Dec 29, 2009

The Misanthrope | Themes

Honesty and Hypocrisy
The overriding theme of The Misanthrope is honesty and hypocrisy. Alceste, the central character, is a misanthrope because he is disgusted by the hypocrisy that, in his view, characterizes human society. Alceste claims to be the only truly honest person he knows. As the play opens, he is criticizing Philinte for insincerely behaving with affection toward someone who is merely a mild acquaintance. When Oronte asks for Alceste's opinion about the love sonnet he has written, Alceste is brutally honest in claiming that the poem is "trash" and that...