On Quora, a question was asked, “Do those who laugh all day have no troubles?”
A highly upvoted answer read, “Of course they do, the laughter is just a disguise.”
There was a time when we were all children, we laughed when happy and cried when sad.
As time flew by, smiles ceased to represent our feelings; they turned into a hard and cold armor, hiding our pains deep within.
Growing up gnaws at the most genuine part of our hearts, guarding the most restless of souls.
Just like in Hugo’s work “The Laughing Man,” the protagonist Gwynplaine was of noble birth but tragically mistreated. Sold to a trader at a young age, his face was scarred, turning him into The Laughing Man.
Throughout his life, he endured countless pains, yet his face had no choice but to smile.
Facing the cruelty of fate, he struggled, endeavored, and was lost until he realized that being genuine is more worthwhile than chasing a deceitful appearance.
The sorrow of adulthood is not the helplessness faced with reality but the helpless pretense of joy.
1. Smiles On the Face, Scars in the Heart
People who make pleasing others a habit, carry smiles on their faces, but endless tears in their hearts.
Gwynplaine was a lord’s son, born with a silver spoon, supposed to live a perfect life, but fate had other plans.
His father, opposing the king’s views, infuriated the ruthless and foolish monarch.
To vent his anger, the king sold 2-year-old Gwynplaine to a trader.
The trader, with a sharp knife, scarred Gwynplaine’s cheek.
Healing left a scar from the corner of his mouth to his ear, resembling a permanent smile mask.
As Gwynplaine grew up, he forgot who he was, knowing only his deformed appearance, spawning feelings of inferiority.
He sought acceptance in this world, using kindness to please everything around.
Later, Gwynplaine was abandoned by the trader.
Wandering the streets, he rescued a blind infant girl.
Luckily, he met a street performer, Ursus, and together, they scraped a living.
Gwynplaine, with his eerie smile, performed comical acts, becoming a well-known clown.
Others envied, cursed, mocked, and scorned him.
Whenever he revealed his face on stage, roaring laughter erupted from the crowd.
Each laughter was like a blade, cutting into his facial scar, tearing his desolate heart.
He voiced, “I want to find someone who won’t laugh seeing me,” while keeping up with his bitter smile to please the crowd.
He pleaded for the right to live with his dignity, earning a humble existence.
On the surface, he made some money, but deep down, he was shattered.
Aren’t we, in life, also wrapped in deceitful masks?
In the workplace, enduring harsh clients, strict bosses, we wear fake smiles, uttering flatteries;
At home, despite knowing the comparisons among relatives, we force out cheerful grins;
In friendship, putting interests first, we push ourselves to fit into unwelcoming circles, even with resistance.
Externally, we seem glamorous, yet internally, we can’t escape the invasion of sorrowful tears.
In the book “The Courage to be Disliked,” it’s mentioned, “Each act of pleasing others kills the self.”
Excessive pleasing can’t replace self-worth, but conforming too much to others will surely erase our own identities.
Beneath the mask, laughter is laughter, yet also tears.
Why pretend to be joyful while weeping bitterly, transforming facial smiles into indelible scars in the heart?
2. The More We Force Smiles, The More Shattered We Become
People who genuinely accept you, don’t require a cheerful facade.
A forced smile can only express sorrow.
Over time, Gwennylan fell in love with a blind girl. The blind girl reciprocated with sincere affection, uninterested in masks, indifferent to status or poverty.
They needed and redeemed each other.
To earn more money for a better life for the blind girl, Gwennylan performed tirelessly on stage, undeterred by the relentless mockery.
Pure love gave Gwennylan a newfound purpose in life.
However, this peaceful phase was abruptly disrupted by a Duchess named Yoseanna.
Yoseanna, the queen’s sister, frivolous and arrogant, heard about the clown in town and went to amuse herself.
On stage, Gwennylan unmasked his disfigured smile, which stirred Yoseanna’s excitement.
After a performance, Yoseanna lured Gwennylan into her arms.
Being surrendered to by high society was a novel experience for Gwennylan, he reveled in Yoseanna’s embrace, unable to escape.
Meanwhile, the queen discovered Gwennylan’s origin.
With sinister intent, she restored his nobility, demanding him to marry her distasteful sister.
Upon hearing this, Yoseanna was outraged: to marry this grotesque man was a sheer insult!
The Duchess vented her anger through scorn and mockery towards Gwennylan.
From intimacy to ridicule in a heartbeat, Gwennylan felt cast from heaven into hell, fleeing desperately from the Duchess’ abode.
Gwennylan believed his smile attracted the Duchess, but it was merely a mask in a manipulative game.
When the veil of feigned smiles was torn away, his fragile heart shattered even more.
Forced smiles can’t heal pain, they only deepen the wounds.
These smiles act like scissors, tearing one’s entirety apart, stitching together a soul of agony.
The brighter the smile, the deeper the internal agony.
3. Lift A Heavy Burden, To Feel a Light Body
So-called burdens are just stresses shouldered.
Gwennylan was knighted by the queen, adorned in noble garments.
On the surface, he regained what belonged to him.
In reality, the so-called “upper class” looked down upon the once impoverished child, scorned his appearance.
Gwennylan was lost, instinctively trying to hold onto everything.
He wrapped himself in layers, unwilling to reveal his mask, yet it didn’t stop the tide of malice and mockery.
One day, Gwennylan was ushered into the upper house for his coronation.
As he walked through, he was met with disdainful whispers and scornful eyes, as if they’d devour him.
He loathed their hypocrisy, realizing he could never fit into this superficial “upper class”.
Gwennylan marched straight to the stage, unmasking himself, speaking of common folks’ hardships, denouncing exorbitant taxes.
He urged the wealthy to care for the poor, striving to alleviate societal suffering.
The crowd below murmured.
“Go back to being a clown!”
Gwennylan was serene. He submitted his resignation from nobility and left this alien place alone.
As he left, a sudden feeling of liberation enveloped him.
Once, nobility and riches were what Gwennylan craved.
But having them revealed the harsh reality that it was not as beautiful as imagined.
Thus, he chose to relinquish everything.
Gwennylan lost the luxurious lifestyle but was no longer bound to feigned smiles amidst mockery.
Such is life.
In conclusion
After leaving his title, Gwennylan returned to the blind girl.
By then, she was critically ill, dying in Gwennylan’s arms.
Gwennylan was heartbroken, choosing to end his miserable life by jumping into the sea.
In this tragedy, there were no victors.
True happiness cannot be feigned.
The novel “Whispers” mentions, “Feigned laughter, feigned cheerfulness can deceive many, but not oneself.”
Fake smiles are like the color of dove’s blood on the wall, especially striking in the uncertain light of fate.
Time hurries, growth arrives unexpectedly.
With responsibilities and pressures surging, life’s complexities entangling, we resort to masking with smiles.
Once carefree joy and easy laughter are now hidden behind a mask of forced smiles.
But this happiness isn’t real happiness. It neither alleviates our inner agony nor solves real issues.
Feigning happiness is both a weapon and a sin.
No one has it easy in life, nor should we numb ourselves with pretend joy.
To escape, the only antidote is to “let go”.
