- Sep 18, 2021
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She's a harlequin (note the clever pun!).
The harlequin technically isn't a clown - the modern idea of what a clown is comes from the same place as the harlequin, though (the Commedia dell'arte). Harlequin and Clown were two characters who would interact with each other - Harlequin was the clever witty lead, and Clown was the dopey foil. Sort of similar to how Vaudeville later kind of established the "Straight Man/Wacky Guy" comedy duo double act as a major thing (Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, etc).
The Joker/Harley relationship is a direct reference to the Commedia. Though in some ways the roles of the two are at least partially swapped - Harley sort of plays the Clown role to Joker's Harlequin (which is ironic because Joker is the Clown Prince of Crime and Harley is literally Harley Quinn).
So basically, the Joker is a Clown that acts like a Harlequin, and Harley is a Harlequin that acts like a Clown.
