Why You Need Satire
Sharp minds and belly laughs go together
Jane Bennet, a character in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, had absolute faith in the inherent goodness of other people. She never spoke ill of others and never saw any flaws.
We like the sound of this. She must be a shining example of human kindness. But what was her fate? She got used, manipulated, deceived, taken advantage of by the people she believed in, and dumped when she was no longer useful.
Still, we say, “Well, better to have loved and lost… At least she was in the right, right?”
But was she? For two of Austen’s characters who fit this bill (Catherine Moreland and Jane Bennet), there is indeed much to admire. Austen was first in line, taking her hat off to all that was praiseworthy in the kindness, charity, and loyalty they showed towards others.
But if we leave it at that, if we stand only for a simplistic, naive, and foolish loyalty without any discernment, we are missing something. Austen wanted more.
Austen Bartender
The Bible uses the word “fool” and “simpleton” almost interchangeably. What does it mean to be simplistic? The simple “believes every word” (Proverbs 14:15).
I see Austen as Lady wisdom in Proverbs 9 who says, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense, she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”
Austen is like a polite, upscale, glorified bartender who says, “Come let me tell you a riddle. Let me spin you a tale. There was once a simpleton who left home for the first time…”
In all of Austen’s books there is at least one main character whose happiness entirely depends on her ability to see clearly what is going on around her. To see past outward appearances.
Why is Discernment so Important?
Because evil often masquerades as light. There are wolves afoot who wear contagious smiles and work in cubicles. And there is no better way to practice discernment than in stories.
Which is why the villains matter so much.
For a quick refresher, as mentioned here, American villains usually fall into one of two categories. They are either big-boss, world-domineering types. Or they are “misunderstood” victims of circumstance. The problem with both types is that they fail to help us discern moral character in the ordinary guy when we see it in others or in ourselves. All the “bad” is alienated from us.
By contrast, how does Austen fix this problem? How does she portray her bad guys?
Through satire.
Satire Accomplishes Three Objectives:
1. Satire recognizes that evil exists in human nature. This statement alone loses most people. Most moderns believe that people are basically good. That is why the evil in our stories can and must come from something out there: the system, the republicans, bad self-esteem…
There is so much available on this topic that I don’t want to say much now other than leaving you with this quote from Chesterton: “Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved… Original sin is the only doctrine that's been empirically validated by 2,000 years of human history.”
2. Satire deals in subtleties. People with good intentions and tea cozies can be evil. When evil shows up, it is often hard to recognize. Again, it masquerades as light.
As Americans, we like things easy and obvious. We hail from the Steinbeck and Hemingway tradition of make it simple and to the point. But this does not always teach us discernment.
Let’s say you are watching a film where a villain blows up a building full of orphans while maniacally laughing. You would not think, “But what is his real moral character, deep down.” This would not exercise your powers of discernment.
Sin likes to trick us. It can hide in grey areas. It can hold knitting needles instead of exploding bombs. It can be a sharp tongue instead of a machete. Which brings it home. We are forced then to recognize it in ourselves. Satire brings evil up close and personal.
3. Satire makes us laugh. At first, this might not seem like an important distinction. Just a bonus. Yet, this might be the most important point of all. Perhaps the biggest problem with how we handle our American villains, is that we take them too seriously.
We should take evil seriously. But we should not take it seriously the same way bad guys do. We respect sin when we should laugh at it. We are in such a hurry to be compassionate towards the villain and all his “hard times.”
We see someone like Elsa in Frozen with so much sober and superfluous rhetoric. We are in such a hurry to put on our grownup pants and act like life is some eternal city council meeting or therapy session.
Instead, we should often see our villains in the same light as The Famous Mr. Toad, who sang songs in his own honor, at his own banquet, about how the queen and her ladies in waiting cried, “Look, who’s that handsome man? The famous Mr. Toad!”
When we respect where we should laugh, when we take things seriously where we should ridicule, we impart dignity to sin itself. An ill-fitting dignity, like a toad wearing a crown.
You Need Satire
There is MUCH more to say about satire; this is only an introduction. Or a tease. But I’m mostly teasing myself because I have about a thousand more points to make on this topic.
Work some satire into your reading list. Allow it to influence how you think about yourself and others. Need a place to start? You can’t do better than Austen.
Sharpen your mind, and hone your critical thinking… while laughing.
Thank you for this, I recently read Austen for the first time. While regency romance is not a subject matter I would typically seek out, Austen's satire made it genuinely funny and insightful.