Rhinoceros Act 2, Scene 2 Summary

  • Berenger feels bad about how things ended with Jean at the café, so he goes to visit his friend. What a good bud, right?
  • But it’s pretty clear from the moment Berenger walks in that all is not well.
  • Jean is sick in bed with a headache.
  • And something is wrong with his voice: it’s weirdly hoarse, almost unrecognizable to Berenger.
  • You know how when a werewolf bites someone and the “change” starts, but it takes awhile for the victim to fully wolf out? That's kind of how this scene feels. But instead, it’s Jean starting to rhino out.
  • At first, like normal human buddies, the two argue and debate.
  • But Berenger can’t get over how Jean looks. His skin is turning green and tough. Quite the cold, right?
  • Berenger wants to call the doctor for his friend, but Jean refuses. Jean feels more alive than he ever has! If only his pajamas weren’t so itchy!
  • Everyone reading or watching knows what’s happening, but Berenger can’t accept it.
  • Soon, Jean is replacing words with “Brrr” and he’s storming around the apartment like some kind of animal (specifically, like a rhinoceros).
  • If this were a horror movie, this would be the point where everyone watching yells “Get out of the house!” to the kid who decides, for some insane reason, to walk up the stairs to investigate the weird noise that was clearly made by the killer/ghost/monster/evil possessed doll.
  • Not surprisingly, the scene ends with Jean rushing out of the apartment to join the mass of rhinoceroses that have gathered outside.
  • He’s one of them now. Surprise!
  • Berenger blames himself and starts to worry that he won’t be able to fight this crazy rhino disease that seems to be going around.