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"So then logically speaking, my dog must be a cat?"
"Logically, yes. But the contrary is also true."

This exchange comes at the end of the Logician's syllogism-tutorial of the Old Gentleman in Act One. In a world in which the atrocities of fascism can take place, Ionesco classifies the logic that orders the universe as absurd and inexplicable, beyond human rationality. The Logician is mercilessly parodied for his comic missteps in proving even a simple syllogism, as here, or when he unsuccessfully tries to explain why the rhinoceroses are appearing. In this scene, Ionesco demonstrates the inapplicability of logic to human emotion as he parallels the Logician's incoherent proof with Berenger's attempts to provide some rational reason for his unhappiness.

 

  

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