Rhinoceros Transformation Quotes

Berenger is talking about Jean’s skin. Creepy, right? This is the one real visual Ionesco gives us of the entire transformation process. We see Jean’s attitude, beliefs, and language change, but here, we also get to see him changing into something foreign right before Berenger’s eyes. There is no way Berenger can shake this image, and it sticks with him for the rest of the show. Yes, green!

There it is. Plain and simple. Jean is basically saying, “I am not the man I once was. I’ve transformed into something else.” Shivers! It’s like when your best friend from middle school becomes a goth or a football player when you get to high school, and good little Shmooper that you are, you have to realize that he or she’s not really your friend anymore.

We get two doses of genius here. First, the emotional change. Jean no longer cares about Berenger’s feelings, and no longer connects to Berenger as a friend or even as a fellow man. Then there’s the physical and linguistic change. Does “Brrr” mean he’s chilly, as an African animal in provincial France? No, just that he’s an African animal making some sort of guttural rhino sound. Language flies out the window at this point. He’s becoming an animal, and animals don’t need a mastery of the French language.