Mature Comedy – The First Major Hurdle on the Path to the Pinnacle of World Literature

Nantai

If you intend to set your sights on paradise, you must aim directly at God.

"Climbing to the pinnacle of world literature" sounds like an effortless phrase, but in reality, the difficulty of doing so is comparable to a woman giving birth – only those who experience it truly know the agony in their womb. Where exactly is the pinnacle of world literature? No one will tell you. In reality, the "pinnacle" recognized by the "Literary World Olympics" held in Norway in 2002 is Don Quixote – a "humorous comic novel" with "royal lineage." When an old emperor is still seated on the imperial throne, you must defeat him to claim the throne for yourself. Therefore, to climb to the pinnacle of world literature, one must surpass Don Quixote. This means we must find a literary form more advanced than humorous comic novels – as Hegel stated: "When comedy reaches its mature stage of development, we also arrive at the endpoint of the scientific study of aesthetics."

So, what kind of comedy qualifies as "mature comedy"? A flower alone does not signify maturity; only when it bears fruit is it mature. Mere destruction is not maturity; maturity lies in both breaking down and establishing anew. A doctor who can only lance a boil is not a mature one; a mature doctor can also suture the wound and cure the disease. With this understanding, you have no other choice: only affirmative eulogistic comedy is the true mature comedy.

Remember this term: "affirmative eulogistic comedy"! This determines that the form of A Smile in Seven Steps can only be the "eulogistic comedy" – the only form capable of shaping a "comedic hero."