An Explanation of the Humor in the Theatre Scene of Alain De Botton's KISS and TELL

The expert from Alain de Botton's KISS AND TELL featuring a young man with his new girlfriend Isabel and their dreaded encounter with his girlfriend's parents one night while at the theater is the classic comedic scene. Botton heightens the humor in this excerpt with snarky diction and sarcastic dialogue that emphasizes Isabel's embarrassment and the parents' tackiness.

Button stresses Isabel's mortification over running into her parents during her date with her new beau using words that exaggerate the severity of her situation and clearly illustrate her parents' less-than-ideal behavior. The phrase "luck was not on Isabel's side" (line 22) paints the scene as nearly tragic, as if she has been betrayed by destiny. In reality, she is only experiencing something mildly to moderately embarrassing, but certainly not something downright humiliating. Buttons exaggerates how hard Isabel tried to dodge her parents' view, writing that she tries her "best" 9line 25) not to recognize her father. Her best effort probably would have meant exiting the theatre immediately, not merely sitting there with her eyes averted from her moth and father's seats---but this exaggeration of her actions is certainly more comical than a phrase such as "she avoided looking at her parents and instead stared at the floor." Another somewhat sarcastic exaggeration emerges when the narrator states that Isabel's father, Christopher, stands up and waves at this daughter "so that she might cease to dwell in ignorance" (lines 25-26). The word "ignorance" suggests that not realizing her parents' presence would somehow make her grossly naive and unaware. This, of course, is absurd, but that is what makes it funny. The hyperbolic statement about how Christopher starts to wave at his daughter "vigorous[ly]" (line 28) as if he is a man on a departing cruise ship adds to the absurdity of the language, therefore elevating the humor of the piece. The word "maniac" used to describe Christopher stresses his tackiness and therefore Isabel's mortification over spotting her father. When Isabel's mother decides to shout out her daughter's name at "top pitch" (line 34), the reader clearly understands how overly-enthusiastic Isabel's parents are and further sympathizes when Button describes Isabel's mother as a woman with "all the excitement" (line 35) of one catching sight of a "long-lost friend" (line 36) on a cruise ship. The extension of the cruise ship tourist simile between father and mother emphasizes the parents' somewhat trashy behavior. Even more dramatically, Button explains that what truly saves Isabel from her awkward predicament is Garcia Lorca's coming to stage and "rescuing" (line 41) her. How appropriate that they are watching a "domestic drama" (line 45)!

The true humor in the piece however stems from the piece's witty dialogue. Isabel utters the opening line of the excerpt , which is "Oh, my God. I think that's my mum over there" (line 1). The three words "Oh, my God" are generally reserved for graver situation and although this is by no means a dangerous situation, Isabel's words color it so. Isabel continues to over-react by warning her friend not to look at her parents (line 4). She then makes a snarky comment about her mother's dress and her love affairs (lines 5-8), mentioning that she is "really too old" to bring a "gentleman friend" to a play. Then Isabel proceeds to critically study her parents, mocking the way in which her father sneezes to commenting on her parents' petty arguments between each other about misplaced tickets. The height of the comedy, however, occurs when Isabel finally ends up speaking to her mother and father. When Isabel asks her mother what she is doing at the theatre, her mother somewhat caustically replies, "Why shouldn't I be here? You're not the only one who does fancy things with your evenings" (line 49). Her mother truly bites her when she remarks what a pity it is that her daughter does not have "more of a cleavage" (line 57) to show off in the nice dress she is wearing. Obviously her mother has lost all her sense of tactfulness at the moment; it is as if she purposely wants to fluster Isabel in front of her new boyfriend. She later ironically adds that her daughter is a "lovely girl really" (line 73) after she has just finished bashing her.

All in all, this scene from Alain de Botton's KISS AND TELL is a humorous account of Isabel's run-in with her parents. It reveals the catty relationship Isabel shares with her mother and how ditsy her father it is. What is most ironic about the entire piece, though, is that Isabel does not recognize her own hypocrisy. She complains about her mother criticizing her, but does not realize how judgmental she is of her own mother.