Book Review: The Misanthrope
I’ve read Molière in the past, and I really enjoyed ‘Don Juan’. So I was excited to get started on this. Molière is known for being outrageous and witty - so much so that ‘Don Juan’ was banned by the French government at its publication for being obscene and against the aristocracy (honestly, it was no wonder the French decided to revolt). But ‘The Misanthrope’ was different, still anti-aristocracy, still against the French bourgeois grain… but, I don't think I enjoyed this at all.
That's not to say the text doesn't deserve any merits; I loved the rhyming scheme of this play. It's not something you see often in text post-Shakespeare; it added a certain playfulness to the work - even with this translation! A lot is going on to try and make the text rhyme, so the manipulation of language and words is fascinating to see on the page AND for it to still make sense. If you’re someone who believes in the power and true meaning of language, then the text is a philosophical masterpiece and really funny.
That being said, with the almost overly excessive play on words to fit the meter and rhyming scheme, it felt like the play didn't make sense. Perhaps that is the curse of reading a translation: is the work better in French? Well, now we’ll never know. But there are moments in the text where I wonder, is this overindulgence in language a little bit of subterfuge? Moliere was overly critical of the aristocracy and the upper classes, which we know for sure, but is this further criticism? Making the language of the play, the words the characters speak, somewhat utterly ridiculous to show off how utterly ridiculous he finds them? I’m starting to think so.
All in all, I wouldn't say that this was my favourite play I’ve read this year. I can see why it is considered a theatrical triumph. There is wit aplenty, interesting social commentary, but the text is very dense and even with the rhyming scheme, I’m not sure it flows well. Perhaps in performance it does, with inflexions in the voice with actors playing with the tempo and meter of the play, then, perhaps the play sings. But it does not read very well. Therefore, it is not one that I would be rushing to the theatre to see.