The Misanthrope Essay, Research Paper

The Misanthrope

Have you ever noticed what the difference between a popular person and a person that is rarely ever noticed? Well, if you really examine the issue, it usually is for one very obvious reason. The popular person will always have something that almost everyone else doesn?t have but that everyone else wants. In the play, The Misanthrope, which was written by Moliere, Celemine is at the center of attention. Celemine is the object of everyone’s attention only because she has what every other character in the play wants. Arsinoe makes Celemine the center of attention because she likes Alceste, one of the many men that has a tender for Celemine’s love; The men adore her because they want to be the lucky one to have her entirely for themselves; Others adore her because she has wit and taste.

Arsinoe makes Celemine the center of attention because she likes Alceste. Both, Arsinoe and Eliante have a crush on the man that is madly and blindly in love with Celemine; his name is Alceste. Both women desperately hope that things will not work out between Celemine and Alceste. Envious, Arsinoe tries to upset Celemine by making false rumors about her. She claims that she is trying to be a friend to Celemine by telling her all of the bad things that people are saying about her, when it is very obvious that she is only trying to put down Celemine because Alceste is madly in love with her. Next, Arsinoe, out of jealousy, accuses Celemine of buying her affection. She claims that she could just as easily win the awe of men if she actually tried or cared enough. Also, Arsinoe tries to convince Alceste that he deserves better than Celemine. Arsinoe states, “I could dearly wish your passion better placed……She who allures you is unworthy of you. During these few lines, Arsinoe is trying to tell Alceste that Celemine does not deserve his love and that she would be better for him then Celemine would. Finally, Arsinoe is quick to defend Alceste when he is furious at Celemine, hoping to win him over. She accuses Celemine of doing Alceste indignity by faking her love for him. She accuses Celemine of committing the darkest of the world’s deeds because mislead Alceste’s heart. However, this zealous effort of Arsinoe’s does not win her the favor of Celemine. These are a few of the examples that show us that Celemine is at the center of attention of Arsinoe.

The men adore Celemine because they want to be the lucky one to have her entirely for themselves; this, I suppose would make them feel special, since almost all of the male characters want her. Celemine has apparently promised all that hold affection to her, that she loves only them. This causes all of the men to think that they are the one that she solely loves. First, Celemine replied to Alceste, “The happiness of knowing that you are loved,” when he asked what advantage he had over the other men. In this message Celemine is communicating with Alceste that he is the only one whom she loves. This keeps Alceste as a prisoner of her love, believing that she loves only him. Next, Celemine has apparently made it certain to her other three lovers that they are the ones that she held her affection for; she seemed to have done this in separate letters that she had written to each of the men. Celemine effectively captivated all of the men’s hearts by promising each of them that they were indeed the one that she loved. Acaste replied, “I’ve some grounds, Marquis, for thinking so,” when he was asked by Clitandre if he thought that Celemine fancied him. In this passage where Acaste showed such confidence, it is very apparent that Celemine made it very clear of her affections for him as well. This is the same case for the other two men also. Each man only stayed around in her worship because they truly believed that they were the special man in her life. None of the men knew that her tenders were in fact very false. Their interests change at the end of the play when Celemine’s true intention for mere attention is unraveled.

Finally, the last reason that Celemine is at the center of attention is because she is very discretionary with her wit and taste. Celemine always has many visitors at her home that she entertains with her with her discretion about other people. Anyone that is anybody knows that most people thrive on the works of gossip, and we can see that Celemine is the ringleader of this gossip. It appears that that everyone, that attends Celemine?s daily gossip group, simply throws out names at random and they become the subject of conversation. During one particular occasion of gossip Clitandre says to Celemine, ?But young Cleon, who is visited by the best people, what do you say of him?? This is a fine example that shows the direction of the conversation. Clitandre basically just mentioned a name to Celemine and she begun to rattle off all of her opinions about this person. All of Celemine?s daily gossip audience also seems to think that Celemine herself is without flaw. Because Celemine is so good at bringing out all of the awful things about her gossiping subjects, she appears to be unblemished to everyone. It seems that she has made herself a person of high authority, like a judge, simply by talking bad about everyone else. One example that supports the fact that people find Celemine to be perfect is when Acaste says, ?I find her full of grace and charm. I?ve never noticed any faults in her.?

We can easily see that Celemine is at the center of attention because she has something that every other character in the story wants. She has the love of many men, which makes her popular amongst the women. She flounders her beauty and promising heart to every guy, making them eager to have her. And, Celemine has unyielding discretion about everyone and anyone, giving her the attention that she thrives upon so very much. Celemine seems to have created herself a silhouette of false illusion that has caused everyone to gravitate towards her. Some how Celemine has managed to make others want her or something of hers. Celemine, through treachery and diversion, gave herself an image that seemed to be most resplendent. This eventually all collapses for Celemine when everyone finds out the truth that she tried so hard to cover up; when everyone finds out that Celemine is not as sincere to everyone behind his or her backs as she is in front of them. The people find themselves equally amongst the epidemy of sheer garbage as the plot unwinds towards the end of the play.