The Joke

Ludvik Jahn is the protagonist of The Joke. The ironic comment he makes in a letter to his girlfriend, Marketa, gives the novel its title. The nature of the joke provides an insight into Ludvik’s character development. Though the reader first encounters him as a jaded middle-aged man, the young Ludvik is strikingly different. As a young student, he is politically minded, inquisitive, and outgoing. His fascination with Marketa is the result not only of his sexual desires but also his fascination with a woman who seems immune to irony. For a young mind so steeped in braggadocio, sarcasm, and socialism, making a joke about Trotskyism seems absurd enough that Ludvik never considers it might be taken seriously. Unfortunately for him, the Party shows as little comprehension of irony as Marketa. When confronted with the joke and asked to explain himself and apologize, the outspoken Ludvik maintains his position. He refuses to compromise or play the role expected of him by society. This incident epitomizes Ludvik’s complicated relationship to the Performance of Identity: Though he understands what is expected of him by society and why, he believes he is above conforming to those expectations.