simply because it was translated into the language of the electronic age.

Erin Ekart
Christian Grondin

Movie Suggestion: Easy A

One of my favourite movies of all time, starring my personal girl-crush Emma Stone, is Easy A. This is the story of a young high school woman who spreads a rumor that she's promiscuous, and gains an inordinate amount of popularity because of it. When things start to spiral out of control, she takes matters into her own hands to clear up everyone's misconceptions.

Bonus: it's hilarious.

(vid: source)

But what does it have to do with our class, and why is it even worth watching?

Lysistrata

In Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the women use their seductive skills to sexually frustrate the men, and the lack of consummation eventually gets the women what they want. Easy A shows echoes of this concept. Olive, the main character, starts to use the rumor working against her to help the less fortunate. She pretends to have sex with them, but for a price.

Well that's the most awkward screencap I've ever seen.

(vid: source)

The Misanthrope

The connection to Molière's The Misanthrope is less about characterization, and more about wordsmithing. The style of writing used in The Misanthrope was downright poetic. In Easy A, there is an obvious love for words among Olive and her family. They delight in language itself, and find a way to turn this delight into something entirely comic.

"Tallywacker?"

(vid: source)

The Venetian Twins

In The Venetian Twins, Goldini used a method called "breaking the fourth wall" that allows the characters to speak directly to the audience. Not only is Easy A broken up into bite-sized segments (or what I would call "acts"), these segment breaks are a direct result of Olive narrating her situation directly to the audience.

YouTube didn't have the scene, so here's a snake in a tiny hat.

(pic: source)

There are a lot of elements to Easy A that relate back to previous texts we've analyzed in class (as seen above). But beyond that, this film masters a tongue-in-cheek humor that is subtle and elevated, and all the more hilarious because of it. Every line is crafted, and if you listen carefully enough, you'll find something to laugh at come every turn.

Society: The Misanthrope

            Society. When the term society comes into my mind, the first thought that comes to mind is people. And I think others will think of the same thing too. However, according to Merriam-Webster, a society is defined as people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values. So being in a society is supposed to be a good thing. It can make you feel like you belong to something and not just a loner. After reading The Misanthrope, my understanding of a society has certainly expanded. I saw that being in a society could make you change. With one group of a society you behave one way but when you are with a different group, you behave the complete opposite. So when I think of the term society, I now think of the term hypocrisy.

            Hypocrisy is certainly seen throughout The Misanthrope very much. Let us take Celimene into consideration. She is a fashionable young woman who says she loves Alceste but yet she flirts with several other men pursuing her at the same time. She is intelligent and quick-witted. She also enjoys gossiping about others behind their back in her social circle. Most of the other characters in the play use flattery and deceit to make their way into the society they want to fit in. 

            So after having read The Misanthrope, I have decided to come up with a different definition of what I think a society is. I think of it as a group of people that try to influence others to live by their standards for one reason or another. A society is really just a general agreement between the majority of a population with the agreement including what is right, wrong, normal, etc.

Polite Society: The Contrast vs The Misanthrope

The Contrast and The Misanthrope are two plays deeply entrenched in social policy. The characters of both live in a world where politeness, cordiality, and flattery stretch thinly over deeper feelings of deceit, self-advancement, and mockery. So what are some of the differences between The Misanthrope and The Contrast's social politics? That question can be explored further by comparing and contrasting some of the characters in both plays.

There is no circle of Hell deep enough for my kind.

(img: source)

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.

The Misanthrope - Hypocrisy

Hello, world of hypocrisy! The first idea that struck my mind was the amount of hypocrisy demonstrated in this play! It just seems like every character in the play was a hypocrite, one way or another.

We have Oronte, who was so eager to befriend Alceste, spoke nice words to Alceste and asked Alceste for opinions regarding his sonnet. But right after Alceste critiqued on his sonnet, he turned his back on Alceste and filed a lawsuit against Alceste to seek for revenge.

We also have Arsinoe, who claimed that she stood side with Celimene when other people talked about Celimene’s flirtatious behavior but she revealed Celimene’s love letter to Oronte in attempt to destroy Alceste and Celimene’s relationship.

Another very obvious character who was a hypocrite was Celimene. She turned her house/salon into a gossip shack. She was young, outgoing, affectionate, and sociable; she had all the personalities required to be under the spotlight and the center of attention which attracted a lot of admirers. She flirted with all her suitors and spoke kind words to them. However, she lied to Alceste that he was her one true love. She was like the ‘mean girl’ who pretended to be nice in front of everybody but spoke nastily about them behind their backs.

While reading through the play, I thought that Alceste was the just and noble one who separated himself from the hypocritical society. He even hated the human race for their two-faced behavior ("Some men I hate for being rogues; the others/ I hate because they treat the rogues like brothers" ).But wait… He claimed that he hated people for their insincerity but he still professed his love to Celimene when he knew about her actual personalities. He was condemning and insulting people for being ‘fake’ but calling his own hypocritical behavior ‘love’. What’s worse, he even asked Celimene to become a hypocrite by telling her to "Pretend, pretend, that you are just and true,/And I shall make myself believe in you".

                Well, while the ending of the play seemed to oppose the hypocrites: Alceste was in isolation, Celimene was abandoned by her suitors; Philinte and Eliante had a happy ending. I was a little confused at first because all this while I thought that the entire play was opposing hypocrisy by placing Alceste as the protagonist. But now to me the ending just suggested that a little hypocrisy is acceptable in the society. Philinte disliked Oronte’s sonnet but he did not throw direct insult at Oronte. Real world needs a little white lies and flatteries to live in.

The Misanthrope - Alceste's Utopia

In Moliere's The Misanthrope, Alceste and his best friend Philinte have several revealing back and forth conversations.  The conversation that I will be focusing on is presented in Act five, scene one.  Philinte is again questioning Alceste's desire to live in a society where everyone was bluntly honest and spared no feelings (his utopia, if you will).  Philinte says something that really clung to me.

"If honesty shone forth from all men's eyes,

If every heart were frank and kind and just,

What could our virtues do but gather dust

(Since their employment is to help us bear

The villainies of men without despair)?"

What is Philinte talking about?  Why would Alceste's idea of the way the world should be cost every man his virtues? 

Virtue is a behavior that displays high moral standards.  I believe that a virtue is what makes a person, a human being, special. It is what makes them delightful and interesting.  If every person lived by the societal rule of being completely honest about their intents all the time, that society would lose integrity as a virtue.  Sure, there is still honesty, but there is nothing noteworthy about it anymore.

That is the inherent problem with the idea of utopian societies.  They remove what is important and extraordinary about human beings: their virtues.  Those are the special things they do that stand out, that are memorable, that are remarkable and impressive.  Utopian societies strip those things away and make life boring and uninspired; it makes people dreary and stale.  It may even rob life of its value.

If a virtue becomes a norm, soon it will be a virtue no longer; it becomes old hat. Bad things (behaviors, acts words, events, etc..) are a necessity.  Otherwise, how would you be able to put the good things in context?  How could you appreciate them? 

"... life is a pile of good things and bad things.  The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant."

The Misanthrope: Tension and Elasticity

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.

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.

The Misanthrope: Self-Knowledge

“Leave the morals of the world alone,

And worry rather more about your own.

They felt that one’s self-knowledge should be great

Before one thinks of setting others straight”

p. 90 Celimene to Arsinoe

When I read this part, I instantly thought of how Frye defined comedy.  He claimed that comedy is designed “to ridicule a lack of self-knowledge.”   Self-knowledge is the understanding of one’s own capabilities, character, feelings, or motivations, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

There are several characters in this play who are definitely lacking self-knowledge.  Alceste is very critical of every man he encounters, but he never seems to take a good look at himself to determine if he possesses any of the characteristics that he is so judgmental of in others.  Celimene looks down upon Arsinoe because of her prudish ways, but sees no fault in herself for acting flirtatious with all the men around her.  Arsinoe, on the other hand, does not approve of Celimene’s coquettish lifestyle, but is “vain enough to paint her face.”  These are all instances of the pot calling the kettle black, as the popular phrase goes.  These characters point out the flaws and shortcomings of others, but see nothing wrong in themselves.  None of them have a strong sense of self-knowledge.

Self-knowledge, or the lack thereof, seems to be a continuing theme in the plays that we read.  From my point of view, the mention of self-knowledge serves to demonstrate how judgmental society can be.  This must have been a societal concern when Moliere wrote this play in 1666, and it is still relevant today.  Self-knowledge can be improved by evaluating your own motives, morals, and actions and not being so quick to compare yourself to others or judge them.  The lack of self-knowledge in the characters in The Misanthrope and how it negatively affects their relationships illustrates the need for more self-knowledge in society.

A Two-faced Society

All the characters in Molière’s The Misanthrope, except Alceste, are very similar to how we all act in our present day society. Do most of us not put on a mask when we interact with others? Do we not at some point during the day or week, gather with our closest friends or family members and discuss or point out the flaws of others? I believe we all do and that the society in The Misanthrope, as well as our own, can be labeled “two-faced”.

The scene in The Misanthrope I believe supports my claim is act two, scene five. Celimene, Acastem and Clitandre talk about people at court and criticize them all by saying, “the man’s a most accomplished dunce”, “that tiresome ass”, and “that conceited elf”. They also tell each other that even though they dislike these people at court, they still interact with them in a polite manner. Acaste says he “stood a lifetime in the broiling sun / Before his [Cléonte] dreary monologue was done” and Celimene would “ask the time, and yawn, and yawn” during Bélise’s “painful” visits, rather than seem impolite and not interact with her in the first place.

Today, I see our two-faced society displayed, at its worst, in the workplace. Night shift workers talk bad about day shift workers, supervisors trash the employees they are going to be in charge of that day, and everyone thinks every customer is stupid. When the shift starts for those workers, however, they are joking around and talking with the very same people they were saying were idiots. This is similar to how Celimene, Acastem and Clitandre said they would act at court. I understand that being professional is a requirement in areas such as the workplace, but that does not mean that you have to actively engage in conversation with those you dislike or come back from dealing with a customer saying, “What an idiot” or “That person should never be allowed to reproduce.”