The satirical representation Essays

The satirical representation Essays The satirical representation Essay The satirical representation Essay An exploration of the satiric representation of mens perceptions of self in Chekhovs Three Sisters and Molii res The School For Wives Perspective affects any judgement, and there is no more biased perspective on a person than from inside that persons mind. Self perceptions can become so grossly distorted that they only have a tenuous bearing on reality. This is an idea represented in the plays Three Sisters and The School For Wives, particularly within the male characters. The men often have the inclination for mental flights of fancy, seeing themselves as who they would like to be, rather than who they are. The School For Wives by Molii re was written in 17th century France, and fits within the genre of French farce. Through the action of the play, Molii re gives us an insight into the greatly distorted world of Arnolphe. Arnolphe has developed an unrealistic yet comforting perception of himself, stemming from his perceived status and respectability and, more importantly, his fear of cuckoldry. Throughout the play Molii re constructs a variety of hilarious traps for Arnolphe to fall into, these downfalls serving to satirize Arnolphe. Arnolphe, unmarried due to his fear of being cuckolded by an independent wife, attempts to construct his version of the perfect wife with Agnes. He describes her as being innocent, ignorant, loyal, A virgin page for me to write upon. Molii re portrays Arnolphe as believing he has absolute control of who Agnes becomes and what she does as though he is her deity. Molii re emphasises this further when Arnolphe reads her a set of commandments from a book Some Rules For Wives. He orders her to say them to me daily / when you say your prayers. However, Molii re amusingly sabotages this by having Agnes innocently, yet snappily retort to every commandment. Molii re cuts the reading short by Horaces comically timed knocking on the door, responded to with ecstatic joy from Agnes, who exclaims My Coxcomb! Ironically, as Arnolphes continued efforts to tame her fail, he becomes so desperate that he kneels and grovels before her in a comical, exaggerated manner, saying, Im your slave. Molii re satirizes Arnolphes perceived control over her through inverting the dichotomy of master and servant, husband and wife.