Inevitable Answers: The Joke and its Relation to Social Equilibrium in the Novels of Ivy Compton-Burnett

The majority of existing studies of Ivy Compton-Burnett’s comedy class her as either a ‘camp’ novelist, or a social satirist in whose novels jokes are used for either oppression or subversion. The present essay proposes a new reading of the social uses of jokes in Compton-Burnett’s novels. In these domestic fictions, family life is characterized by constant strife, most commonly of a verbal nature. As part of their daily struggle for power and position, her characters use aggressive jokes to keep each other in check. This process does not distinguish primarily between oppressors and oppressed, but between successful and unsuccessful egotists. As an ideal result, a social equilibrium emerges that is at least vaguely habitable to all. This way, Compton-Burnett’s comedy is essentially conservative; the ultimate function of the jokes employed by her characters is not to permanently transform social structures, but to maintain the delicate balance of power within the family.