Q. Discuss the significance of the title of the play Rhinoceros.

The play Rhinoceros, written by absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco in 1958, reflects a view that holds the
universe to be ultimately meaningless, irrational, and absurd. In his essay, "Notes and Counter-Notes,"
Ionesco writes, "I see myself torn apart by blind forces rising from my innermost self and clashing in some
desperate unresolved conflict . . . it is clear that I can never know who I am, or why I am." Ionesco writes his
plays to present his inner conflicts with what he sees as an incomprehensible universe and also to express
his difficulties in coming to terms with his own existence. In his play Rhinoceros, Ionesco reveals his fears
about the savagery latent in the human heart and also, through the character of Berenger, projects himself
and his own struggles into his drama. Inspired by Ionesco’s personal experiences with fascism during World
War II, this absurdist drama depicts the struggle of one man to maintain his identity and integrity alone in a
world where all others have succumbed to the “beauty” of brute force and violence. Rhinoceros was
originally
produced on January 25, 1960, at the Odéon under the direction of Jean-Louis Barrault. It is considered by
many to be Ionesco’s finest play, and has been identified by Martin Esslin as one of the masterpieces of the
Theatre of the Absurd.

Rhinoceros is usually interpreted as a response to the sudden upsurge of fascism during the events
preceding World War II, and explores the themes of conformity, culture, and morality. Ionesco's
primary purpose in writing Rhinoceros was not simply to criticize the horrors of the Nazis, but to explore
the mentality of those who so easily succumbed to fascism. In the play, characters repeat ideas and
theories they have heard others repeat. At first, everyone is horrified by the violent beasts,
but once other people, especially authority figures, collapse in the play, those remaining find it easier and
easier to justify the metamorphosis. By the play’s end, even the violence and atrocity of the rhinos is being
praised for its simplicity and beauty.

Ionesco has chosen Rhinoceros as the title of his play very aptly. The rhinos, with their greenish-gray skin
and powerful hides in their collective movement on the stage and destructive urge represent the Panzer
divisions of the Nazis, impenetrable, green, short-tempered and ruthless. The ferocity of these rhinos is also
a reference to Hitler’s ideas of the man of the future where there is no compassion and the weak have to be
eliminated. The rhinoceros is a thick-skinned creature with a one-track mind
bulldozing its way and destroying any opposition towards a goal it has set for itself. When some characters
in the play like Jean get transformed into a rhinoceros, he displays the same destructive and aggressive
qualities as the thick-skinned creature. This aspect is best revealed in Act 2, Scene 2, in the transformation
scene when Berenger goes to visit his ailing friend and discovers to his dismay that Jean is gradually
changing into a rhinoceros. The metamorphosis is gradual, the voice becomes hoarse, the hearing declines,
memory fades, the skin become shard and green and a bump is forming on his forehead. When Jean is
transformed into a rhinoceros he becomes both absurd and violent. The absurdity is shown when he drops
his pyjama trousers and says it is “Hot— far too hot! — clothes itch, they itch!” What is more disturbing is
the violent streak that he develops. Ionesco writes in his stage directions that “He (Jean) lunges towards
Berenger head down.” Later when Jean gets trapped and locked in the bathroom he bellows, “I’ll trample
you, I’ll trample you down.” The ferocity and lack of tolerance of a rhinoceros gets reflected in Jean’s
behaviour in the locked bathroom. There are sounds of a shattered mirror, objects falling and as Berenger
closes the door his coat is pierced by a rhinoceros’ horn.

Nita N. Kumar in her essay argues that, “In the play we see that the worlds of Berenger and the rhinos are
not absolute binaries, apolitical versus the political or individual versus the collective. The opposites are
perceived to be implicated in each other. Ionesco’s comment on his play and his image of the Rhinoceros is
illuminating:
 “They would kill you without a qualm if you did not think as they do. And in the last

quarter of a century history has given us clear proof that people transformed in this

way are not just like, but truly become rhinoceroses. (153, Notes 213)”

Through the illogic of Botard and the Logician, Ionesco presents his view that human reasoning, despite its
pretensions to the contrary, is essentially meaningless. Ionesco's inner world is irrational and absurd, and
he sees no overriding set of logical rules that tie the universe into a comprehensible whole. According to
Ionesco, human reasoning is incapable of bringing order into the world because it itself amounts to nothing
but nonsense. Another vehicle that Ionesco uses to convey his ideas is the character of Berenger.
Berenger's struggles with life reflect those of Ionesco himself. He, much more than any of the other
characters, sees the reality of life, and he drinks to escape his vision of it.

Within the text, Ionesco has clearly worked beyond the breakdown of a traditional play structure to
create his new anti-theatre — an anti-theatre filled with artistic imagery and thoughtful themes that
further his anti-theatre genre and submit Rhinoceros as a timeless piece of theatre. He also uses many
non-traditional dramatic techniques to present the absurdity of life visually on stage. The most important
one is his use of the rhinoceros as a poetic metaphor of the essential savagery of human
beings and also of the meaninglessness of the universe. Till the time of the writing of this play, such a
wild and savage image as the rhinoceros had normally not been used in drama. The rhinoceros contrasts
starkly with the images of beauty and nobility which characterized plays of earlier eras. Several different
physical objects fall or are destroyed in the play, adding to the violent visual effect of the rhinoceros. For
example, the housewife's cat is run over, and Berenger crashes through a wall as he flees Jean's
apartment.

The themes of Rhinoceros are presented through dramatic and rhetorical techniques, the absurdity of the
supporting characters, and the life struggles of the main character, Berenger. Inexorably, Berenger's
beliefs and hopes for reforming himself are shattered, and there is finally nothing left for him to do but
shout his defiance against a hostile world. He is unable to find ultimate meaning in life
because, according to Ionesco, there is no meaning in life to be found. Now that being a rhinoceros is the
norm, to be human, he realizes, is a monstrosity. He envies the bodies of the rhinos, saying: “My skin is so
slack. I can’t stand this white, hairy body. Oh I’d love to have a hard skinin that wonderful dull green colour
—a skin that looks decent naked without any hair on it, like theirs!” It is
Rhinoceros’ theme of the dangers of collectivized ideologies shown through its protagonist Berenger that
makes the play so effective.
 As B. Mangalam rightly argues, “ Rhinoceros is a political farce that reflects the playwright’s own
intolerance and fear of political opposition. Ionesco indeed is afraid of rhinoceroses.”
BIBILIOGRAPHY


Ionesco, Eugene. Notes and Counter-notes. 1962.

 Esslin, Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd . 1961.

 Ionesco, Eugene. Rhinoceros. 1960.


Kumar, N.Nita. The Last Man Left: Questioning Absurdity in Rhinoceros.2002.

 Mangalam B. Who’s Afraid of Rhinoceros? 2002.


Cornwell, John. Hitler’s Pope. 1999.

Submitted by:
Garima Baweja
B. A. (Hons) English, 3rd Year Roll No.
1298