Eugene Ionesco "Rhinoceros": summary, analysis

When World War II died down, people all over the world began to wonder how it could turn out so that fascism arose in the middle of civilized Europe. Most of all, humanity was worried about how smart, educated and kind people allowed the extermination of millions of fellow citizens only because they were of different origin.

One of the first attempts to explain the rise of fascism and similar movements was made by the French writer Eugene Ionesco. “Rhinos” (in another translation “Rhinoceros”) is a play in which he described the mechanism of the appearance of an alien phenomenon in society, which is gradually turning into a norm.

Biography of Eugene Ionesco

A playwright was born in Romania in 1909, since his father was from there, and his mother was French. From childhood, the boy spoke several languages, including French. With the beginning of the First World War, the relationship between the boy’s parents deteriorated and they broke up. Mother took the children and left for her homeland, in France.

When Eugene Ionesco grew up, he tried to live with his father in Romania. Here he entered the University of Bucharest, planning to teach French. But in 1938 he returned to his mother’s homeland and stayed to live in Paris forever.

Ionesco wrote his first poems in Romanian, and over the years of his life in Romania he began to forget French, so that, having returned to France, he had to learn a second native language again.

The formation of a playwright

Even while studying in Bucharest, Eugene found the birth of the popularity of pro-fascist movements. However, to the playwright himself, this enthusiasm for others seemed wild, later this experience became the theme of “Rhinos” and his other works.

Returning to Paris, Ionescu writes a dissertation on Charles Baudelaire, and is also actively writing his own works. Ionesco's most glorified plays, however, he also wrote short stories and essays.

As a playwright, Eugene made his debut in 1950 with the play "Bald Singer", which he wrote under the influence of a self-taught English language. It was this work that became a classic example of the "theater of the absurd" - a literary trend, which Ionesco adhered to in his work.

Eugene Ionesco died in March 1994. The greatest popularity among the creative heritage of the plays of Ionesco “Rhinoceros”, “Bald Singer”, “Chairs”, “Selfless killer”, “Macbeth”, “Air passage” and others.

The origins of the play "Rhinoceros" ("Rhinos")

After the success of his first play, the playwright actively honed his ability to write in the genre of absurdity and paradox. Denying the realism of theatrical productions, he believed that it was necessary to return to the roots when all the plays were full of hidden characters and half-hints. In the late fifties, when Europe was slowly recovering from the war, many began to think about the reasons for the appearance of fascism, fearing a recurrence of such a tragedy. Being an opponent of any totalitarian system since the time of training in Romania, no one was familiar with this topic Eugene Ionesco. “Rhinos” (“Rhinoceros”) was the name of his new play, published in 1959. In the same year, she staged at the Dusseldorf Theater.

Eugene Ionesco "Rhinos": a summary

The play consists of three acts. In the first, two comrades, Jean and Beranger, sit down near a cafe on the square. Jean lectured his friend, who, apparently, had a lot to drink yesterday and had not yet recovered. Suddenly a rhino runs past them. Everyone around is scared and discussing this out of the ordinary event, expressing their indignation. Only Beranger is indifferent to everything, until the charming Daisy, in whom the man is in love, enters the cafe. Meanwhile, Jean reads moral to him about the right way of life and in the end Beranger agrees to devote this evening to cultural development.

Suddenly, a rumble is heard and it turns out that the rhinoceros has just crushed the mistress's cat. Everyone argues how many rhinos were and how they looked. Beranger unexpectedly states that nothing could be seen in the dust that the running rhino raised. Jean takes offense at him, insults and leaves. A frustrated man orders a drink and decides to abandon the intended cultural program.

The second action of the play Ionesco "Rhinoceros" takes place in the service of Beranger in the office.

Here, everyone is actively discussing rhinos and an inexplicable increase in their number. They argue, quarrel, express different opinions, until they realize that their colleague Beth never came to work.

Soon his wife comes and tells them in horror about her husband’s disappearance, and a giant rhinoceros runs after her. Suddenly, Madame recognizes her husband in him, and the beast answers her call. Sitting on his back, she leaves home.

Daisy calls the firefighters to help the office workers go down, as the Beef rhino broke the ladder. It turns out that the city already has a huge number of rhinos, and their number is growing.

One of the workers, Dudar, offers Beranger to go for a drink together, but he refuses, as he decides to go to Jean and make peace with him.

Coming to a friend’s apartment, Beranger sees that he is unwell. Gradually, almost in front of the hero’s eyes, his friend turns into a rhino. A frightened man calls his neighbor for help, but he has already become a beast. Looking out the window, Beranger sees that on the street a lot of rhinos are already breaking down benches. Frightened, he runs away to his home.

The third action of the play by Eugene Ionesco “Rhinoceros” takes place in Beranger’s apartment.

He feels sick, and his colleague Dudar comes to him. In the course of the conversation, Beranger always seems to be turning into a rhino himself. This terribly scares him. However, the guest reassures the man, saying that this is normal, because the rhinos are pretty cute, although slightly uncouth creatures. It turns out that many respected residents of the city, in particular Logic, have long become rhinos and feel great. Beranger is horrified that such noble and reasonable citizens have chosen this path.

Meanwhile, Daisy runs into the apartment. She informs the men that their boss has also become a rhinoceros to keep up with this now fashionable phenomenon. Beranger reflects on the fact that rhinos can be somehow isolated from people in order to stop the growth of their population, but guests convince him that the relatives of the rhinos will be against, as well as animal rights advocates.

Dudaru is clearly pretty Daisy, however, he is jealous of Beranger, so he leaves his interlocutors and turns into a rhino voluntarily.

The remaining two Daisy and Beranger are scared, because from everywhere you can hear the roar of animals, even on the radio. Soon, the girl changes her mind, deciding that the rhinos are worthy of respect and, having received a slap in the face from the indignant Beranger, leaves for the herd.

The man is left alone, he reflects on whether he needs to be a rhino. As a result, he is looking for a gun, preparing to defend himself to the last.

The main character of the play is Beranger

All the action that takes place in Ionesco's play "Rhinoceros" is centered around Beranger.

Against the background of other respectable residents of the town, he seems an outcast. Untidy, non-punctual, often speaking out of place, the man annoys others, even Jean’s best friend. Moreover, he does not harm anyone, except to himself.

However, with the development of the action, it turns out that Beranger’s main fault is only that he does not seek to comply with generally accepted norms or fashion. So, when everyone in the cafe is busy watching rhinos, a man thinks about his girlfriend. In addition, he does not try to lie in order to join the team, and accidentally exposes others in a lie.

Unlike rational city dwellers, Beranger lives by feelings. He is in love with Daisy and because of her does not notice the surrounding problems. In addition, a man who clearly looks like an alcoholic appreciates friendship much more than Jean, who is right in every way. Indeed, in order to make peace with him, Beranger refuses to even go for a drink.

Another difference is the sense of inferiority. When everything is still calm in the city, the hero looks dysfunctional against the background of those around him. And when all the inhabitants for various reasons become animals, refusing to become a rhinoceros, Beranger again feels not like everyone else.

Eugene Ionesco's Rhinos: An Analysis

If today the style of the play and the ideas expressed in it look ordinary, then at the time of its appearance in the sixties it was something new, stand out.

This was facilitated by the fact that this play included all the features of the theater of the absurd, which were highlighted in this direction by Eugene Ionesco (Rhinos). Criticism took the play positively, in particular, they considered this work anti-fascist. However, the author himself reacted negatively to a similar interpretation of his work, arguing that his ideas were much wider, but everyone was free to interpret them at his discretion.

In his work, the writer actively protested against any totalitarian ideas that turn people into a submissive gray mass, destroying individuality.

In this play, such features of the theater of the absurd as the denial of realism are clearly traced - all the events seem fantastic and meaningless. Viewers and readers understand what happened, but why people suddenly began to turn into rhinos (punishment for sins, tricks of a UFO or something else), no one knows.

Rational, pragmatic thinking, which Ionesco considered the fault of all problems, is also criticized in the play. The only irrational character of Beranger remains invulnerable to a strange disease that turns people into rhinos.

It is interesting that in his play Eugene Ionesco described all stages of the technology of legalizing any phenomenon alien to society, which was formulated and called the Overton window only in the nineties of the twentieth century. According to it, any idea, even the wildest, for example, cannibalism, can be accepted by society as a norm, having gone through six stages: the unthinkable, radical, acceptable, reasonable, standard and normal.

Stage fate of the play

After its magnificent performance at the Paris Odeon Theater, the drama Rhinos was staged in many countries around the world in 1960. The play was initially perceived as anti-fascist, so at the premiere some heroes were dressed in German military uniforms. But over the years, her perception changed, and new directors used different tricks to convey their vision.

"Rhinos" was staged on most of the most famous scenes in the world, and the greatest theater and film actors were honored to play in this play. For the first time, the role of Beranger was played by the French actor Jean-Louis Barrot. Later this character was played by such famous artists as Victor Avilov, Kirill Pirogov, Lawrence Olivier, Benedict Cumberbatch and others.

The fate of the "Rhinos" in the USSR

Having become a recognized anti-fascist work, after the premiere of "Rhinos" appeared in the USSR only five years later. The play was published in Foreign Literature. But it was soon banned, as the ideas expressed in Rhinos criticized communism and socialism. However, this did not prevent the distribution of the play. Her text was copied, reprinted and passed from hand to hand. And the ban added unprecedented popularity to this work.

In 1982, the play was staged by one of the Moscow amateur theaters. However, almost immediately after the premiere, the performance was closed, and before Perestroika they were not allowed to stage it. However, after Gorbachev came to power, “Rhinos” began their victorious march along the best scenes of the USSR, and then Russia.

Quotes from the Rhinos

One of the integral elements of the theater of the absurd was considered the pun of Ionesco. "Rhinoceros" (quotes below) contained a lot of verbal paradoxes. For example, thinking Logic about a cat.

Or a little dialogue about children:

- I do not want to have children. Such boring things.
“Then how are you going to save the world?”
“Why do you need to save him?”

The hero’s thoughts about the truth are also deep: “Sometimes you do evil by accident, not wanting it at all, or you accidentally encourage it.”

More than fifty years after the premiere, the play Ionesco's "Rhinos" still does not lose its relevance and is staged in many theaters in the world.