From: Damien Broderick (d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Mon Jan 24 2000 - 18:44:55 MST
>> The Germans have a useful word
>>I coin a term for the
>>pleasure we receive in *hearing about* the misfortunes of others, at great
>>length: Scheherazadenfreude.
>Of course practical people will call it "Sche" or "Schefre" of "SZF" because
>no-one uses such long words in conversations.
Well, I'd hope that practical people would laugh very briefly at my
whimsical little joke and zip on.
*sob*
Nobody gets my jokes. Waaaahh.
WARNING: INTOLERABLE PEDANTIC EXPLICATION AHEAD:
Scheherezade was the ingenious young woman in 1001 NIGHTS who kept her head
by entertaining the King with endless stories, many of them about
misfortunes at sea, betrayed lovers and the like. She has become the emblem
of story-telling.
Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure in the misfortune of
others.
My pun fuses the name and the word. You are meant to smile, then put it out
of your mind forever.
>And I personally don't think I
>take pleasure in hearing about other people's misfortunes, unless it's a
>funny story. Do you take pleasure in hearing about the death of someone's
>mother?
Absolutely, I agree. Look at my doleful face.
(Hey, I thought *I* was the sanctimonious guardian of morals and decency
around here?)
Damien
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