Hypocrisy in the Misanthrope

Introduction

Many of Molière’s plays embody the style of comedy of manners, which pokes fun at the aristocracy. Despite Molière being born a part of the French aristocracy, and his audience being mainly aristocrats, he still decided to poke fun at the aristocracy.

The Misanthrope

In The Misanthrope, many of the aristocratic characters engage in hypocritical actions. Specifically, the playwright displays the hypocrisy aristocrats embody as they try to fit into accepted society. While Alceste considers himself to be honest and genuine, his hypocrisy comes through in his love for Celimene. In Act 1, scene 1, Alceste condemns mankind and the pretentiousness of the nobles, telling his loyal friend Philante: When I survey the scene of human folly,  Finding on every hand base flattery,  Injustice, fraud, self-interest, treachery....  Ah, it's too much; mankind has grown so base. Alceste dislikes that aristocrats, and mankind in general, are ignorant of the deceit and flattery of society. He despises the falseness of society because he believes relationships require genuine expressions of beliefs and opinions. Alceste believes that if someone does not outwardly tell people the truth, such as disliking someone, that person is rude and a liar. Philinte, thinking Alceste a fool, responds: The world won’t change, whatever you say or do… It is no greater folly, if you ask me, Than trying to reform society” (1.1). In Act 2, scene 5, Alceste criticizes Celimene’s suitors for flattering her, “It’s flatterers like you whose foolish praise / Nourishes all the vices of these days,” shining a greater light on aristocratic society’s use of flattery in a way that creates more hypocrisy. Even though he says he will speak the truth, when Oronte asks for feedback on his poem, Alceste says his true thoughts to Philante, “You know the thing is trash. / How dare you praise it?” (1.2). Alceste instead evades the truth when speaking to Oronte by telling a story of a similar situation with a terrible poet, indirectly telling Oronte his poem is terrible.

Alceste is hypocritical in this instance because he does not directly tell Oronte the truth, despite saying earlier that one should tell the truth if it “is trash”. Later on, Alceste moves onto criticizing France’s justice system, telling Celimene “Then lose your lawsuit, Madam, or let it drop; / Don’t torture me by humoring such a fop (2.1)”, again revealing the problem Alceste has with the French aristocratic society. One comic element in the play is that Alceste falls in love with Celimene, a woman who uses deceit and flattery to manipulate people into getting her way. These tactics are the reason why Alceste condemns the aristocrats, however, when it comes to himself, Alceste looks the other way. Philinte questions Alceste’s love for Celimene because her “brittle malice and coquettish ways / so typify the manners of our days” (1.1). When he is called out on his hypocrisy, he becomes furious and makes up excuses. He rationalizes his deceitfulness by saying “he cannot manage not to love her” (1.1) and “the fault is yours because / you lead her on with laughter and applause” (2.5). Alceste excuses his hypocrisy by explaining that everyone else is responsible for the gossip and they encourage Celimene’s ways. While Alceste blames other for Celimene’s actions, he also begs her to lie to him by telling her “Pretend, pretend, that you are just and true, / and I shall make myself believe in you” (4.3). Celimene’s cousin, Eliante explains that men rarely criticize whomever they are in love with because 'They see their lady as a charming blur… / If she has any blemish, fault, or shame, / They will redeem it by a pleasing name”, emphasizing that Alceste views Celimene’s flaws as positive characteristics due to of his blind love. Alceste’s hypocrisy leads him to fail to live up to the standards he sets for others. Perhaps Alceste believes that if he publicly condemns Celimene or other aristocrats, he will lose his status in society. While he says he shall “do nothing (1.1)” about the repercussions of calling his fellow aristocrats out, he is will not proclaim the truth because he is scared of societal repercussions. He is a hypocrite himself, and therefore is possibly unconsciously scared of others calling him out on his own hypocrisy while he is condemning mankind’s universal hypocrisy. Throughout the play, love serves as a mask for vanity. For example, When Arsino© wants to captivate Alceste’s love in Act 3, she says, “If you will only give me a hint that you seriously think about [a place at court], / a great many engines might be set in motion to serve you” (3.7). Arsinoe appeals to society’s idea of love to serve one’s own interests in order to gain Alceste’s love. Arsinoe also wants Alceste for herself, therefore when she tells Alceste that Celimene is cheating, she also tells him “if you’re saddened by that revelation, / Perhaps I can provide some consolation” (3.7). Love provides opportunities to satisfy vanity, which is an important part of society, which is why the characters are obsessed with it. In Oronte’s sonnet, love is an event the aristocrats can engage in in order to pass time, and through Oronte’s sonnet of love, he is revealing his conceitedness. Oronte is obsessed with himself, which is shown through the imagery in the sonnet such as “your fair face” (1.2). By addressing the sonnet to Celimene, Oronte believes that he should have a fair return on his investment of love as “such joy is full of rue, / if nothing follows after” (1.2). Acaste remarks to Clitandre about love and commerce because Acaste believes “In any proper love affair / the partners must invest an equal share” (3.1), revealing that love is really in the interest of one’s self. Later on, Arsinoe remarks to Celimene about the implications of the mask of love, telling Celimene that in order to have lovers, they must be bought (3.5). Both the men and the women in the play satisfy their vanity by having suitors, and in Celimene’s case, many suitors. When Alceste accuses Celimene of entertaining men other than himself, she responds “‘What a gallant speech! How flattering to me” (2.1)!

While Celimene insults Alceste and his jealousy, Alceste still loves her and that helps Celimene’s vanity. Celimene’s suitors want to be repaid, and her lies and flattery are enough for the payment. While Celimene complains about the suitors and is not interested in them, as made clear by the letter (5.4), she enjoys the attention and flattery she gets from them. Alceste is jealous of the other suitors, but Celimene responds, saying “Is it my fault that all these men pursue me? / Am I to blame if they’re attracted to me?” (2.1). Celimene’s hypocrisy shows through when she tells Alceste to stop being jealous because he “knows he has her love” (2.1), but she does not deny the other suitors her love either. The aristocrats are dominated by their desire to be admired and loved by as many members of the opposite sex because of their self-interest. These tactics, such as flattery and deceit, are used by many of the characters because the aristocratic society encourages them. For example, when Acaste comes to visit Celimene in Act Two, scene Three, Alceste asks why Celimene never turns down her visitors. She responds that her visitors are “no great help, but they can do you harm” (2.3) because in aristocratic society, gossip spreads and can either be helpful or harmful. When a character’s vanity is tarnished or put down, as a result, they love the other person a bit less. For example, when Celimene’s suitors read the letter saying how boring they are, they are suddenly not interested in Celimene anymore and her to chose one of her suitors. Celimene’s letter brings to light her true thoughts of the suitors, but also points to their society as helping develop hypocrisy. Just as vanity motivates love, self-interest motivates friendship throughout this play, and these friendships are used to manipulate other characters.

Oronte and Acaste boast that they are in the good graces of the king, and they use their good reputation to influence people’s actions. For example, before introducing his poem to Alceste in Act 1, Oronte says, “I have his [the King’s] ear of course; it’s quite well known / That I am much in favor with the throne” (1.2). Oronte’s corrupt concept of friendship leads him to offer his support to Alceste at court in response to Alceste praising his poem. Another example of this mask is Celimene’s friendship with Clitandre. As much as Celimene gossips about Clitandre with his “embroidered hose… and his ribbons and his bows” (2.1), Celimene stays friends with him because she her lawsuit trial is soon and she “must have his influence on [her] side” (2.1). Alceste also despise the hypocrisy of the corrupt definition of love and friendship, as defined by societal ideals, but he is a hypocrite I these ideals too. As the play comes to an end, Alceste is fed up with hypocrisy and says he will reject society by living in the woods. Ultimately though, Molière leaves it up to the audience to decide whether he leaves society or is pulled back into society’s hypocrisy. The masks of the aristocrats are used to make their way in the elite, upper-class world of seventeenth-century Paris. Just as hypocrisy is present in France, it is also a part of present-day society.  

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