Show popularity of mother in law joke by M K THOMSON ph D H r WE ALL have highest respect for mother io one dares to ridicule her we stand for it and yet we all laugh at the mother in law despite the fact that she la mother there must be a reason tor this queer situation we respect and revere our own mothers but an occa jest at the expense of the another ot our wife or husband Is quite proper what la so tunny about a mother in law or la it the extreme seriousness of the situation that Is so humorous humo ious where there Is so much smoke there must be some fire the great larley ot the mother in law joke proves liow unpopular the mother in law really Is we usually poke tun at those whom we cannot reach in any other way by virtue of her age and position the mother in law Is a rather fled person and a joke at the ex pense of dignity Is always humorous especially it the dignity and power that go with it aro used against us A mild cimias such aa the exposure of the person of a village arg Is a lot than 1 the accident occurred to some little flapper i it la a well known fact that the mother in law Is very hard to please she 1 naturally prejudiced in favor of her own children and no one Is good enough for her james or jane mothers are especially partial to their sons this makes it hard for the daughter in law ano matter what the younger woman does it Is not old fash houed enough to suit the woman of another generation A tenseness ot feeling if not open conflict Is in evitable evl table the joke Is the safest means of satisfying the desire to get even the most harmless outlet for the pent up of repartee the mother in law joke Is popular tor the same reason that a joke at the expense of the teacher Js popular with school children both have a dignity and authority that rankle 0 by mcclur newspaper |