Forbidden Laughter

When considering Prussian history, the element of humor might not leap instantly to mind. Yet, as Forbidden Laughter reveals, humor played an integral role in nineteenth-century Prussia, proving a powerful medium for the expression of otherwise repressed political and social sentiments. Mary Lee Townsend shows how widespread literacy and new, inexpensive methods of publishing and distribution made it possible to bring a subversive literature to all social strata. In a society with no parliamentary vehicle for political expression and strong taboos against many forms of personal self-expression, popular humor came to serve as a forum for public discussion of political, social, and moral issues. Even after 1849, when Prussians began to enjoy a measure of parliamentary representation and some freedom of the press, the tradition of popular humor lived on. This strong, if little known, history of public, critical discourse suggests that the actions of Berliners and Prussians in 1848 and after were not based on "unpolitical" ignorance due to a lack of parliamentary experience and sheeplike obedience to authority. On the contrary, their attitudes and decisions grew out of lively public debate.