To: K-list
Recieved: 2002/10/08 03:01
Subject: Re: [K-list] Brief History of the Fool
From: José H
On 2002/10/08 03:01, José H posted thus to the K-list:
Somebody once figured out (based on astrology/numerology??) what my
"personal" tarotcard would be: it was the Fool.
I can definitely relate to it!
Jose
> The Fool dates back to the dawn of recorded history. He's a particularly
> valuable character to the satarist, firstly as an easy target for
> ridicule, but more importantly, because he is subject to a curious
> ambiguity of definition. He can range from a simpleton- the bumpkin of
> lowbrow comedy- to the affably and companionably deceived fool whose
> acceptance of illusion is a superior kind of wisdom, to the sage speaker
> of profound truth, whose insights lurk beneath a disguise of insanity.
> All of these types are characterised by relative social impotence-an
> inability to interact with or significantly influence the "worldly
> fools", or knaves who usually surround them. The knave is actually
> another kind of fool- one whose manipulative or materialistic outlook is
> folly from a spiritual point of view.
> At the time of the early Renaissance, fools were a regular part of
> popular culture. Deformed cripples, cretins, dwarves and "naturals"-
> often born idiots with genuine mental deficiencies- were valued for
> their supposed entertaining qualities. They were generally unpaid, and
> indentured to courts or houses able to afford such diversions. The Fool
> pops up throughout renaissance literature, becoming a staple in
> theatrical performances. Mentally deficient people remained popular as
> circus sideshow "freak" performers well into the twentieth century.
> The great proto-humanist Erasmus, in his masterwork, " The Praise of
> Folly" allows Folly, a sort of demi-godess to speak for herself. Her
> arguments often take the form of paradoxes- critical reversals in the
> nature of reality. "The mind of man," says Folly, "is far more taken
> with disguises than with reality."
> "...the more ways a man is deluded, the happier he is... the saddest
> thing is not to be deceived...The state of fools is to be preferred.
> First, their happiness costs least. It costs only a bit of illusion."
>
> By Shakespeare's time, the convention had grown to include "licensed"
> or "allowed" fools. Allowed fools were professional free agents, often
> educated, usually paid and highly valued for their wit and wisdom. Their
> behavior was not limited by social convention but "allowed" by their
> master or employer. Shakespeare used the convention to great effect in
> "King Lear", where Lear, ostensibly, gives the Fool license to speak,
> and the two effectively trade places; Lear acting the fool and the Fool
> occupying the "seat of reason". The Fool recognizes the folly of serving
> a ruined monarch, but notes a special kind of wisdom in staying on to
> help his friend: The worldly wisdom of abandoning Lear is morally
> repugnant. Staying, in violation of self interest, involves a kind of
> higher wisdom, or moral grandeur. Decisions made in the wisdom of
> self-interest are often immoral, while moral behavior often involves
> folly,danger, personal risk. The wise fool, or idiot-savant always comes
> through for his friends.
> Hope that didn't bore ya. Dead white male writers, morality, arcane
> cultural artifacts
> bla blabla yadayadayada ruckaruckarucka. ok, I'm done. Peace & Positive
> Irations.
>
> Michael
>
pt6YBB/NXiEAA/MVfIAA/AtTslB/TM
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