Funny / The Blue Castle

• Not funny for Valancy but the family's obsession with the silver teaspoon that Valancy allegedly lost one picnic which "arose Banquo-like" at every family event.
• The whole silver wedding anniversary dinner where Valancy finally says exactly what she thinks to her family. Highlights include:
  • The section where everyone is saying what they think is the greatest happiness. After several family members have made high-minded (and probably insincere) declarations like spending your life in service, Valancy comes out with, "The greatest happiness is to sneeze when you want to," which leaves everyone confused if she is serious or making a joke.
    • Preceding Valancy's line, one aunt makes some vague comment about the greatest happiness being in the poetry of life and immediately gives some directions to a servant to avoid being asked to clarify what she meant.
  • Shortly after the sneeze line, Valancy calls out her rich and pompous uncle for making the same bad jokes repeatedly. Said uncle is so shocked at being spoken to in such a fashion and by meek, little Doss of all people that he can't think of any comeback.
  • And at the end, the only explanation that Valancy's relatives can come up with for her behavior is that she must be insane. Because of course it couldn't be that they've quashed and snubbed Valancy her whole life and she's finally had enough.
• One of Valancy's earliest rebellions is sliding down the banister, and misdeed only witnessed by Cousin Stickles who heroically keeps it to herself rather than further worry Valancy's mother (or damage Valancy's reputation; it's unclear which concerns Stickles more). It's a recurring joke in the narration that whenever Valancy's behavior is being discussed, Stickles valiantly refrains from telling about the banister.
• Valancy and the disreputable Barney Snaith are driving home from a dance late at night when Barney's car runs out of gas and they have to wait for someone to come by and loan them fuel. And who should come by but her classy cousin Olive and arrogant aunt and uncle who are mortified at the sight of their niece shamelessly sitting in a car with "that jailbird Barney Snaith." While reluctant to give gas to the disgraceful pair, they decide that it would be worse to let them sit there for someone else to see (one has to think of one's family's reputation after all).
• After Valancy marries Barney, the family decides to consider her as one dead, except "Valancy had an unquiet, ghostly habit of repeated resurrections as she and Barney clattered through Deerwood and out to the port in that unspeakable car."