CC13S

eme
sterVI

Moder
nEur
opea
nDr
ama

Rhi
noc
erosbyEug
eneI
one
sco

E
xpl
ori
ngt
heE
xis
tent
ial
Cri
si
sinE
ugeneI
ones
co'
s"Rhi
noc
eros
"

The French pl
aywri
ghtEugene I
onesco(1909-1994)i naugurat
eda nd devel
oped a drama that
test
if
iestoitswondersbyme ansofthea bs
urda ndg r
otesque.Het r
iedtoex posethei nt
imate
real
it
yby ex pr
essi
ng the i
ncomprehensi
bl
e.L i
kee xis
tenti
a l
i
sts,hebel i
evesint he s ubj
ecti
ve
experi
ence.Accor
dingtoIonesc
o,themode r
nma nisapuppe t,aj umpingjack.Hi
st endencyis
giv
ewa ytoownt hink
ingproc
essands el
f-cons
cious
ness.Hisapproa
c histhatofane xis
tenti
al
ist
.

Ionescor eali
zedt henee dt o under s
tand t he e ssenceofourex istenc ea nd he ncea t
tempt st o
“isol
atet hisonee leme ntwhi ch her egar dsa stheonet hatc ons t
itutest het heatr
e’ss upreme
achieveme nt
…a ndt or estoreane nti
relyt heatrical
”( Essl
in161).Existent i
al
ismi saphi losophyt ha t
exa minespr oblemsofex is
tence.T oe xistmea nst os tand out.S oren Ki erkeg
aa rdandJ eanPa ul
Sartre ha ves hown t hatt os t
and outme a ns a ls
ot os t
andoutt o one s
elfa sa nother.T he
existe
nt i
a lphilosophye xamineswha ti tmea ntt obehuma n,tobef reea ndt obei nas t
rugg l
e
withr easoni nt hewor ld,whi chi sthes tr
ug gleof“ i
rrati
onalma n”.E xi
stencei ssubjecti
vea nd
thef irs
tpr i
nciplefrom whi cha llelseflows .Ont heot herha nd,es se ncei sobjecti
vea ndr efe rs
tot het ruena tureoft hings.Byl iv
ing,t hinkinga nda ctingma ndef i
ne shisna t
ur eandf ormshi s
essenc e.Itisama nwhoc hoosesa ndwhoi sr espons i
bl
ef orhisownes s
e nce.

TheGer manphi losopherMa rtinHei de gg erist hec ent r

alf i
gureinex istenti
alt houg ht.Hes hif
tshi s
empha sisfrom huma nex is
tenc etoBe ingi ni t
st otali
ty.Al t
houg hBei ngi sc ont inuous l
yma nif
esti
ng
i
tselfi nt hings,a c
cordingt oHei deg ger,Bei ngi t
selfha sbee nf orgotten.Be ingha sbee nr educed
toawor l
dof“ objects
”t hata rema nipulateda nddomi nat
edbyhuma ns ubj ec t
st hroughas ense
ofhuma nma del ogics.In' '
Bei ng a nd T ime'' ,the ma j
ort hemei st he ev oluti
on of“ Dase i
n”.
“Da s
e in”i sthewa yi nwhi cht he“huma nbei ngs,a sdi sti
nctfrom t hi ng
se x is
t .Heideggerma kes
i
tc lear:T he e s
senc e ofDa seinl iesi ni tse xis
tenc e”.I nf ac t
,a sHe i
deg ge ri n“ Essenc ea nd
Exi
s t
e nce”s ays,ma ndoe snotmer elyfa l
li ntoer rors,hel i
vesi ne rrorsa lwa ys.The see rrorsa r
e
nots pe ci
ficmi st
a kes,butma n’swhol el i
fe .Ne verthe l
essma n ha st hepot ent ialtos e et hrough
theer rorsofc ari
ngf ort hingswhi chc ontinuet or uinhi m,a ndi nt hepr oc es srobhi m ofhi s
authe ntici
ty.Inc ar
ingf ort hing s
,webe comest hing s,webe come“ they”.I one sco projected all
theset hemesi nhi spl ays.Ana uthe nticex ist
enc ec anbef ound,a ccor di
ngt oHe i
deg g
e r
,onl yby
beingc onne c
tedwi t
ht hec ha ll
eng eoft i
mea ndbyt akinga cc
ountt odea th.Wha tbringspe opl
e
toa nt ici
patet heirde athist he i
rre ali
zationt hatex istencei slaunc hedbe twe ennot hi
ngne ssa nd
nothing nessa ndt hatiti snot hingnes st hati sr eal
.

ForSartr
e,a ut
hentic
it
yi st
heulti
mategoalofhumanl i
feanditisonlythr
oughtheaccept
ance
ofourr espons
ibi
li
tyt ha
twelivei
na ut
hent
ici
ty.I
tsopposi
teisbadf a
ith.Manypeopl
ea renot
cons
cious
ly orv i
sibl
ya nxi
ous
.T hi
s merel
yi sbeca
uset hey a
rehidi
ng orf l
eei
ng f
rom thei
r
r
espons
ibi
l
ity.The
yactandl
i
veins
elfdec
epti
onorunaut
henti
ci
ty,wha
tSart
res
aysthat“t
heone
whopract
icesbadfa
ithi
she
eli
ngadispl
eas
ingt
rut
h,orpre
senti
ngast
rut
hapleas
ingunt
rut
h”.

'
'Rhinoc er os'
'( 1959) i sr ec ogniz
ed a sI onesco’s mos ts oc i
ala ndpolit
ica l dra ma.I ti sa
ma nifesta ti
on ofe xi
st
e ntial
ism ini tspresentat
ion oft he struggl
e ofa na uthenticindividual
againstt hec ollecti
ve.Ione scos oug httoc onveyt hebe auti
ful
,r i
diculousa ndhor r
iblea spectsof
i
ndiv i
dua li
zed huma nl ifei n bot hc omica ndt ragic modes ofe xperi
enc e.I nt hi
s pl ay he
accompl ishedhi st asktor evealthes ea spectsbye xposi
nghow a ni ndivi
dua lisens naredbyt he
cli
ché sa nd l i
e s of l a ngua g
e ,c ulturalc onventions,poli
tic
alc onformis
m a nd phi l
osophical
i
dea li
z ation.T heonl ywa ytodoa wa ywi tha l
lt hesee vil
si stoc hoos ere spons i
blya ndt ol ive
authe ntica l
ly
.T hepl ayi sa na l
legoryoft hea bsurdityofindivi
duali
sm,whi c hdi rectsitsel
fa tthe
ali
ena tionofma n,a thi sex i
stenti
ala ngst,thepa i
nofl i
vi
nga ndf earofde ath,a tt hec onstant
desiref orme a ninginthemea ni
nglessuni vers
ea ndfinal
lyt of i
ndinghi mse l
fi ntot hea byss.It
drama ti
ze st hea bsur
diti
esa ndunc e
r t
a i
nti
esofBer enger-ane very
ma nwhoi sca ughtbe twe e
nt he
twof alsewor lds,na mely ,
bour geois
iet hewor l
dofpet i
tandt hatoft het houg htlessdy namism of
ther hinoc eros es.

Theplayi sadiatri
bea ga
ins ttheoppr essi
ona ndt er
rorofNa zis
t a
te.Mul t
ipl
einterpr
e t
ati
onshave
been off
ered fort he tit
le wor d“ rhi
noceros”.Literal
lywr it
ten a sa“ uni
vers
a lparabl
e”on t he
subj
ectof“ conformi s
m” ,t hepla yisas ati
re,notona nyi deologytowhi chma nma yfeelthe
urgetoc onf
orm,buts pecifi
cal
lyont heNa zii
deology.Het houghti ttobehi sdut ytor ev
ealthe
i
nsanit
yof t hi
st erri
bles yst
em t hatr educed t he indivi
dua lt os l
ave
ry.Ionesco wa ss adl
y
famil
ia
riz
ed witht he s i
tua ti
on of f ri
endss udde nl
yt ransforme di ntof i
lt
hy be as
ts,br ai
nles
s
crea
turesand gov e
r ned bys l
ogans.Huma nv alueswer e de c
li
ning a nd ani
ma linst
inctsbecame
dominantintha tthr e
ateningpe riod.Wi tht hi
sa pproachi nmi nd,t heRhinoceroswa spr ese
nted
tode s
cri
bethe“ pr
oc essofc oll
ectiv
et ransf
orma ti
on”.

I
nt hemet aphori
ca ls
ense,onec anidentif
yt hepol i
ti
calsyst
emsa ndt hepa rtymembersf rom the
f
ell
-diseas
eofr hinocer
iti
s.Event hegreens kinoft hebe ast
sc ouldbec ons i
deredanallusi
ont o
t
heNa ziuni
forms .Anima linst
inctteac
he sther hinocerosthats tr
engthisobt ai
nedbyt hos ewho
c
oalesce in numbe r
s . And t hissymboliz
est he t ransf
orma t
ion of I onesco’
sc hara ct
ersin
'
'
Rhinocer
os''
,who a ref asci
na t
ed by t he politi
cali nfl
uences.Ionesc
ot hrough hi
sc ha r
act
e r
s
s
urrounded byni ghtma r
es,dr eama t
mos pherea nd s ubconsc
iousmi nd,ist otall
ycommi tt
edt o
r
eali
tyand responsibi
li
tyi n hi
spl ays
.I onesc
o us est he charact
erofBer eng erwho ist he very
s
ymbolofl oneli
nes sandi s
olati
onwhobe ar
st het ot
a lr
esponsi
bili
tyofma n.

In''Rhinocer
os"Ber engeri snota ni ntell
ectual,talented a nd overc i
vi
li
zed ma nlike hi
sfriend
Jea
n,buthes ensesthei nherentabsurdityofe xis
tence .Hebec omesc onsc
iousa gai
nstcomplete
despa i
rwhichisana nguis
heds i
gnofpr otesta gai
nsts urrender.Hedoe snotwa ntt obeapa r
tof
the he rdl i
ke ot herss imply byc onforming a nd a dher i
ng.He s hows his mor als e
nsi
bili
ty,
i
ndividuali
tyandhuma ni
tybyr esi
sti
ngt illthee nd,whe reasal
l t
heot herinha bita
ntsoft hec i
ty
gra
dua ll
yc onvertintorhinoceroses
.Indi v
iduality
,whi chi st hemos ti mportantt hemeoft hepl ay,
deri
v esthec entra
la nti-rhinocer
osme taphor .I
one s
c ode pic
tshow t hebour geoismi ndha scome
torel
yonr
ati
onal
it
yand“
log
ica
lne
ces
sit
y”t
ogi
ve aj
ust
if
ic
ati
onf
orwha
tev
erphe
nome
non ma
y
happe
ntoari
se.

T heconver
sat
ionbet weentheLogic
iana ndtheOl dGe nt
lema nr
evol
vesa r
oundlogici
nt hefi
rst
actwheretheL ogi
ci
anpr e
sentsthepseudointel
l
ectua
la pproachtoeverypr obl
em whic
hi sone
oft hegreatda ng
ers ofmoderns oc
iety becaus
ei tt ends tolos
es ightofr ea
li
tya nd t
he
sponta
neit
yofemot i
onalexpr
ess
ion.Hei ll
ust
rat
estheincoherenc
eofr at
ionali
tywhenhepr ov
es
thatSocr
ateswa sacat.

'
'
Log
ici
an:Anot
hers
yll
ogi
sm.Al
lca
tsdi
e.dea
d.T
her
efor
eSoc
rat
esi
sac
at.
'
'

Wi tht he a ppe arance oft he r hinoceros,t he t own wa si nitial

lys hoc k
e d buts oon i nv olv
ed i n
deba ti
ng i rrelev anci
es ofwhe thert hey ha ve one hor n ort wo.Rhi noc eros es s tampede a nd
trumpet ;the irnumbe rsincreaseex ponent i
ally;theydes troypubl icpr opertyandea te very t
hingi n
sight;a nd t hey br ing increa si
ng c ha os t ot hewor ld ofhuma nc i
ti
zens .I nst
ea d oft aking
responsiblea c t
iona g ai
nstc ha os,di sordera nd v iolence,t hec it
izense xpl
oi tl og i
ca ndr ea s
on t o
disguis
et henonl ogicales s
enc eofr eality
.T hema inthe meoft hepl ayist hebet rayalofma nby
hisowni nte l
lec t
.Hei sbet rayedbyt hei l
lus i
onofl ogicwhe ne verhet riest oex ploitt hisil
lusi
on
toj usti
fyt heunj ustifi
able.Themode rnha sl osthi ss ens eofi ndi vi
dua l
itya ndpe rsona lt hi
nk i
ng.
He ha sbe come t otall
yde pendenton a l
lwi sdom ofa ut hor i
t y.T he bour geoi sha sg ive n uphi s
responsibilit
iesa nd ha sc onceived t he forc esofs oc i
alor dera st he onlyhope t ha tt he y“ wil
l
acceptt hebur deni nhi ss t
e ad,a ndi nretur nf ors urr
oundedl iberty,g i
vej us ti
ce,or dera nda
comf ortablequi etude ”( Coe95) .Ber eng er
,t heonl yc ha r
a cteri nt hepl ay,whoi swi ll
ingt oe xpl
oit
thepos sibil
iti
e soft otalfreedom be causeofhi spos i
ti
v ea ccept anceoft hei rrat
iona l
,i ss aved
from thef atewhi chov ert akest heot hers.I ones copr ojectst heex ist
entialthemeoft hebe tr
ay a
l
ofl ogica ndr easoni nf avorofi ndividuali
t y.Thef irsts ceneofs econda c tbeg insi nBer eng er’
s
offic
ewhi c hpr ovidesa na t
mos phe ref or“ bur eauc rat
icbi cke ri
ng ”a mongMr .Pa pill
on,t hehea dof
thispa rti
c ularof fi
ce,Mr .Duda rd,hi sa s
sistanta nd Bot a r
d,af ormers choolma ster,a boutt he
reacti
on t ot he r hinoce r
os i ncidents.Bot a rd pr esente da st he “ Br
echt i
on” ,t he“ commi tted
propa gandi s
t”i sobs essedwi thhi sownt endenc yt oe xplaint hi ngs.

'
'Bot
ard:Ik now myownmind.I
’m notc
ontentt
osi
mpl
ytha
taphenomenone
xis
ts.Ima
kei
t
mybusines
st ounder
sta
ndi
tandexpl
aini
t.
"

I
one scoshowst heex i
stenti
alconcernthatthet rueme ani
ngl iesinres ponsi
blea ct
ionr at
hert han
conformit
y.And r esi
stancet ot a
kinga cti
on resul
tsi nt ra
nsformation ofa ni ndivi
dualintoa
rhi
noc er
os.Thef i
rstindivi
dualtoc apsula
teisMr .Boeufwhor epres
e ntsbourge oi
smi nd.Hel oses
hissenseoft ruee xist
enc eanddeterior
atesintoas ol
it
arynonent i
tywhi c
hi sobv i
ouslyapr i
ma ry
tar
getf orrhinoceri
tis
.Mr s.Boeufde ci
dess hewi l
ls t
aywi thhe rhus band,joinshi m byjumpi ng
outoft hewi ndow ont ohi sback.I
one sc
oc reatesthea bsur
ds it
uati
onofi ndivi
dualmut ati
oni nto
rhi
nocerosa nd c haractersdo notk now wha tt o ma ke oft hisa bs ur
de venta nd i
ndul
gei n
str
ange de t
a i
ls
.By t he e nd oft he f i
rsts c
eneofAc tT wo,ma ny ofc it
izens havea lr
ea dy
tra
ns f
ormedi ntorhinocerosesbutBe rengerdea l
swi ththes i
tuati
onwi thc a
lmne ss.Inthesecond
sceneofAc tTwo Be r
eng e
rwi t
ness
est hemet amorphosi
sofJ eani nf rontofhisey es.J eanis
succumbed tot
he lure ofa ni
ma linst
inctand r e
ma inscomplacentdur i
ngthewhol e pr ocessof
transf
ormati
oni
ntoar hi
noceros.Hei sfasci
natedbyt heva l
ueofna t ur
edes pi
teBe renge r
’splea
for huma ni
tyandmor a
ls tandards
.Althoughs hoc k
ed by J ean’
ss it
uati
on,Ber engerr e mai
ns
persi
stentinhi
sindiv
iduali
tya ndv i
ewshuma ni
tya ssupe
riorthatca nnotbeme ta
mor phose dby
wa yofamoni sti
cwor l
dviewt hatisbey ondmor ali
ty,huma ni
sm,a ndi ndi
vidua
lper s
ona l
i
tya nd
rig
hts.

The r e alda ngerliesnoti nt he a utoma t i

sm ofma chinesbuti nthea utoma tism ofpa ssions,
de si
resa ndofe vi
li nsti
nctswhi chi sref l
ec t
edi nt hei deologieslikeNa zi
sm.I nt hef ina lac t
,t he
conv ersation be twee n Be re
ng era nd Duda r
da boutt he i s
sue ofev iland t he nor ma l/abnor ma l
i
llustrates t ha tDuda rd,likeJ e an,i s nex tt of orsake hi s huma ni
tya nd i ndiv i
duality.Duda rd
de cl
a r
e st hathei sg oingt ojoint her hinoc erosesonl ys oa stounder sta
ndhowt he i
rmi ndswor k
:
“Is hallk ee pmymi ndc l
ear”.Int hiswa yher at
ionalizeshi sde ci
si
ont obeonewi tha nima l
s.Hi s
de parturel ea v
esBe reng era ndhi sg ir
lf ri
endDa i
sy,t heonl yleftbeingsa mongt her hinoce roses.
I
na nalyzingma ssc onf ormism,I one scoi l
lustratest ha tma n’
sf earofa l
iena t
ion i sofs e conda ry
i
mpor tanc e.Al lthe c haract
er s ex cept Ber engerc onf orm t o ma s
s mov ement f ort he i
r own
pe rs
ona lr easonsa ndt endenc i
es.T hroug ht her el
ations hipbetwe e
nBe rengera ndDa isy,Ione sco
showst hef ail
urei nl ovebel ong st ot herelati
onshipi n mode r
n world.L ov etha tbelong stot he
doma i
noft heirra
tiona lhasnow bec omeapr oduc tofbour geoi
smi nd,t hemi ndobs es sedwi th
l
og ica ndc onformity.Atf ir
st,t heydec i
det os haret hei solati
onbyf eeli
ngl ov ef ore achot her
buts oon Da i
sywea kensa nd l ackss ta minaa nd se lfconf i
dencewhi chre sult
si n he runr e s
isting
attit
ude.T hetrumpe tingoft her hinoce rosesf asci
natesher .

"
Dai
sy:T
hey
’res
ing
ing
.

Be
reng
er:t
hey
’rer
oar
ing
,It
elly
ou.

Da
isy
:you’
rema
d;t
hey
’res
ing
ing
."

Bereng eri sl e f
ta lonewi thhi si ma g
ei nt hemi rr
ora ndhi sclos i
ngs oliloquya sDa i
syl eav esto
becomear hinocer osbya sserti
ngt ha tshedoe snotwa ntt oha vec hi ldrenandt hatt here’sno
pointi ns av i
ngt hewor l
da nywa y
.T hea t
tractiv
e,t heha ppya nd c ar ef r
eewor ldoft hepower -
based moni sm oft her hinoc erosmovementi salief orI ones c o.Be r eng erknowst hisa nd he
cli
ngsi na ni ncons ist
entma nne rtohi sowni ndivi
dua l
i
ty.Ber eng erex hibi tsane xi
st
e ntial
istc hoice
to noti de ntify hims elfwi th a phenomenon oft he town.T hroug ht he c har
a ct
erofBe renger,
I
ones copr oje ct
st hee xi
ste ntialthemet hatma n,byr esisti
ngt het empt ati
onsofc onfor misma nd
byt ak i
ngr e sponsibili
tyf orhi sa ct
ionsc ang i
veame ani ngt ohi se xiste nceint hisi solat
e da nd
mea ning l
esswor ld.He a lone r esi
stst he g eneralinfatua t
ion.Hi sor ig inali
tyliesi n hi spos it
ive
accepta nceoft hei rra
tiona l.Hef i
ndst ha
tt he reisnol ogicalne cessityf orex pla
na tionsoft he
thi
ng st hewa yt heya re.Una bl
et oc ontrolhiss ubconsciousf earsa ndhi sinnerformsofa ng ui
sh,
Bereng r,e mot i
ona l
ly preoc cupieda nd a bsentminded,findsi tdi f
fi
cultt oa daptt ot he r outi
ne
me chani z
ation ofl i
fe.Hi ss ubconscious fearsa nd a ng uishes unde rline t he abs urdit
y ofhi s
exi
st
ence.Hi
sl a
stdespair
ing c
ryi ss
igni
fi
cantwhen he he
lpl
essl
yseeshi swhole worl
d bei
ng
tr
ansf
ormeda ndhec a
ndonot hingt
os topit
.Bereng
er’
sstat
eofc ons
ciousnes
sc omestothe
ext
eri
orforceoftot
ali
tar
iani
sm.Itishisa war
enes
soft heconsc
iousindi
v i
dualst
atetha
toffer
s
hi
m ac oncr
eteexi
st
enti
aldecis
ion.

"Be
renge
r:Ohwel l,tooba
d!I ’
llt
akeonthewhol
eofthem!I
’l
lputupaf i
ghta
gai
nstthelot
ofthem,thewholelotofthe
m!I ’
mthela
stmanleft
,IandI’
msta
yingt
hatwayunt
iltheend.
I
’m notcapi
tul
ati
ng"

Berengerbec omesdeter
mine dtoc ar
rythet ota
lresponsi
bil
i
t yofhuma ni
tyonhi sshoulders.Hi
s
courage providesa ray ofhope f ort
he s ur
viv
alofma nki
nd.I n Hugh Dicki
nson’s words,
“somethi
ngi nsi
dehim-as enseofdut ytel
lshim hemus ttry.Ionesc
o’sdi
ale
cti
coft hea bsur
d
reducesits
el ftotwo proposit
ions
:hisdutyto huma ni
tyist he same a shisdutyt o hisown
nature
;f ort o betr
ayhims el
fiss omehow t o bet
raythe ot hera nd to bet
rayt he othersi
s
somehow tobe t
rayhimsel
f”(
Dicki
nson116).

T
hus ,Ionescoshowsi nt heplayt hatonlyt hrought hes earchforinde pendentthinkinga ndfree
ex
pre ssi
on ofi ndi
viduali
sm,s ocietyca ne xpectt o eliminatea l
li deol
ogic
alv i
ct i
mizati
ons.He
r
ejectst he absurdit
y ofc ol
lecti
vism a nd r hi
noceri
ties,a nd sugg ests adeepera l
ternati
ve of
i
ndividual’
s“thrownnes s”i nt erms ofe xis
tentialphilosophy which me ans paradoxica
ls t
rug
g l
e
a
gains tdespai
ra ndde a
th.Hes eemsc losetoCa musinhi sa dv
ocationofape rsi
st
e ntl
yinte l
l
ect
ua l
a
ndpa ssi
onat
es t
rugglet oma kehi sreadersf eeltheuni queex i
stent i
aldil
emma sofbei nga l
i
v e
.
T
hedr ama t
is
tha stri
e dhisbe sttor ev
e alther eali
tyt hatt hewa yt oauthenti
ci
tyist of acethe
a
bsur dit
yofhuma ne xi
stencea ndt oassertindivi
dual
itybya ct
ingres ponsi
bly.

Wor
ksCi
ted:

Coe,Ri
cha
rdN.
Iones
co.E
dinbur
gh:Ol
i
vera
ndBoy
d,1961.

Dic
kinson,Hugh.“E
ugene I
ones
co:The Exi
st
enti
alOedipus
.”I
one
sco:A Col
l
ect
ion ofCr
it
ic
al
E
ssays.
E d.Ros
ett
eC.Lamont
.New Y
ork:Pr
enti
ce,1973.

E
ssl
i
n,Ma
rti
n.T
heT
hea
treoft
heAbs
urd.
3rded.L
ondon:
Peng
uin,1980.

Hei
deg
ger
,Ma rt
in.Bei
ng a
nd T
ime.T
rans
.John Ma
cqua
rri
eandE
dwa
rd Robi
nson.New Y
ork
:
Har
per
,1962.

I
one
sco,E
ugene.
Rhi
noc
eros.T
rans
.De
rekPr
ous
e.L
ondon:J
ohnCa
lde
r,1960.

S
art
re,J
ean-
Paul
.Bei
nga
ndNot
hing
nes
sTr
ans
.Ha
zelE
.Ba
rne
s.1943.L
ondon:Me
thuen,1984.

S
ing
h,Ra
mSe
wak
.Abs
urdDr
ama
,1945-1965.
Del
hi:
Har
yanaPr
aka
sha
n,1973.