The basis of tragedy is man's helplessness against disease, war and death; the basis of comedy is man's helplessness against vanity (the vanity of love, greed, lust, power).
Bio: Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda y Arteaga was a 19th-century Cuban-born Spanish writer. Born in Puerto Príncipe, she lived in Cuba until she was 22.
