Redeeming Laughter, 2nd Edition

8 The Comic as Consolation: Tragicomedy

It was proposed earlier that the comic should be understood as a form of magic. The comic, like magic, brings about a sudden and rationally inexplicable shift in the sense of reality. But there are different forms of magic. There is little magic and big magic: A rabbit jumping out of a top hat, and a swarm of witches descending from the sky. There is white magic, which miraculously heals, and black magic, which curses and destroys. Benign humor, as discussed in the preceding chapter, usually produces little results and is clearly a manifestation of white magic. But the comic, as already indicated, also comes in more massive and much darker versions. Tragicomedy is a curious in-between case. As such it ...