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

oken the rule of being respectful with the authorities and is teasing the Mayor,
although he is in an unfortunate situation –he is arbitrarily in custody. We enjoy the fact
that he has violated the rule, and done something that we would also like to do.
Eco adds that the animalistic condition of the comic character is important, in
the sense that we feel unconcerned about their fate. But we can refute this idea by
understanding the fate of the comic character as temporary. 79 We do not need to despise
them in order to be unconcerned about their destiny, because finally, at some point,
everything will return to normal. Returning to Eco’s claim, in order to recognise the
breaking of the rule it is essential to know the rule. If there is no knowledge of the code
that is being broken, then there will be no comedy. The transgression of the code,
understood as a norm, can also refer to the violation of a stereotypical situation,
enclosed in a frame. 80 When either of these situations occurs in the narrative, and is
recognised, a comic effect is produced. 81
This reinforces the earlier point that humour belongs to a specific culture, or
group. Someone who does not belong to the group may identify a situation as
‘humourous’, but they do not understand the comedy because they do not know the
code. If the viewer does not know the rule that is being broken, or the situation that is
being altered, it will be impossible for him to participate in the joke. The code or the
broken rule could be explained, but, according to Eco, this is something that is not
allowed when there is an intention to produce a comic effect. In fact, a characteristic of
jokes is their implicitness. 82 The norm ‘debe estar presupuesta tanto por el emisor como
79
Zupancic, The Odd One In., p. 131.
80
Umberto Eco, The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts (Bloomington, London:
Indiana University Press, 1979), pp. 18-24.
81
Eco, ‘Los marcos de…’, p. 10.
82
Gregor Benton, ‘The origins of the political joke’, in Humour in Society. Resistance and control, ed. by
Chris Powell and George E.C Paton (London: Macmillan Press. 1988), 33-55 (p. 40).
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