Rhinoceros | Rhinoceros

At a glance:

Author: Eugene Ionesco
First Published: 1959
Type of Work: Drama
Type of Plot: Absurdist
Time of Work: Indeterminate
Setting: A small provincial town in France
Principal Characters: Berenger, Jean, Daisy, The Waitress, The Grocer, The Grocer’s Wife, The Old Gentleman, The Logician, The Housewife, The Café Proprietor, Mr. Papillon, Dudard, Botard, Mrs. Boeuf, A Fireman, The Little Old Man, The Little Old Man’s Wife
Genres: Drama, Absurdist literature
Subjects: France or French people, Communication, Human behavior, Loneliness, Animals, Metamorphosis or transmogrification, Rhinoceros
Locales: France

In a square in a small provincial town, a large number of comic types passed by chatting. Jean and Berenger conversed across a table at a sidewalk café. Jean berated his unshaven friend for drinking too much. Berenger complained that his life was still unsettled. Jean, who proceeded to lecture Berenger about duty, told him that he must get used to life as it is. Everything was interrupted by a rhinoceros, which thundered by immediately offstage. The townspeople were astounded and alarmed. Before long another rhinoceros galloped by, or perhaps it was the same one...

Rhinoceros | Rhinoceros

At a glance:

The Story:

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