Ionesco’s Bérenger : a study of binaries in the theatre of the absurd

Abstract

This dissertation will examine the role and assess the impact of binaries in the work of Eugène Ionesco (1904–94), through an analysis of one of the most predominant characters in his plays, Bérenger. Binaries will be investigated in terms of the tension and relief they create. This will be explored through references to the four plays in which Bérenger appears, namely: The Killer (1958), Rhinoceros (1959), Exit the King (1962), and A Stroll in the Air (1963). The Bérenger plays have been chosen because they follow the journey of a dramatic character as he takes on different personalities in each individual play. Bérenger‘s shambling nature, and his passion and tendency to ask all the right questions at the wrong times make him the perfect candidate for this study on binaries within the context of the Theatre of the Absurd, of which Ionesco was an important contributor. The dissertation analyses Bérenger‘s struggle with binaries and the effect of society on this character while exploring the nature of the absurd in relation to Ionesco‘s subverted, penetrating and avant-garde theatre. As foundation for this analysis, the study draws on philosophical perspectives expounded by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) and Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) that are relevant to my discussion on binaries, and the theories of Martin Esslin (1918–2002) on the Theatre of the Absurd. In conclusion this dissertation construes that with his use of binaries, Ionesco aims at peeling off layers of artifice, depicting, in the process, a crude state of the human condition.