Cosmopolitanism and Material Ethics 107While it would clearly not be accurate to suggest that Lurie makes
light of the attack, it is apparent that to a certain extent his unique
sense of humor enables him to process the experience. The image
of Lurie, about to be placed in a large cauldron surrounded by “sav-
ages” intent on devouring his flesh, is of course taken directly from
the realm of well-worn caricature. But it is made all the more absurd
by the use of the feminine “Aunt Sally” to describe his feeling of
helpless victimization. Lurie could easily have chosen a figure that
was less conspicuously feminine but equally as cartoonish, such
as the masculine “straw man” or the gender-neutral “scapegoat.”
However, by using the quaint metaphor “Aunt Sally,” he evokes the
incongruous image of a large blushing doll, traditionally dressed in
a large frilly frock, who is being boiled in a large steaming cauldron
while “savages” dance and sing in anticipation. As in the case of
the Magistrate’s almost aggressively self-deprecating descriptions of
being tormented by Joll’s men in Waiting for the Barbarians , we see
here that Lurie is similarly ruthless in his desire to convey his sense
of humiliation and shame. We could also note a symmetry in the
horrifying and absurd images of the Magistrate creeping around in
his “filthy smock” and Lurie dressed up as an Aunt Sally, soaking in
a boiling cauldron. Of course, in Lurie’s case, the feminized image
is figurative rather than literal, but both serve to emphasize the char-
acters’ feelings of powerlessness. What is more is that they do this by
way of self-mockery, inviting the reader to indulge in the characters’
debasement—a strategy that in both cases generates distance from
the reader by problematizing an immediate sympathetic response.
Indeed, we feel uneasy with the irreverent tone in which Lurie retells
the experience and are repelled by the inappropriately emasculating
language he uses to describe himself.
Lurie’s humor thus creates a stark tonal clash with the gravity
of the events taking place, and we become aware that the thoughts
on display are not a straightforward representation of what must
be the principal emotions that Lurie is experiencing: fear, anxiety,
and helplessness. His humor therefore foregrounds the character as
an egoical figure because Lurie is quite visibly employing irony and
framing himself in farcical terms to retain some form of mental con-
trol over the events. Of course, this only serves further to spotlight