Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)
STUDIES - Judit Kádár: The Figure of 'Everyclown'in Jack Richardson's Gallows Humour
lead him astray according to the ancient model; and finally, as Lucy concludes: "I'm going to bring that world back to you. After all, it is the only one there is" (GH 94). She has had experience in this process, so knows that sooner or later Walter will give in/up and enjoy the last joy before dying. He is also forced to quit the order of his minimalized universe: his cell. In the second part the whole process is similar though the female character seems to be even more self-conscious and arrogant. Seeing Martha one cannot help comparing her here to Albee's famous Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? and his other Momist characters. They always 'follow the suif, represent all the retarding forces (conventions, clichés in speech and action), the senselessness of the everydays in present society, the so-called welfare state, where the whole system tends to kill the distinctiveness of the individual for the sake of labels like the Dream, Democracy, Happiness of the Majority, Order and Comforts of life. Walter, in contrast to Philip, was able to revolt in his own way by killing his wife —an ability absolutely missing from the male figure of the second part Philip's revolt "against the rest of you" (GH 107) remains on the level of words. That is why he is ridiculous in his actions of step-by-step retreat I think the quality of humor is different in the two parts, since there is a difference in three important stances: the level of consciousness, the tragic aspect of actions and the reader's involvement in the plot In the first case a tragic story is narrated, then the kernel-story is finished, whereas in the second case the ground gradually slips from under Philip's legs and we cannot see a clear positive or negative ending to the dialogue between him and Martha. The tragedy lies in the neverending clichés that once — unconsciously —accepted he has to follow for good and all. Here the stress is on the narrow-mindedness of will, choice and action in a philosophical as well as dramaturgical sense. Not only the claustrophobic setting drives Walter and Philip to frustration, uncertainty and incapacity for action, but also the bondages of relations with the other characters. The Warden is present in both parts of the play: a real 'jelly man' behind the symbolic mask of the institutionalized process of depletion and dehumanization. He is the one who cherishes typical middle-class dreams like working to save for the 51
