Think of a person, any person. It could be a close associate or simply a fond acquaintance. Now think of every adjective that could possibly be used to describe that individual. Did the word “perfect” happen to be one of those descriptions? Odds are that it was not. If it was, then a reevaluation might be in order because that analysis contradicts with the self-evident truth found in the person’s humanity, the individual's predisposition to faults. Nonetheless, we tend to overlook the faults in people in order to maintain a happy relationship with them. Erasmus addresses this phenomenon in his work titled Praise of Folly. In this satirical piece, Erasmus utilizes the narrator Folly in order to address societal issues in an ironic fashion. One of the social deceptions Folly speaks of lies within the confines of relationships as it specifically relates to friendship, marriage, and family.
Folly attributes the success of friendship to the presence of, none other than, folly. She confronts this topic by saying, “Just think: winking at your friend’s faults, passing over them, turning a blind eye, building up illusions, treating obvious faults as virtues which call for love and admiration–isn’t all that related to folly?” (33). Upon first coming into contact with Folly’s statement, it may seem that her analysis has not truth to it at all. However, when a reader actually begins to meditate on what makes a friendship last, Folly’s statement morphs into a plausible explanation. Honestly, how else could a person be able to reconcile another person’s flaws in order to achieve a happy relationship except by being under the illusion of the friend’s perfect state? The subtle realization that the friend has faults may even come to mind, but the illusion remains in order for the relationship to sustain itself. Friendship proves not to be the only relationship where Folly rears her head.
Folly also declares to her audience that she identifies herself as the ultimate arbitrator in thriving marriages. She begins her tangent on the importance of folly in marriage by stating, “Just tell me, please, what man would be willing to offer his neck to halter matrimony if he applied the usual practice of the wise man and first weighed up its disadvantages as a way of life? (20). This statement by Folly has proven to be every bachelor’s excuse for eluding marriage. But what makes someone want to throw away his or her singular status and marry another despite the other person’s faults? How can someone deal with another’s horrible sense of humor or weird birthmark for the rest of life? Folly takes full responsibility and praise for this baffling occurrence. Folly reasons that the love-smitten individual must be under the influence of folly in order to be able to take another’s peculiarities and turn them into charming characteristics. Although, Folly only accepts praise for her part in happy marriages. A breakdown of a marriage can be attributed to an absence of Folly when the mirage that once masked the loved-one’s blemishes has disappeared. Now, what other relationship remains that Folly can claim as her own?
Folly reveals that she proves responsible for the unquestionable bond between parent and offspring. Describing an instance where the perplexing relationship between parent and child manifests itself, Folly announces, “… a father talks about the wink in his son’s squinting eye–what’s that, please, but folly pure and simple?” (33). It may seem normal for a father to love his son in spite of the son’s imperfections because love should rightly exist within a family. However, love proves to be an emotion set aside from reason, and “all emotions belong to Folly” (45). Mothers and fathers cannot help but think the best of their children because the parents are swayed by the winds of love emanating from our fellow-friend folly. Every person can agree that the illusion manifested between parent and offspring deserves praise because love within a family proves to be a wonderful sentiment.
Folly seems to attribute an extensive volume of seemingly-natural occurrences to herself. It may appear illogical to credit Folly with the happiness of all relationships like those of friendship, marriage, and family. Notwithstanding, Erasmus does have a point with his use of Folly in addressing these oddities within the world. It leads the reader to question the cause of these peculiarities, and like everything within the world, the origin of all emotions leads to God himself. In fact, Genesis 1:27 of the Bible says that we are created in God’s own image. Our emotions originate in our Creator, and that proves to be a fact not folly.
