The value of laughter is a subject of frequent debate in The Name of the Rose, with William and Jorge’s opposing views on the matter forming a philosophical conflict that comes to a head during the nemeses’ climactic final confrontation. Indeed, it is Jorge’s belief that Aristotle’s endorsement of laughter and comedy would pose a terrible threat to the social order and the authority of the Church that leads him to hide and later smear with poison the manuscript containing the second volume of the philosopher’s Poetics. William, meanwhile, sees the ability to laugh as a vital component of the ability to reason and think for oneself. The initial debate on laughter between Jorge and the younger monks in the scriptorium before William and Adso’s arrival serves as the inciting incident for the events of the novel. The story itself contains many comedic and absurd moments, and it is Adso’s dream of the parodical poem called the Coena Cypriani, followed by his recounting of a bit of “nonsense” spouted by Salvatore, that inspires William to solve the final pieces of the mystery. After the fire at the novel’s end, William reflects that laughter is perhaps the only thing that can free humanity from the destructive consequences of dogmatism.