Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

hijos nunca te ven, creen que son huérfanos de padre’. 67 The element of surprise brings
the joke to life, 68 since we could be expecting a complaint about the man’s absence.
Instead, his poor abused wife surprises us. We recognise the same elements previously
mentioned, but also observe the family neglect by some men of their families. The
woman’s comment points out and criticises this male behaviour.
Thus, humorous comics not only discuss the faults of the authorities but also of
society. In the three comics considered for this research, there are references to
machismo, as well as dishonesty on the part of some citizens, such as taxi drivers,
waiters, bureaucrats, and neighbours. The phenomenon is repeated in some of the films
as we will see in the next chapter.
Relief
An important attribute of humour is not only the possibility of discussing topics which
concern us, but also the pleasure we enjoy after a joke. Freud tells us that humour is ‘un
medio de conseguir placer a pesar de los efectos dolorosos que a ellos se oponen’. 69
Thus, the benefit of humour is the transformation of our fears and concerns into comfort
and relief. In this part, I will concentrate on the pleasure that readers may gain through
witnessing a hilarious situation. What we will find is that representations of
uncomfortable situations, when done through humour, produce relief in the reader.
The diputados are a frequent butt of jokes in the three comics, since people
enjoy making fun of figures of authority, and the enjoyment will be even greater if those
whom they are laughing at have the features which are emphasised during the act of
humour. As Rafael Barajas says: ‘Nada se parece más a un diputado corrupto de los que
67 La Familia Burrón, 17165, p. 30.
68 Victor Raskin, Semantic Mechanisms of humour (Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster: D. Reidel Publishing
Company. 1984), p. 284.
69 Freud, El chiste y su relación… p. 235.
102