That note about comedy and melancholy being tied together is really salient.<p>The best sad stories are also the most funny. The arc of a sad story is the same as the arc of a funny one: there’s the tension, often like some introspective tension, that is built up and built up, and then finally released. And the relationship between audience and character in a sad story is the same as in a funny one — some deep connection between audience and character must exist in order for the release (crying or laughing) to pay off.<p>Took me quite a while to notice this.