Theme Of Laughter In Othello
A revision of Shakespeare’s tragedies Othello and Romeo and Juliet, Ann-Marie MacDonald’s comedy Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) follows Constance Ledbelly, an assistant professor at Queen’s University, as she delves into the plots of the two plays, attempting to discern the possible influence of a Wise Fool on the texts, as well as embarking on her own path of self-discovery. Throughout the novel, moments of laughter arise, many of which provoke broader discussion of the topics broached. MacDonald wields comedy to develop the theme that to achieve personal success, one must not simply act on the words of others, but understand and analyze the deeper meanings behind them. Comedic situations arise when characters in the two texts explored
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By asserting that Constance seeks to bed Othello, and presenting the manuscript as proof of her association with the Turks, Iago poisons the mind of the short-tempered Desdemona, who vows to get revenge: “I’ll try her once in fairness. Then I’ll chop her into messes” (MacDonald 48). Although she seems to be wanting to discern truth from fiction, Desdemona is already convinced of Constance’s guilt by Iago’s words and false evidence; combined with the other woman’s obliviousness to her surroundings, this results in several humorous moments of irony and misunderstandings prior to Constance’s warp travel. In her new destination, both Romeo and Juliet, blinded by their first impressions, fall in love with Constance, resulting in another plethora of laughter-invoking blunders. Husband and wife of one night, their sudden love for Constance is a result of their juvenile impulsiveness, and it is left to Constance to circumnavigate their hyperbolic attempts to woo her. MacInnes notes the specific qualities of each of the lovers, which cause their unreasoned actions: “MacDonald… carefully constructs Romeo into an erratic young man… Juliet …show more content…
The opening scene at Queen’s University sees her perform silly and often naïve actions, reacting to the statements of others without truly thinking about the meaning of what is said. Constance feels the need to apologize when Ramona offhandedly chastises her for drinking Coors beer: “It … was a gift” (MacDonald 12). The rebuke, seemingly innocuous, is delivered with malignance and condescension from Ramona, Claude Night’s love interest; in not analyzing the emotions governing it, Constance misunderstands her words as decrying her choice of beer. Her response, trying to justify her perceived wrong, is not only pathetic, but also comically ridiculous. Similarly, Constance is undone in her search for the Fool because she does not seek to understand the deeper meaning behind the words of other characters. The ghost attempts to explain her influence on the two texts to her, but she hilariously misunderstands, confusing “You’re it” with “Yorick” and “A lass” with “Alas” (73-4). The ghost’s communication of Constance’s status as the Fool, although implied, is constructed as to make the point evident; nevertheless, her acceptance of the words’ surface meaning leads her to a vastly different comprehension, creating a scene of comic contrast. The comedy culminates in
By asserting that Constance seeks to bed Othello, and presenting the manuscript as proof of her association with the Turks, Iago poisons the mind of the short-tempered Desdemona, who vows to get revenge: “I’ll try her once in fairness. Then I’ll chop her into messes” (MacDonald 48). Although she seems to be wanting to discern truth from fiction, Desdemona is already convinced of Constance’s guilt by Iago’s words and false evidence; combined with the other woman’s obliviousness to her surroundings, this results in several humorous moments of irony and misunderstandings prior to Constance’s warp travel. In her new destination, both Romeo and Juliet, blinded by their first impressions, fall in love with Constance, resulting in another plethora of laughter-invoking blunders. Husband and wife of one night, their sudden love for Constance is a result of their juvenile impulsiveness, and it is left to Constance to circumnavigate their hyperbolic attempts to woo her. MacInnes notes the specific qualities of each of the lovers, which cause their unreasoned actions: “MacDonald… carefully constructs Romeo into an erratic young man… Juliet …show more content…
The opening scene at Queen’s University sees her perform silly and often naïve actions, reacting to the statements of others without truly thinking about the meaning of what is said. Constance feels the need to apologize when Ramona offhandedly chastises her for drinking Coors beer: “It … was a gift” (MacDonald 12). The rebuke, seemingly innocuous, is delivered with malignance and condescension from Ramona, Claude Night’s love interest; in not analyzing the emotions governing it, Constance misunderstands her words as decrying her choice of beer. Her response, trying to justify her perceived wrong, is not only pathetic, but also comically ridiculous. Similarly, Constance is undone in her search for the Fool because she does not seek to understand the deeper meaning behind the words of other characters. The ghost attempts to explain her influence on the two texts to her, but she hilariously misunderstands, confusing “You’re it” with “Yorick” and “A lass” with “Alas” (73-4). The ghost’s communication of Constance’s status as the Fool, although implied, is constructed as to make the point evident; nevertheless, her acceptance of the words’ surface meaning leads her to a vastly different comprehension, creating a scene of comic contrast. The comedy culminates in