The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-12

DOROTHY DIX TALKS
~ By DOROTHY. DIX
Worlds Highest Paid Woman Writer.
The Things At which We Laugh

1 WOflo0 alSnebG Ed1u WomdH "AAe~As
The Things At Which We Laugh.
There is no other thing on earth
really quite SO grotesquely humorous
as that when we want to go to see
play that is light and bright, and that
will cheer us up. we go to see one
that holds up to ridicule the most sa-
cred institution of the world. and the
one that is the very foundation stone
of civilization. In actual life. heaven
knows, an unhappy marriage and IN
unfaithful husband Or wife is no
merry jest 1t is heaftbreak. tragedy,
tears, but on the stage matrimonial
infelicity is a subject that is invar-
iably provocative of wild mirth.
The hero of the average comedy is
a gay dog who spends his life in de-
ceiving his elderly and trusting wife,
and telling her improbable stories
which she swallows without even the
proyerbial grain of salt. He tells her
that he is summoned to Mexico on
business, when he really goes OF on
a spree; he represents the chorus girl
with whom she catches him dining as
his long-Iost and wealthy aunt; ne
conceais his feminine visitor in the
office safe when his spouse comes
down Unexpectedly to his place OF
business, and we shrek with joy ana
amusement over his cleverness. and
the ease with which he pulls the wool
over his wife's eyes.
Apparently, not a thought OF the
immortality of the thing, and OF the
disgusting duplicity of man who lies
to his wife enters the mind OF the
audience. Nor does 1t stop to con-
slider that the i--evitable effect of the
public attitude, thus expressed IN
hilarious mirtn, must be to teach ev-
| cry young man in the audience that
| wives were made to be hoodwinked
| by clever husbands, and that 1T Is
| perfectly proper and legitimate to de-
ceive them. Nor does it appear TO
sons why wives are unduly jealous
and suspicio~s is because they have
seen men laugh at all that is beau
tiful, sacred and holy in the relation
ship of husband and wife.
Perhaps the real answer to the
| problem of why divorce is on the in
| crease may be found in the fact that
we have made marital fidelity SUBJ
| ject for mirth. We condone it when
we laugh at 1t. ~
! By their laughter shall you know
them. There is no better way in the
world to measure psople than by the
things at which they laugh. Men
| and women may pretend to cherish
sentiment and hold opinions that are
really foreign to their natures. They
| may even shed crocodile tears that
| are faxed to appeal to our sympathy.
but laughter is spontaneous. 1t is the
real mirror of an individuals soul
and it shows. what he is, deep down
in his inner self ~
Nor can 1t be initiated A forced
laugh. a manufactured laugh, is SO
different from the genuine mirth in
| spired article that even a child can
| tell the difference.
There re tn ef obscene minded who
only laugh at disgusting -vulgarity
They find no story funny that has not
a double entendre meaning. They &c
to see broad plays where the wit is
coarse and every suggestion ribald
Outwardly these people may seem to
lead decent lives. but sooner or later
you will find that they have been in
dulsing in the sensta lily they found
SO delic1ously amusing to hear about
Then there are those who only
laugh at pain. They adore the wi,
that stabs like a rapier. They are
convulsed with mirth at the spectacle
OF some poor. defenseless creature be.
ing held up to ridicule. They divert
themselves by teasing children am
|
hilarious over twitting a cripple witt
his deformity, or an unmarried WON.
an about her age and being an ole
maid. These people are torturers Al
heart, and they would have enjoyed
operating the rack, and the thumb
screw They are cold. eallous and
mean. Watch out for them.
And there are those who laugh a
us instead of laughing with us. There
Is all the difference between friend
snip and enmity, between sympath,
and malignancy in that. Observe
whether your friends laugh with yo,
or at you. and you will knoR to tn,
last iota Row much they really car,
for you. and how much you can de
pend upon them.
Watch your laugh. It's the one tell
tale thing about You. And be care
ful what you laugh at. for it is gooe
to laugh. but it is a terrible thing, i
is blasph my, to laugh at the wron,