";s:4:"text";s:30420:"And in his solitude, there is no one to guide him. About Michael Chemers In this Post-Work Society section of Indarktimes, we explore the issue of post work in both of its major modes: theorizing the end of work because of the trajectory of advanced technological capitalist society, and challenging the priority of the work ethic, and celebrating the value of non-work activity. But it’s very difficult for us nowadays to consider Rhinoceros and look back at the Nazification of … Lemmes, Fabian. And there are really three that keep coming up. Even more extreme, Dudard and Daisy changed their minds within the span of a few moments, making them perhaps the most fickle characters of all. The French people were overcome by “outrage” (Quinney 46), as the idea that the German forces could overpower them and their country was as absurd to them as the presence of the rhinoceroses were to the people in the play. To Ionesco, Berenger was the superior party in the altercation. Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros has been deemed by many to be an example of Theatre of the Absurd. Jean contradicts him on both these points, as travelling circuses had been banned in their town, and they are situated in a very arid area of France, and so there were no swamps for the rhinoceros to hide in (20-21). Language and Communication Guilt and Blame Drugs and Alcohol Fate and Free Will Transformation Wisdom and Knowledge Man vs. He is visited by his co-worker, Dudard, and they discuss the events. The townspeople decided to overlook the absurdity of the rhinoceroses being in the town and the damage that they had caused. TS: There’s the famous lines from Brecht: Will there be singing in the dark times? 2, 1979, pp. And you can see how this would make sense for people who had lived through the horrors of World War II, particularly in Europe. The first, is to become a cultured man, like Jean, The second, is to participate in the hysteria surrounding the first appearances of the rhinoceroses. Berenger says that Dudard will be “siding with the rhinoceroses before long”, to which Dudard replies, “[n]o, no, not at all” (97). He makes fun of Berenger for wanting to drink so early in the day, especially when Berenger is hung over. 4 May 1960, pp. When you take a look at Beckett’s Waiting for Godot for instance it’s very hard to pin down what that play is about and its intentions. 53, no. Soon there are two, then three, until the "movement" is universal: a transformation of average citizens into beasts, as they learn to "move with Previous Next . At first, they rejected the German regimes as barbaric and overbearing, but over time they became normalized and accepted. In the later middle ages, in an effort to bring the teachings of Christianity to the illiterate, Pauper’s Bibles were produced, depicting the major stories of the Bible in block cut images. Berenger does not have great conventional will … "RHINOCEROS", 1958, by Eugene Ionesco, from an American high school production. I’m a big fan of In Dark Times, and since I am a theater-based scholar, I’m all in favor of dialogue! But I think the ancient Greeks had a really good take on this—the way that community responses determine the individual, on how representation and culture changes the way that people think and how this in turn changes their actions. Richard III, Ubu Roi, which is a very important play by Alfred Jarry that sort of signals the beginning of the French avant garde theater movement in the 1890s. Jean turns into a rhinoceros when he no longer cares about individuals or the human condition. Does this not also make him a hypocrite? Soon, a rhinoceros runs through the square (off-stage), shocking all the townspeople with the exception of the indifferent Berenger. MC: Oh fantastic. When Daisy arrives, she brings news that Botard has also become a rhinoceros. It is a critique of society, often in such a way as to make humans and their actions laughable or absurd. It's a joy to see this modern classic on stage. If it is absurd to join the collective mind, how is it not also absurd to be relentlessly defiant? And these include the plays of Beckett like Waiting for Godot for instance, and in America Arthur Kopit–and Ionesco was grouped with these guys in which the plays seemed to articulate some sense of complete disconnect from any kind of overriding moral framework that that made the universe make sense. And specifically, I’m interested in monsters. Jean continually exhorts Berenger to exercise more will-power and not surrender to life's pressures, and other characters, such as Dudard, seem to do just that as they control their own destinies. Ionesco was an iconic satirist in his lifetime and wrote several absurdist plays, one of which is called Rhinoceros. The recent review in the LA Times says that the play is about “horror at the fragility of norms and the easy surrender of humanity.” That’s not too bad at all. Perhaps, if Berenger’s French town had been overrun with butterflies, a much more amicable alternative to the beasts that they were faced with, he would have minded it considerably less when his friends and coworkers transformed into them. The main character, Berenger, is a drunkard, who is unhappy in life, and so alcohol is his solace. 9, no. TS: Interesting that you should mention that. At the same time, the form in which people change, the rhinoceros, is a form where brute force and destruction seem to result. “Excess and Identity: The Franco-Romanian Ionesco Combats Rhinoceritis.” South Central Review, vol. One sunny Sunday, Berenger and Jean meet at a café. And if this understanding might appear to overplay the age and gravitas of the “low culture” comic as an art form, it surely does not overstate the power of narrative art. In Act One, when the rhinoceroses were first seen, Berenger tried to logically explain their presence in the town. TS: Let’s start with the play’s reception. It’s different in different places, but in any case—. There seemed to be no other rhyme or reason to it. MC: Yes exactly. Quinney, Anne. She even goes as far as to say later that the rhinoceroses are “like gods” (121). MC: Ionesco himself was very cagey on the subject. Interview Part 2: Reading Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. The reaction to the rhinoceros was much like that to the German occupation in 1940. During the occupation, the French people were surprised to not be immediately “shot down in the streets” (Quinney 47). Botard is indignant that the rhinoceros do not exist at all, and claims that they are a myth (Ionesco 54). It turns out that the supposed joke he told changes a lot over time, which itself is actually very funny—one of the things I’m really interested to find out is exactly what the joke was that he told. The Compass Rose: Explorations in Thought. And it turns out that this is a monster that has been present in European folklore for about a thousand years. 24, no. 2000. He tried to write a dissertation on the moral foundations of modernity, and couldn’t finish the last section on Hope, because he didn’t have any. But that’s another day and another play–in Ionesco’s play, people in this unassuming little village in France somewhere, suddenly start—for no reason whatsoever–turning into rhinoceroses; and the way that the other people react to it is an indication of why they are turning into rhinoceroses. So, for instance, he and Bertolt Brecht were in Paris at the same time and he very much wanted to meet Brecht, who was of course a very strong political writer, and Brecht refused to meet with him because Ionesco had been grouped in with the absurdists and the absurdists were being called apolitical. See more ideas about rhinoceros, eugene ionesco, theatre poster. They acted against the opinions they had previously held, making hippocrates of them all. There’s something slippery here. London: Methuen, 1982. Berenger began the play with a sort of unconcerned apathy towards the rhinoceroses, and yet ends the play in angry opposition to them. All these ideas were portrayed metaphorically throughout Rhinoceros. On this understanding we might trace the comic back to Greek friezes and Egyptian hieroglyphics. MC: All three of these are in my top five favorite plays of all time by the way. There was, however, a large element of conformity, and to an extent mob-mentality, among the townspeople. TS: You know, just last night—quite by accident– we were half-watching the Tom Cruise remake of “The Mummy.” And at some point, toward the end, Matt said, “Oh, my God, this movie is about a weremummy! In Rhinoceros, as in his early plays, Ionesco startles audiences with a world that invariably erupts in explosive laughter and nightmare anxiety. Similarly, the townspeople in Rhinoceros were scared and appalled at the presence of the rhinoceroses, in Act One, as discussed above. They speak of Mrs Boeuf being able to divorce her husband, and claim to be the injured party, and they look to try and replace Mr Boeuf’s role in the office, as he is “no use to [them] anymore” (63). 3-15. Ionesco's use of the Gürova 3 rhinoceros as a poetic metaphor of the essential savagery of human beings and also of the meaninglessness of the universe can be given as an example. Ionesco, human reasoning is incapable of bringing order into the world because it itself amounts to nothing but nonsense. He was an individual in Act One, and remained so through to the end of the play. A pair of rhinoceroses have just arrived and they are tearing up the neighborhood! But it’s very difficult for us nowadays to consider Rhinoceros and look back at the Nazification of Europe and not see the connection there. This makes it quite clear how drastically attitudes changed over the course of three acts, moving from avid opposition, to support and inclusion. TS: By the way, the only theater performance I’ve personally ever been involved in was Beckett. Danner, G. Richard. Rhinoceros is a play of extremes. All rights reserved. At this point, Berenger has secluded himself to his home, as the herd of rhinoceroses outside continues to grow. Yes, there will be singing–about the dark times. 207–214. I think that the significance of this community response is something that we’re appreciating more and more now. And using this same method, Martin Luther was among the first to politicize the…, The Monster in Theater History: The Thing of Darkness, Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros: Human Transformation & Moral Horror, Interview Part 3: Rhinoceros & Theatrical Horror, Interview Part 4: Rhinoceros, Moral Horror & the Sublime, Goldilocks Won’t Grow Up: a Liberal Centrist Fairytale, American Liberalism has a Fascist Problem, Re-Weaving the Social, Part 2: On the Exodus from Wage Labor (5 of 5), Re-Weaving the Social: The Struggle Against Labor in the Digital Age (4 of 5), Arendt & Marx on Labor & Emancipation (3 of 5). Right now, zombies are fast and they can sometimes make decisions and they come in hordes and even my wife and I have been binge watching “I, Zombie” where the zombie winds up becoming like a persecuted minority within society. The same motion towards a homogenized mindset was seen during the Occupation. Ionesco was quite deliberate in choosing an aggressive animal, as the group of people he wishes them to represent were extremely animalistic in their violence. Ionesco’s play foreshadows fascism and conformity in Europe and this production is a vibrant physically acted philosophical debate of the consequences. The play takes place in a small village in France on a Sunday morning when a villager turns into a rhinoceros without warning – followed by others. MC: When Donald Trump was elected president of the United States and leader of the free world the people in my community, people who think about theater–particularly those of us who are working in universities where the students are very concerned about what this means for progressive ideas–started brainstorming among ourselves what would be good plays that we can present to our students that would help them make sense out of what’s going on or help them express their fears. Then I put it aside for about a year and a half to do other things, but I knew I’d be coming back to it. Ionesco states, He got the idea of rhinoceros when he witnessed a friend succumb to Nazism and he too calls his play an 'Anti-Nazi' play. “Ionesco and Rhinoceros: Personal and Political Backgrounds.” East European Politics and Societies, vol. Navigation. TS: You know, as I was reading your recent book, one of the things that came up for me — probably because the subject matter is theatrical – is the extent to which your interest in empathy gets focalized at the level of community response. The study guide on Rhinoceros contains a biography of Eugene Ionesco, 100 quiz questions, major themes, a complete list of characters, and a full summary and analysis. You know, like in the days of Hammer Films it would have been unthinkable! The day before, Jean had been adamant about his dislike for the rhinoceroses, however during Berenger’s visit it is revealed that this is no longer true. 36-50. So I’m really interested in the way that playwrights over the years have used monstrous characters and monster situations to convey important pieces of information about their culture and about themselves–what they fear and what they love. Until this point, anti-rhinoceros opinions were made perfectly clear. MC: Well I teach. However, taking into account the time period in which this play was written, it is near impossible to ignore where Ionesco’s disbelief in humanity was sparked, and the additional layer of criticism to this satire. Ionesco is commenting on the human ability to be insincere, and to go back on one’s word. He is close friends with a man named Jean, who is a self-proclaimed man of culture. “The Theatre of the Absurd.” The Tulane Drama Review, vol. Eugene Ionesco’s seminal absurdist satire, “Rhinoceros,” is staged by Pacific Resident Theatre in a disconcertingly timely revival. MC: The point here is that this figure of the Eternal Jew, historically a figure of pity, got transformed in the Nazi period through aesthetic representation into an object of extreme hatred, one used to incite violence. Berenger remains steadfast throughout Rhinoceros. This leads into something I wanted to ask you about. This is exhibitive of a lack of individual thought from the majority of the townspeople, who would rather rely on overused turns of phrase which they know to be acceptable opinions to voice rather than speak openly in opposition and run the risk of being berated, as Berenger had been. TS: Michael Chemers, welcome to In Dark Times! As characters transform into rhinoceroses before Berenger's very eyes, Ionesco lends specificity to his strange, abstract metaphor. The Natural World Identity. Jean declares that “It [the rhinoceros] shouldn’t be allowed!” (19). One of the things that I document in my book which I think is relevant to our discussion today–if I can sort of foreshadow what we are going to talk about—is how in the 1930s the Nazis in Germany began touring an exhibit of degenerate art. It is also a fact that no animal appears on stage yet Ionesco makes mass transformation of men into rhinos. This was not the case, however, and his town was instead confronted with large, unruly creatures, who left a great deal of damage in their wake. Ionesco, Eugene. Rhinoceros is a commentary on Nazism and a result of Ionesco's experiences with fascism, yet it is extremely readable, if one remembers not to take it to seriously. TS: I have to admit that in the second year of Trump I’m incapable of even reading it that way—maybe if I saw it staged for laughs I would understand it like that in the end. I was looking at some recent reviews of the play so I saw that it’s been staged in Los Angeles, Toronto, and in Edinburgh all between August 2017 and April 2018. It is not very long before the couple completely fall apart over their different opinions, and Daisy leaves to become a rhinoceros. He is an untamed individual who has quite “blindly denounced collectivism” (Danner 213), and at what cost? As with much of the absurdist theatre, the commentary that Ionesco makes on society is hidden underneath layers of bizarre stereotypes and numerous unanswered questions. So, Ionesco, in his writings, said that he never wanted to be categorized as absurdist—because dreams, and irrationality and chaos are actually the way that we experience the world. MC: I think what has changed is the way that we as a culture understand absurdism. The play opens with the two men having a heated discussion over Berenger’s poor attitude and lack of will-power, and it is in this part of the play that the first rhinoceros is seen. And it was it was art about Jews, and art by Jews and other so-called enemies of the state. It functions as Absurdist on many levels, but the work is not ‘absurd’ as we might normally think of the word. Your email address will not be published. This was also a time of considerable racial tension in France, which was another contributing factor to aspects of this play. Instead, he moved to Silicon Valley and worked in the semiconductor industry. It could be said this was the entirety of Ionesco’s objective in writing this play, as such an open critique of the human capacity to be so mercurial and insincere is not an insignificant comment to make. “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles /And by opposing end them” (Shakespeare 3.1.1751-1753)”, we do not know. He believes his worst fears may be about to come true. They do not reach a conclusion. It doesn’t even appear to have a solution to it, either. Calinescu, Matei. I’m interested in the way that we represent things that are fearful or horrific in culture. 3, Fall 2007, pp. It is quite clear in understanding the position Ionesco was in while writing this play, that he found a voice in Berenger, and that he considered himself the steadfast individual in his own situation. Rhinoceros, quasi-allegorical play in three acts by Eugène Ionesco, produced in Germany in 1959 and published in French the same year as Le Rhinocéros.. At the play’s outset, Jean and Bérenger sit at a provincial café when a solitary rhinoceros runs by them. Ionesco wrote this play in his traditional style, that is, using humor and the idea of the ridiculous to develop satire. So the monster changes to reflect how our fears change, and these fears reflect the changing culture. Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco An Absurdist Journey Of Transformation & Identity A small peaceful town in provincial France has a big problem. Jean upbraids Berenger for his drinking habits and his aimlessness. TS: Well, I think part of the reason we are talking about the irreducibility and thus importance of community is that with Rhinoceros, we are headed into a discussion about a complex set of interactions between aesthetic judgment, moral judgment, and politics. They look very natural. At the same time, Ionesco also attacked in Rhinoceros the French intelligentsia, a disproportionate number of whom were proud members of the French Communist Party in the 1950s. They’re content to be what they are. He says this to appease his employer, after disrespecting religion only moments earlier. . All the characters, except for Berenger, speak in cliches through the first act, with exclamations such as,“Well, of all things!” which is frequently repeated. Another vehicle that Ionesco uses to convey his ideas is the character of Berenger. In general, I’m very interested in the human experience of empathy and what it is that makes us feel kindly towards one another and what it is that is the opposite of that, which is fear. Dit verslag is op 29 mei 2005 gepubliceerd op Scholieren.com en gemaakt door een scholier (6e klas vwo) But despite the … But I I’m reading this with a feeling of unfolding horror throughout the play. There’s an inability to know how to respond. In this respect, Botard is being very ingratiating, or in other words, two-faced. When they are not working, they spend more time with dogs and goats than with people. Print. After Berenger informs Jean that their co-worker has turned into a rhinoceros, Jean says that “he’s probably all the better for it” (Ionesco 78). The rhinoceros, then, represents the transformation that the people in a society go through, a transformation so extreme that they seem to mutate into something that is not human at all. MC: Yes, in a production of The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman directed by Danny Shay. All the characters have a strong, vocalized opinions on the rhinoceros at all times. The political angle of the play speaks to how Ionesco found his own friends and colleagues equally as two-faced, and hypocritical when faced with the German forces in wartime France. A rhinoceros suddely apears in a small town, tramping through its peaceful streets. Clearly, these first audiences thought this was some sort of light-hearted farcical romp. A Bible “comic book” was the only kind of book that illiterates were capable of ‘reading’. In future, we hope to have podcasting capability, but for now we are delighted to offer this interview in print. Naturally all of this is implied by an aestheticized politics as you just described. Then Rhinoceros is the third one that really keeps coming up again and again. .] He has had no children of his own, because he was certain that the 21st century would turn out even more barbarous than the 20th. It is in the second scene of Act Two that attitudes begin to shift. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 393-432. One of the myths around this figure is that he was present at the crucifixion and made an off-color joke at Jesus’s expense. Dudard asks Berenger to try and be more light-hearted about the situation. By the way, II will be performing in drag myself. However, one by one, each succumb to the appeal of joining the ever-increasing herd of rhinoceroses in the town, until only Berenger remains human. The idea had come from a political space of succumbing and falling prey to a new emergent religion or doctrine or a fanaticism. He is paranoid that his headache, caused by drink and stress, is the beginnings of his own transformation into a rhinoceros, something he fears greatly. Shakespeare, William, and Harold Jenkins. Berenger is unkempt, while Jean wears a neat suit and chastises Berenger for being late. Jean has a headache, a fever, and a small bump on his forehead. Thus, Ionesco presents his themes through the interaction between all of the characters as they reveal themselves to be completely irrational. Michael Chemers recent book is The Monster in Theater History: The Thing of Darkness, published by Routledge (2018). I’m sure there are a lot of other productions, large and small. [To read the second part of this interview, click on the link below for part 2: “Interview Part 2, Reading Ionesco’s Rhinoceros.”], A Lifestyle Blog for Citizens of a Democratic Republic. MC: Thanks, Tedd I’m really happy to be here. By Eugène Ionesco. This is what I mean by irreducible. His transformation quickens when he becomes apathetic to the idea of becoming a rhinoceros ("I'm all for change"). This is our first blog post in an interview format. Dudard comments that “it’s probably not tame” (60), and Mr Papillion very swiftly fires Mr Boeuf. Berenger concluded the play with a passionate and empowering monologue on fighting for what one believes is right. The play was included in Martin Esslin's study of post-war avant-garde drama, The Theatre of the Absurd, although scholars have also rejected this label as too interpretatively narrow. Jean continually exhorts Berenger to exercise more will-power and not surrender to life's pressures, and other characters, such as Dudard, seem to do just that as they control their own destinies. Soon after, another rhinoceros is seen, and debate begins between the two men and other witnesses as to whether this rhinoceros is the same as the first, or a different one entirely. TS: But it’s written in the 60s, so the reaction to it seems to be coming from a place of relative safety. There was a there was a writer called Martin Esslin, a great critic and theater scholar who wrote a book called Theater of the Absurd in the 60s, and what he was trying to do was find some way of talking about a genre of plays that were emerging post World War II. Rhinoceros is set in a small French town, which inexplicably becomes overrun with rhinoceroses. So we created a section of our site called “Ur-Fascism,” and I headlined it with a Dürer etching of a rhinoceros, and a quote from Ionesco’s play, from the pivotal scene where the character Jean actually transforms in the midst of an argument with Berenger. 157-177. In an effort to describe the rhinoceros to Botard, Daisy, the typist and Berenger’s love interest, refers to them as “a very big ugly animal” (51). Not just because of the pull of the politics, but because I think they’re beautifully written plays and very powerful; but rhinoceros in particular because it’s also a very funny play. It’s called The Wicked Jew or the Eternal Jew. She grows more and more unhappy with Berenger’s harsh views of the herd, and says to him, “[t]hose are real people. Berenger refers to the transformations as a “nervous disease” (89). The transformation of Berenger from an apathetic, alcoholic, and ennui- ridden man into the savior of humanity constitutes the major theme of Rhinoceros,and the major existential struggle: one must commit oneself to a significant cause in order to give life meaning. At closer inspection, however, the object of Ionesco’s satire is quite directly embodied by one of the characters within the play. Perhaps he would have been wiser to conform, in the hopes of finding happiness in companionship. 3, 1995, pp. There is extreme pressure on Berenger to conform, and in two ways. Jean goes on to say how he thinks that humanity’s morals are flawed beyond repair, and perhaps they should be more like the rhinoceroses, and follow the laws of nature, instead (79). Then, there was the aspect of the increasing number of rhinoceroses, which was indicative of this increasing number of German supporters within France. “Perhaps the rhinoceros escaped from the zoo,” he said (Ionesco 20), but Jean reminds him that they have had no zoos since the “the plague … ages ago” (20). In the span of one day, Jean had transitioned from an outspoken opponent of the rhinoceroses, into a willing beast himself. Satire as a genre is born from general dissatisfaction and disillusionment with humanity as a whole. Required fields are marked *. They don’t look insane. They were just scary because of their implacability. These above mentioned images have such an appeal that Ionesco titled his first political play Rhinoceros. This is very disconcerting to Berenger. TS: When we first started In Dark Times, we knew we would be talking a lot about about the dynamics of fascism. Michael Chemers is professor of Theater Arts at UC Santa Cruz. During this period of time, he saw many French people adapt to the occupation in ways he did not agree with. The scene progresses with Daisy and Berenger confessing their love for one another, and deciding to come together as a united front of humanity in a world consumed by animals. Ionesco is commenting on the human ability to be insincere, and to go back on one’s word. The question remains, however, if this kind of action is really superior at all. TS: Not only are people falling back into these patterns, but I think that what makes the play so relevant is the feeling of powerlessness around this transformation is also palpable. Michael researches the “dramaturgy of empathy,” a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary inquiry that seeks to understand how performance culture moves ideas about compassion and kindness (and conversely, fear and hatred) through social networks. 2, 2007, pp. At first, everybody is appalled by this. You look at what’s happening in the Western world the 1960s–there’s this massive rejection of fascism and an embrace of its opposite the free love and hippies and counterculture—, TS: –and part of the foundation of that is the security of the welfare state which had not yet unraveled—. This was a thinly veiled nod at the Nazi propaganda that was circulated during the occupation, which portrayed the Jewish people as having horns (Quinney 45). 15, no. Esslin, Martin. Botard, Berenger’s callous left-wing coworker, says to his boss, Mr Papillon, “[T]he fact that I despise religion, doesn’t mean I don’t esteem it highly” (Ionesco 51). 4, no. That’s great. Your email address will not be published. This aspect of choice is important to note, as it differentiates between succumbing to the stronghold of an occupying force, and deciding that the occupying force offers something enticing, or more preferable, than what already stands, even if that offer directly opposes a current way of life. Yet looking at the early reviews, the comedic aspect is really foregrounded. Where you have an aesthetic experience and then a moral response that plays out in community, that response is also a political one. Do you agree that in the context of the theater, caring, understood as experiencing and expressing empathy, naturally tends toward what the Germans call ‘gemeinschaft’–which gets translated as ‘community’ but means something more that? Aug 15, 2017 - Explore Walter Giesbrecht's board "Ionesco Rhinoceros posters" on Pinterest. The play employs many aspects of the Absurd, from surrealism, to pataphysics, to Dadaism, while weaving in some existentialist thought. In this scene, Berenger visits Jean, to make amends for the fight they had the previous day, and to check up on him, as he is unwell. The intrusion of the rhinoceroses was representative of the intrusion of the German forces. 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