“I would really allow myself to order the ranks of philosophers according to the rank of their laughter – right up to those who are capable of golden laughter.
Perhaps no philosopher has written about the importance of laughter as eloquently as Nietzsche. He causes us to forget what we intended to remember, say things we later regret, or appear in the form of a Freudian slip, and cause laughter. Trickster comes to us when we are too serious, rigid, when we follow rules and schedules, and when we lack a sense of humour. Tricksters usually have an enormous libido, and often present scatological themes.Īn early and innocent form of trickster is parents playing peekaboo with their children to make them laugh. Just like the id, the unconscious instinctual component that is present at birth, the source of instant gratification, of bodily needs and wants, emotional impulses, and drives – that is in constant conflict with the superego, the internalisation of cultural rules, which helps us act in socially acceptable ways. Trickster rises against the restrictions and authorities. Man and His Symbols Part II, Ancient Myths and Modern Man – Joseph L.
At the end of his rogue’s progress he is beginning to take on the physical likeness of a grown man.” But, as he does so, a change comes over him. Lacking any purpose beyond the gratification of his primary needs, he is cruel, cynical, and unfeeling… This figure, which at the outset assumes the form of an animal, passes from one mischievous exploit to another. Trickster is a figure whose physical appetites dominate his behaviour he has the mentality of an infant. “The Trickster cycle corresponds to the earliest and least developed period of life. It is the most primitive progression to the hero myth, but a necessary step towards becoming mature and whole. Trickster is present in us as soon as we gain awareness of our ego in our childhood. To make his special privileges known, he wore a cap ‘n’ bells and a fool’s sceptre, mirroring the king’s crown and sceptre. He was the only person who received permission from the king to be allowed to tell it like it is, and was an important figure in the royal courts. In medieval times, the jester was known to speak the truth without losing his head. Trickster is disruptive only when it operates unconsciously in our lives as an autonomous entity.Īnother way the trickster can appear is as one who is not deceiving but telling you the truth, but we likely won’t believe him. In this case, both perpetrator and victim are unconscious of trickster. There can also be people who really believe that they are helping others, but are in fact tricking them. We have to be a little tricky, to guard against being tricked. The victims of people such as con men and snake oil salesmen, are those who are unconscious of trickster – they have been tricked by their own naivety, greed or self-deception. Perhaps here is a first lesson to be learned from the trickster: whatever we do, he is always one step ahead of us. While we endeavour to trace the trickster to his origin, he continues to play his tricks on us, always evasive, always crossing our conceptual boundaries of definition in which we try to confine him. Tricksters are always “on the road”, they are the lords of in-between. “he best way to describe trickster is to say simply that the boundary is where he will be found – sometimes drawing the line, sometimes crossing it, sometimes erasing or moving it, but always there, the god of the threshold in all its forms.” Tricksters are the breakers of rules, agents of mischief, masters of deceit, and boundary crossers. They belong to the oldest expressions of mankind. Trickster tales have existed since ancient times, and has been said to be at the very foundation of civilisation and culture. He is the timeless root of all the picaresque creations of world literature, and is not reducible to one single literary entity. The fool walks joyfully dreaming about all his adventures, unaware that if he takes just one more step, he would fall down a cliff. He is different from the figure of the fool, who is harmless but also naïve, and many times ends up harming himself. There is perhaps no figure in literature more fascinating than the trickster, appearing in various forms in the folklore of many cultures.
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