What is the theme in Rhinoceros, and Other Plays by Eugene Ionesco?

The rise of totalitarianism is a theme in this book. The symbolic and allegorical nature of Rhinoceros is immediately suggested by Ionesco's style of writing. The fact that the characters—and plot—are bizarre, exaggerated, and even surreal immediately detracts from their reality and forces the reader to instead reflect upon them in an abstract and general sort of way. The characters are seen less as concrete human beings and more as ideas or types and, therefore, the events which happen to them and the interactions that take place among them become commentaries on the ideas they embody.