Re-reading Eugene Ionesco’s rhinoceros through an ecological lens: exploring the aesthetic forms of nature in the theatre of the absurd

Abstract

The present paper falls within the field of ecocriticism, which problematizes literary and artistic activity from the point of view of the relationship between the human being (human nature) and nature (non-human), as expressed by and in works of art, including the theatre. Indeed, the theatre does not recreate nature, but nature constantly recreates the human being, whose sensitivity is affected by the drama and its effects. The risk of conceiving the world under the influence of ecology and of thinking about the environment differently is major. But what can we say when we talk about the theatre of the absurd? As a complex genre, structure, and style, is it capable of translating the complexity of nature? Is it possible to write or represent nature without at the same time inscribing the human domination over it? In what way is nature inscribed in the aesthetic forms of the theatrical work Rhinoceros? In Eugene Ionesco’s play, nature is denaturalized. The invasion of the beasts triggers a contagious and incurable rhinoceritis. The purpose of my paper is to re-read Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros from an ecological point of view and to demonstrate that the perception of nature in the theatre of the absurd can only be achieved by working on the perception of its aesthetic forms.

Keywords

• Aesthetics
• ecocriticism
• theater of the absurd
• nature
• metamorphosis
• Oliver Nyambi, English, University of the Free State, South Africa