Anticipation, in truth, is absolutely necessary in a farce, because it assures the author that his audience will not feel in any way duped or surprised by the deceits enacted on the simpletons. Without anticipation, it is possible that someone may sympathize with the victim simply because that spectator would also feel victimized by the deceivers in the intellectual sense of being surprised by their actions. Such is the case with Lazarillo de Tormes, for example, who forgoes anticipation in the history of his life and travails for an a posteriori surprise to the way he is treated by his masters. A posteriori surprise places the reader on the same intellectual level of victimization as Lazarillo, facilitating sympathy and a sense of comradeship towards the boy. All of the above degradations of the stock characters and techniques to create a sense of spectator objectivity and separateness give the audience that sense of security which is so essential to be able to mock others as somehow below their station.
Farces are objects of the audience's vision, never subjects of it.
These needs are supposedly met through diligence, hard work, and marriage. Yet in the farce they are met and satisfied by unabashed deceit, and the audience applauds the action. Most commentaries on farce accredit the truant nature of the genre to its carnival spirit. The farce is by nature a dramatic form in which the carnival reigns supreme, where for a brief moment the rules do not apply and the laws are not enforced. Death takes a holiday.