The Barber from Seville: Critical Essay Sample

Introduction

The expression of love in many different ways has been a specialty of the French since time immemorial and this play is a depiction of this. The play was created in the 18th century setting where male chauvinism was a common issue and the women had no right to act form their own consent. This is why we are told that Rosina has been kept as Doctor Bartolo's ward and she has no right to speak for herself on the matter; whether she loves Bartolo or not is solely her personal opinion. In the 18th century there were many issues similar to that of this play and as seen from similar plays to this, brain always outshines brawn (Everist 02). Doctor Bartolo has money and power but he does not have the brains to see that Rosina does not want him and he should, therefore, look for someone else. He may have seen this but is too much of a nitwit to think that despite Rosina's lack of love, she is still loyal to him.

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Almaviva is the man that has won Rosina's heart and despite the fact that he is not as rich as Bartolo, she still loves him passionately for he is courageous and would do so much just to be with her for the rest of their lives, which includes putting his life on the line just for her. The play shows us how far we should be willing to go to fight for our heart's desires no matter the cost. Also, it has shown us the benefits of being wise and using your mind in situations like these that have been depicted in the play. Almaviva disguises himself more than once and gets away with it meaning that he is cunning and smart hence the moves he pulls. Bartolo, on the other hand, is rich and has power but he lacks the essential thing, brains.

He has been played by both Almaviva and Rosina in several isolated instances and still, we can see he has not learned his lesson after Almaviva disguises himself as a music teacher and outwits him yet again. The first instance was when he pretended to be a drunken soldier in the doctor's quarter as an attempt to be with Rosina (Osborne, 16). This was somewhat successful for he managed to see Rosina and even give her a letter but after that, the success was short-lived for he was discovered while they were with Don Basilio in the music classes. These classes were Rosina's maneuver of trying to meet with her lover, Almaviva which made the passing of the letter successful. The play shows us how vital it is to fight for what we hold just and right and if that means risking all that we have then so be it.

The period that the play was staged in had many similar plays that had people like Romeo in Shakespeare's play so foolish things in the name of love and is a teaching to audience and readers that love may sometimes be blinding or as some love sprung may say it may sometimes be inspiring. This is because Bartolo had Rosina in his house despite the fact that he had not married her yet. This was because he was envious and did not any man to have Rosina but him she was quite fair and humble with unique wails that were enticing (Everist 02). Almaviva did not know this detail initially but when he reached the doctor's residence, he met Figaro, the town barber who knew all secrets and dirt of the town.

Figaro explained to Almaviva that Rosina was not the doctor's daughter as he initially thought but was his ward. This baffled him a lot but did not quite put out the fire of love burning for Rosina. He, therefore, decided to approach the situation head first and dive into the matter by going to doctor Bartolo's house and disguising himself as Don Basilio's teacher who had come to teach Rosina music classes. This had Bartolo slightly perplexed but after slight convincing, he agreed to the student to begin teaching the music. The choice of music was an area which made doctor Bartolo doze off and gave the lovebirds a perfect time to express their love. This can teach how slanderous one can be no matter who they are and as a result, no one should be fully given trust.

Conclusion

The book depicts the theme of love exactly as passionate as it was back in those centuries (Osborne 16). On the other hand, chauvinism was an equally large concept that encompassed the whole society and unlike today where you can find organizations that fight for women's rights and privileges, the male chauvinism concept was nothing to startle anyone for they have known it from their forefathers as it began long ago. This gave the men right to choose any woman they desired and as we can see from Bartolo, they would even stay with them in their house before they had married them for 'safe-keeping'. This was morally wrong but we can learn that the leaders of that age learned this fact for today the women have been given an equal right as men so that we could all have rights to express what the mind has in store (Everist 02). This is a positive impact on the generation thanks to the impact of such plays like this one.

Works Cited

Everist, M. Music drama at the Paris Odeon, 1824-1828. University of California Press, 2002.

Osborne, R. "Rome and Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816)." Rossini, 2007, pp. 38-41, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195181296.003.0004.