Clown (Court Jester, Fool, Dummling)

The Clown archetype is associated with three major characteristics: making people laugh, making them cry, and wearing a mask
that covers one's own real emotions. The Clown is generally male, with few women playing the role either in literature or the
theater. This may well be explained by the social attitude that associates weakness and loss of control with a man who expresses
emotions. Therefore, the man has to wear a mask, which often portrays a crying face. The Clown reflects the emotions of the
crowd, making an audience laugh by satirizing something they can relate to collectively or by acting out social absurdities. In
general, the messages communicated through a Clown's humor are deeply serious and often critical of the hypocrisy in an
individual or in some area of society. Because of the mask he wears, the Clown is allowed--indeed, expected--to cross the
boundaries of social acceptance, representing what people would like to do or say themselves.

The Court Jester or Fool is the manifestation of the Clown in a royal setting. Since no one can possibly take a fool seriously at the
physical level, he is allowed entry into the most powerful of circles. While entertaining the king with outrageous behavior, the Fool
is actually communicating messages that the king trusts. Political satirists often have dominant Court Jester archetypes, revealing
the motivations of the highest officials in the nation in a manner that is generally granted freedom from the legal retribution that
might be leveled against an ordinary citizen making the same comments.

Related to the Fool is the Dummling, the fairy tale character who, although often simple-minded, acts with a good heart and is
usually rewarded for it. Modern film characters such as Forrest Gump and Nurse Betty embody this aspect of the archetype, which
does not so much impart wisdom as foster living with kindness and simplicity.

The shadow aspect of the Clown or Fool manifests as cruel personal mockery or betrayal, specifically the breaking of confidences
gained through knowledge from the inner circle.

In reviewing your relationship to this archetype, consider your use of humor in association with power. Since everyone is prone to
jesting, you are looking for a connection to a pattern of behavior that is fundamental to your personal protection and survival. In
distinguishing Clown from Fool, note that the Fool is connected to arenas of power, while the Clown does his best work as an
Everyman, like Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners." Reflect on whether "clowning" around is an essential channel for
expressing your emotions over and above simple play. Ask yourself if, like the Fool, you carry truth into closed circles or closed
minds.

Films: Danny Kaye in The Court Jester; Buster Keaton in The Navigator, Sherlock Jr., The General; Charlie Chaplin in The Circus,
The Gold Rush; Giulletta Masina in La Strada; Barbra Steisand in What's Up, Doc?; Rene Zellweger in Nurse Betty; Woody Allen in
Zelig.

Drama: He Who Gets Slapped by Maxim Gorky.

Opera: I Pagliacci, by Leoncavallo.

Literature: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes; Gimpel the Fool by Isaac Bashevis Singer; Holy Fools and Mad Hatters by
Edward Hays; The Autobiography of Henry VIII with notes by his Fool, Will Somers by Margaret George.

Religion/Myth: Mullah Nasruddin, a.k.a. Hoja Nasredin (Sufi figure in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, half saint and half fool, who acts like
a ninny to teach wisdom); Sir Dagonet (the fool of King Arthur who was knighted as a joke, but who also performed bravely in
tournaments); Heyoka (in Lakota Sioux lore, someone who does things backwards to teach people not to take themselves too
seriously); Coyote (in Native American lore.