Where Alceste Doesn't Care What You Think

The Misanthrope by Molière
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't quite explain, but I liked it.

If I described this play to myself, including the plot and the characters, I'd expect to hate it. 17th century French verse translated to English--not necessarily promising. And I read Moliere's Tartuffe, and found it not to my taste at all. By all rights I should have disliked this play. But I thought it was entertaining and interesting and thought-provoking.

Alceste is the misanthrope in question. I don't, as a rule, like stories about unlikable people, and he's kind of a jerk, but that didn't throw me. He's a nobleman stuck in a society where everyone compliments everyone else to their face, where flattery is the norm, but most of it is insincere. He's not like that. He hates that. It's strange that he's in love with a young woman, Célimène, who is exactly like that--she is sweet and friendly with everyone, allows all kinds of men to court her, gives and receives flattery at all times, refuses to offer a harsh opinion. She seems to care for Alceste, even though he criticizes her for this and demands she change.

Meanwhile, other women, for whatever reason, are in love with the misanthropic Alceste. He doesn't care. But it creates a number of love triangles.

Another plot point that shows his irascible but honest approach to life is when a powerful man reads a sonnet he wrote and Alceste is very direct, very rude about it. He hates the poem and advises the man to give up writing. To me, that's mean honesty, but it's perfectly consistent with his personality. So yeah, he's a real jerk. Amusingly, the injured man takes him to court over it (I don't know how that's a thing) and wins a settlement because Alceste refuses to apologize or make up in any way. So despite being grumpy and hard to be around, Alceste is the only one who's principled. He's the only one who's honest. I don't normally appreciate that kind of honesty, but I like it here.

When it is revealed at the end via intercepted letters that sweet Célimène is, behind their backs, talking crap about every man who's chasing her, including Alceste, I kinda thought he'd applaud her for it, because she's pretty harsh, using the kind of language he prefers. Nope. That's not how it was received. (If she had said all of these things aloud, in person, even to him, I think he would have been happy about it. Said in secret and revealed by accident didn't work.) He said he'd forgive her anyway if she'd run away with him, since he's wants nothing to do anymore with society, but she won't go.

I would have liked a happier ending, but I think, in the end, everybody's fine. His friend is gonna marry another nice young woman, Célimène is gonna keep having men adore her, and Alceste is gonna go be grouchy in some country home. Maybe he'll meet an overly-direct woman out there, in the imaginary life that happens after the play is over. But it doesn't matter--the message is key here, and I'm fine with that. Be direct and honest. Don't give false praise. Don't keep suitors dangling, leaving them in doubt and wasting everyone's time. Don't pretend to be devoted to a friendship with someone you despise. Don't worry so much about keeping everyone's good opinion.

Quit being such a hypocrite.

All good advice.

Recommended. Now I need a recommendation for a performance of it, preferably in English. I'm gonna go look.

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