Brevbäraren, narren och evolutionen. En evolutionsteoretiskt orienterad komparativ analys av Dag-Otto Flink från Vallarnas friluftsteater och Puck och Botten från "En midsommarnattsdröm".

Abstract

What is it that makes an audience love a character? Through comparative analysis and an evolutionary perspective, I have examined the relationship between the viewer – the human – and three popular characters: Shakespeare’s Bottom and Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Dag-Otto Flink, the most popular character from Vallarnas friluftsteater in Falkenberg, Sweden. In what way do they attract us? Why do they attract us? The aim of the comparative analysis between the characters was to reveal enough similarities for defining all three as the same character type: the fool. One of the most important similarities for the evolutionary discussion was that especially Dag-Otto and Bottom are consistently themselves. Furthermore, the Darwinian perspective, especially with theories of Daniel Nettle, indicates that there are several factors that come into play for successive fiction. An attention-drawing fiction succeeds in making an intensified version of social cognition, since it needs to compensate for the fact that the audience does not know the characters. This depends heavily on the content of the fiction. However, the form of the fiction may intensify the relation with the audience even further, which can be seen in these characters.