Rhinoceros

In a small French village, people are turning into rhinoceroses. This is the absurd crisis unfolding in Eugene Ionesco’s 1959 play, Rhinoceros. It begins with a small bump on the forehead. Then the skin takes on shades of green and grows tougher. Hoarseness in the voice becomes inarticulate trumpeting; the bump becomes a horn; the transformation is complete. While everyone around him morphs into beasts and joins the herd, Bérenger remains apart, impervious to the epidemic. His own transformation from a man who finds his life meaningless to one who refuses thoughtless conformity brings into focus the themes of personal responsibility, individuality, and morality.

Act I of this three-act play takes place in the town square. It’s midday, and as the sound of Sunday church bells ceases, two men meet in front of a café and sit at an outdoor table. Jean, who is fastidiously dressed in a suit and tie, chides Bérenger for his slovenly appearance and all-around air of negligence. Shrugging off Jean’s observations that he “yawns all the time” and “reeks of alcohol,” Bérenger blames his apathy on the unrelenting tedium of his days. His job bores him, and he complains, “I’m not made for the work I’m doing . . . every day at the office, eight hours a day!” Jean retorts that he does the same work as Bérenger but his superior “will-power” makes him resilient.

The sound of trumpeting rhinos off in the distance reaches the town square, stopping everyone in their tracks. Bérenger alone is unruffled by the uproar, and as the trumpeting fades, he orders another drink. Jean tries to engage his companion in conversation about the significance of the event, but Bérenger shows no interest. When Jean doggedly pressures Bérenger for his opinion, Berenger finally appeases him by concurring with Jean’s statement that rhinos shouldn’t be allowed to run loose.



Daisy, a typist in Bérenger’s office, arrives in the town square, and Bérenger suddenly becomes anxious about his appearance. Jean notes that Bérenger is not indifferent to Daisy, at least, but Bérenger expresses pessimism again, maintaining he is beneath her notice. He admits he often questions his own existence, to which Jean replies, “You don’t exist […] because you don’t think. Start thinking, then you will.” To build Bérenger’s intellect, Jean prescribes a strong dose of culture. He advises Bérenger to spend his money on theater and the arts instead of alcohol.

Meanwhile, the Logician and an Old Gentleman sit at a nearby table, and their comments on the “methods” of logical thinking punctuate Bérenger’s conversation with Jean.

A rhinoceros suddenly races by the town square, trampling a woman’s cat as it passes. The townspeople react with outrage. Jean and Bérenger argue over whether distinguishing the species of the rhinoceros matters, and Jean storms off. While the townspeople voice agreement that they must put a stop to these rampaging rhinos, Bérenger turns away from them and back to his drink.



Act II begins in Bérenger’s office. A debate is in progress when Bérenger arrives late to work. Contradicting his co-worker, Dudard and all those who witnessed the rhinoceroses run past the town, the skeptic Botard maintains that no such stampede could occur in France. He dismisses the incident as an illusion produced by “collective psychosis.”

Mrs. Boeuf dashes into the office, alleging that a rhinoceros has been pursuing her and is now downstairs. After she explains that her husband won’t be at the office because he is ill, the office workers hear the rhinoceros smash the staircase. Looking out the window at the restless beast below, Mrs. Boeuf realizes it is her husband, transformed. The office workers urge her to respond sensibly to this development, but she impulsively jumps out the window. As she clings to its back, the rhino gallops away. Meanwhile, Daisy phones the fire department to rescue the workers, who cannot depart without a staircase.

Bérenger goes to Jean’s home to make amends after their dispute the previous day. Jean, who is in bed with a cough, replies in a hoarse voice that he has already forgotten the argument. Bérenger notices a bump on Jean’s forehead; Jean steps into the bathroom to look in the mirror. When he returns, his skin is visibly green. Bérenger then tells Jean about Boeuf’s remarkable transformation. Applauding Boeuf’s return to “Nature,” Jean declares he prefers “the law of the jungle” to morality and adds, “We must get back to primeval integrity.”



As Bérenger objects to Jean’s statements, Jean grows hostile. Like a confined animal, Jean paces in and out of the bathroom, and with each reappearance, looks more like a rhinoceros. His hoarse voice modulates into trumpeting noises, and, as a fully formed rhino, he threatens Bérenger with an attack. Bérenger flees the apartment crying, “Rhinoceros! Rhinoceros!” and discovers the streets are teaming with such beasts.

In the final act, Bérenger wakes in his room after a nightmare about turning into a Rhinoceros. Dudard arrives, and they discuss the rampant morphing of people into rhinoceroses. Bérenger admits he feels guilty that Jean became a victim of the epidemic, but Dudard theorizes a character flaw made Jean susceptible and his transformation was inevitable. Terrified of succumbing to the epidemic himself, Bérenger is heartened by Dudard’s suggestion that victims bring the transformation upon themselves. He also proposes that alcohol may provide immunity and is happy to fortify himself.

Dudard’s revelation that M. Papillon, the office manager, has become a rhino shocks Bérenger. Because he considers the manager highly respectable, Bérenger cannot believe Papillon’s transformation was natural or voluntary. Dudard disagrees, and they argue over the normality of ‘joining the heard.’ To resolve the debate, Bérenger decides to consult the Logician but then sees a rhino pass by wearing the Logician’s hat.



When Daisy arrives with news that Botard has transformed, she and Dudard concede they should get used to the situation. Bérenger objects, declaring he will resist. As they sit for lunch, the firehouse wall crumbles and a regiment of firefighters-turned-rhinoceroses marches forth. Dudard cannot withstand the pull of the popular movement and leaves to become a rhino.

Bérenger and Daisy vow to resist transformation, declaring their mutual love even as the stampeding sounds outside assume a musical quality. Seduced by the call to conform, Daisy abandons Bérenger to join the beasts. Alone, Bérenger reiterates his refusal to capitulate.

Ionesco is considered an important figure in the “Theater of the Absurd,” although he preferred the expression “Theater of Derision.” A post-WWII movement, the Theater of the Absurd is preoccupied with the meaning of human existence. Rhinoceros received a Tony Award in 1961.