circus

The author of the article you've quoted is Norman Manea. He wrote many essays and books which featured these literary characters--the White Clown and Augustus the Fool. In this passage, he is referring to the real circus, but, in his essays and books, the circus itself functions as a metaphor for the political stage. Manea equated the White Clown with dictators and Augustus with exiled artist (likely himself).

So what is a "White Clown"? Is he a man painted his face white and the one always make the audience laugh? And I have no idea of "Augustus the Fool" in a circus. What does he look like? Why the author use this character as a parable?

And do "boss-and servant couples" mean "boss" and "servant" in our daily life or in the real history of our real world? Why do the author say "buffoonish", is that because they are related to a circus, too? Or it only means funny, weird?

Why no answer?

Why no answer?

Why no answer?

Sorry, Translatorcz, but it has been a busy week for me and this question is a rather difficult one involving the history of a now obscure art form. First, some background; clown characters have been around since at least classical Greek and Roman times, but really began to blossom in the Middle Ages in Italy's commedia dell'arte. Like in cinema today, when something succeeded, it was likely to be copied by others. In the world of theatrical comedy, stock characters developed in such a way as to be easily identifiable to the audience by appearance and certain characters became as famous as today celebrities. One such characters was the white-face clown:



The other character is the auguste clown, who is typically dressed more grotesquely, with exaggerated makeup and highly-contrasting colors. The roles of these stock characters have changed to suit different cultures and time periods, but, in the pairing of the two, a few things have remained somewhat constant;
- one of the clowns appears dignified, but is self-important;
- the other is a bumbling fool, but is honorable;
- the fool spends most of the time getting beaten by the white-face;
- the audience cheers when the pompous white-face gets his come-uppance.

This pairing represents the boss-and-servant couple, but metaphorically it can be any superior/subordinate relationship: dictator/subjects, doctor/patient, bully/weakling, etc. The intent is usually to ridicule the foolish aims and arrogance of authority. "Buffoonish" means funny through jocularity or ludicrous antics.

Thank you very much for your take the trouble to look into this. And yes, it's somewhat difficult. I have learnt what they are, although there are materials for me to check out to learn about the culture. So, thank you for making it so clear. Thank you.