Your actions and reactions over the span of life construct the prison of character, but every action and reaction is already the belated expression of latent character, of a defining flaw. Being half aware of this is itself a core component of character and so by opposing yourself or laughing at yourself you become yourself; trying to escape drives you further in - this is true in the great middle realm, that of putrefaction, and so is a matter neither for humour nor lamentation.