Jean Character Analysis

Berenger: Listen, Jean. There are so few distractions in this town—I get so bored. I’m not made for the work I’m doing—every day at the office, eight hours a day—and only three weeks’ holiday a year. When Saturday night comes round I feel exhausted and so—you know how it is—just to relax…

Jean: I just can’t get over it!

Berenger: Yes, I can see you can’t. Well, it was a rhinoceros—all right, so it was a rhinoceros. It’s miles away by now—miles away.

Jean: But you must see it’s fantastic! A rhinoceros loose in the town, and you don’t bat an eyelid. It shouldn’t be allowed. (Berenger yawns.) Put your hand in front of your mouth.

Berenger: I don’t like the taste of alcohol much. […] And yet if I don’t drink, I’m done for; it’s as if I’m frightened, and so I drink not to be frightened any longer.

Jean: Frightened of what?

Berenger: […] I don’t know exactly. It’s a sort of anguish difficult to describe. I feel out of place in life, among people, and so I take to drink. That calms me down and relaxes me so I can forget.

Jean: You try to escape from yourself.

Berenger: (To Jean.) I’m not Asiatic, either, And in any case, Asiatics are people the same as everyone else.

Waitress: Yes, Asiatics are people the same as we are.

Old Gentleman: (To the Proprietor.) That’s true!

Jean: You always see the black side of everything. It obviously gave him great pleasure to turn into a rhinoceros. There’s nothing extraordinary in that.

Berenger: […] There’s nothing extraordinary in it, but I doubt if it gave him much pleasure.

Jean: And why not, pray?

Berenger: It’s hard to say exactly why; it’s just something you feel.

Jean: I tell you it’s not as bad as all that. […] After all, rhinoceroses are living creatures the same as us; they’ve got as much right to life as we have.

Berenger: As long as they don’t destroy ours in the process. You must admit the difference in mentality.

Jean: […] Are you under the impression— […] that our way of life is superior?

Berenger: Well, at any rate, we have our own moral standards which I consider incompatible with the standards of these animals.

Dudard: Perhaps he felt an urge for some fresh air, the country, the wide-open spaces—perhaps he felt a need to relax. I’m not saying that’s any excuse…

Berenger: I understand what you mean, at least I’m trying to. […]

Dudard: Why get upset over a few cases of rhinoceritis? Perhaps it’s just another disease.

Daisy: I never knew you were such a realist—I thought you were more poetic. Where’s your imagination? There are many sides to reality. Choose the one that’s best for you. Escape into the world of the imagination.

Berenger: Listen, Jean. There are so few distractions in this town—I get so bored. I’m not made for the work I’m doing—every day at the office, eight hours a day—and only three weeks’ holiday a year. When Saturday night comes round I feel exhausted and so—you know how it is—just to relax…

Jean: I just can’t get over it!

Berenger: Yes, I can see you can’t. Well, it was a rhinoceros—all right, so it was a rhinoceros. It’s miles away by now—miles away.

Jean: But you must see it’s fantastic! A rhinoceros loose in the town, and you don’t bat an eyelid. It shouldn’t be allowed. (Berenger yawns.) Put your hand in front of your mouth.

Berenger: I don’t like the taste of alcohol much. […] And yet if I don’t drink, I’m done for; it’s as if I’m frightened, and so I drink not to be frightened any longer.

Jean: Frightened of what?

Berenger: […] I don’t know exactly. It’s a sort of anguish difficult to describe. I feel out of place in life, among people, and so I take to drink. That calms me down and relaxes me so I can forget.

Jean: You try to escape from yourself.

Berenger: (To Jean.) I’m not Asiatic, either, And in any case, Asiatics are people the same as everyone else.

Waitress: Yes, Asiatics are people the same as we are.

Old Gentleman: (To the Proprietor.) That’s true!

Jean: You always see the black side of everything. It obviously gave him great pleasure to turn into a rhinoceros. There’s nothing extraordinary in that.

Berenger: […] There’s nothing extraordinary in it, but I doubt if it gave him much pleasure.

Jean: And why not, pray?

Berenger: It’s hard to say exactly why; it’s just something you feel.

Jean: I tell you it’s not as bad as all that. […] After all, rhinoceroses are living creatures the same as us; they’ve got as much right to life as we have.

Berenger: As long as they don’t destroy ours in the process. You must admit the difference in mentality.

Jean: […] Are you under the impression— […] that our way of life is superior?

Berenger: Well, at any rate, we have our own moral standards which I consider incompatible with the standards of these animals.

Dudard: Perhaps he felt an urge for some fresh air, the country, the wide-open spaces—perhaps he felt a need to relax. I’m not saying that’s any excuse…

Berenger: I understand what you mean, at least I’m trying to. […]

Dudard: Why get upset over a few cases of rhinoceritis? Perhaps it’s just another disease.

Daisy: I never knew you were such a realist—I thought you were more poetic. Where’s your imagination? There are many sides to reality. Choose the one that’s best for you. Escape into the world of the imagination.