The Misanthrope 779of misunderstanding for the other members of his
upper class. Alceste’s ethics is fast described: A man
has to be sincere, “in every single word” (4). But this
is rather incompatible with a society based exclu-
sively on appearances.
The pompous lords and ladies’ ethics showed in
the play are even more caricatured than Alceste’s
austerity. The major representatives of this kind of
morality are the two marquises, Acaste and Clitan-
dre. The first thing Clitandre says, for example, as
he enters the stage in act 2, is: “Goodness me! I’ve
just come from His Majesty’s levee” (30). And, at the
very beginning of act 3, while speaking with Clitan-
dre, Acaste confesses that the secret of his happiness
is a life based on futile occupations. Acaste is in fact
“graced with youth and fortune, and a family name
of some distinction” (41). And he goes as far as say-
ing: “intelligence and taste I have to spare; I need
no erudition” (41); “I dress well, in the fashion of
the times . . . my carriage is erect and manly; for my
teeth—well, sir, neglect them at your peril! And my
waist is trim” (42).
What makes the courtesan ethics of appear-
ance incompatible with Alceste’s ethics is ultimately
esteem. Alceste often deals with the subject of esteem
as crucial, because if all the social system lies on for-
malities, how can one recognize whether someone’s
esteem is true or false? The court ceremonial does
not allow someone to say the truth to others, all the
less so when a bad judgment is involved: “no man of
principle would dream of falling for such cheaply-
won esteem” (5), says Alceste about this milieu where
everyone seems to love each other. There are no good
opinions expressed toward the marquis’s attitude,
even though the wise Philinte tries to soothe the
conflict between the two contrasting ethics of exces-
sive austerity and excessive frivolity.
We could say that exaggeration is what prevents
this play from turning into a tragedy. In this regard,
Alceste’s idea of ethics is both utopian and dictato-
rial, because he would like people to be true and talk
beyond all appearance (“Let no disguise mask what
you feel with flattery and lies!” (5); but, at the same
time, he is not a democrat of feelings, since he wants
everyone to behave like him. His wise confidant,
Philinte, knows that the disproportion of Alceste’s
rage makes him a comic character, not a tragic hero:
“Your black moods simply make me want to laugh”
(7). Alceste is a caricature of a man: He is a mis-
anthrope and he hates the human race, “every man
on earth” (7). This hate leaves him with little lucid
judgment, and he doesn’t understand that he cannot
change the world with his bursts of anger. In the
end, Molière is trying to say to his spectators that
it is really difficult to be “normal,” and that excesses
characterize everyone’s position, from the wisest to
the silliest.
Tania Collaniindividual and Society in The Misanthrope
The title of Molière’s play speaks volumes about
the relationship between individual and society: A
“misanthrope” is a person who dislikes and avoids
other people. Indeed, the main character of the play,
Alceste, hates both the appearance and substance of
the society he lives in, based as it is on empty and
false ceremonies.
Since Alceste’s values are sincerity and austerity,
he cannot integrate himself properly into 17th-
century Parisian and aristocratic society. Its salons
full of women in pompous wigs and dresses chatting
about fashion make him furious and willing to be
alone—indeed, as he often says, he’d rather be in a
desert. The individual’s repulsion against society is
made clear in act 1, when, speaking with his confi-
dant and friend Philinte, Alceste cries: “For two pins
I’d forsake the wretched human race entirely, make
some wilderness my home” (8). Philinte tries use-
lessly to soothe Alceste’s bad temper: “Good Lord,
forget the modes and manners of the age and let frail
human nature take its share of blame!” (8).
If Alceste hates society, the play makes clear
that society returns the feeling, by isolating him and
giving him the misfortunes he experiences in love
(he will lose his beloved Célimène) as well as in
everyday life (he will lose a case and have to pay a
fine). Alceste is treated like a malcontent, incapable
of enjoying life, although he is born into a wealthy
environment. Philinte, a sincere and self-controlled
man, repeatedly tells him not to waste his energy on
such things, for the world cannot be changed: “It’s
utterly folly for one man to wage war on the world”