Buffoons

I’d previously mentioned how I consider Polonius to be a Reactive, even though the “traditional portrayal” of him “as a sycophantic buffoon” isn’t what you expect from the “practical ... Nomad archetype.”  It’s not at all unusual to see Reactives portrayed as having a practical bent without being especially intelligent or wise. If we take Willy Loman as being 63 in 1949 (the first year the play was produced) he’s a solid Lost generation born during the Progressive era who obviously hasn’t quite managed his career optimally. Michael Scott from “The Office” is a great salesman who keeps making mistakes that could easily be career-ending.  Bert Cooper is an icon of success and stability for the various “Mad Men” advertising agencies, while also being the crazy old guy  that nobody quite gets. Huckleberry Finn manages to get himself and Jim well down the Mississippi, although he is not only uneducated but resists attempts at education.  Liz Lemon, while a successful show-runner, is on the edge of buffoonery, and most of her writers and friends are well beyond where a portrayal of Polonius might go. 

There can be a fine line between a practical ability always to land on your feet and being so successful where you are that you can’t adapt when changes happen. And if you are a Reactive, the big changes will be occurring late in life, making adaptation that much harder.  Which, I’d say, is what happens to both Loman and Polonius, both of whom appear to meet their tragic fates a few years after the Crisis. They both seem to be trying to continue earlier successes using out-of-date processes - it has become common for Polonius’ “To thine own self be true” speech to be treated as platitudes for a previous generation, mocked by Ophelia and Laertes.Ultimately they are tripped up by believing the world where they grew up is the world they still inhabit, trusting that the system will protect them, as it has before. They are treated as fools in their respective plays largely because they don’t recognize how much has changed.