The Comedy of Errors, written by William Shakespeare, is mirrored to a large extent by Plautus' play The Brothers Manaecmus, both of which deal with the issue of separated twins who find themselves in the same city and are mistaken for each other. However, although Shakespeare draws his play from the basic plot structure of the ancient Roman text of Plautus, it is evident that he takes liberties to further develop the main characters and diverge from specific scenarios of the original play. Upon careful reading, a great disparity between the two evidently lies in the difference in the representation of the wives of the lost twins: Adriana in the Comedy of Errors and the Wife in the Manaecmo Brothers. Through the analysis of the confusing confrontation between "husband" and wife, the intervention of third parties in the forms of the abbess and the old man, and the verbal abuse to which they are subjected in moments of madness of the husband, it is evident that Shakespeare models the three-dimensional character and sympathy of Adriana from that of the Wife, portraying her as pleasant, rather than shrewish. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In both Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors and Plautus's The Brothers Menaechmus, a foreign twin (Antipholus of Syracuse/Menaechmus II) is confused under questioning by his brother's wife, during which she accuses him of not recognizing her and rebukes his unfaithful behavior. However, the two interactions can be said to deviate from each other, as evident in the diction between man and wife presented in both texts. While Adriana accuses her husband of negligence as does the wife of Menaechmus I, she offers herself and reminds him of their vows as husband and wife. In this context, he turns to the suspected adultery when he meets him in the market; ADRIANA I am possessed by an adulterated stain; My blood is mixed with the crime of lust: because if we too are one and you betray me, I digest the poison of your flesh, being affected by your contagion. Therefore keep away alliance and truce with your true bed; I live without blemish, you without shame. (2.2.139-145) Adriana states that her marriage to Antipholus made them not two separate entities, but instead united them in unity as an inseparable whole, evident when she states that “we two are one.” By saying this, he suggests that their marital bond has fused their two bodies into one, using this analogy to demonstrate to Antipholus that if he became an adulterer, his blood would also become “mingled with the crime of lust,” “an adulterated stain ”. about his purity as a result of his wrongdoings. More literally, she implies that by sleeping with other women, namely the courtesan, she will bring sexually transmitted diseases into their bedroom, evidence of her "adulterated stain" that has settled in her skin and bringing her shame into society. She then pleads with him to remain faithful to her so as to protect her reputation by "keep[ing]...away league and truce with your true bed." She claims that this will allow her to "live without blemish" and also preserve her honor. Therefore, in his appeal, Shakespeare leads the audience to sympathize with Adriana, who is forced to bear the burden of her husband's adultery, which results in both emotional and social shame and physical illness. Shakespeare here alludes to the fact that the wives of adulterous men also became victims of diseases spread by their husbands' affairs, an additional burden they were forced to carry. This is important because Adriana recognizes this as she pleads with Antipholus, and yet vows to remain faithful to him. However, aUnlike Adriana, the Wife uses much less amiable and noble language when speaking to her confused "husband". Although she initially believes that he has come to return the stolen dress to her and dates Erotium, she calls him a "shameless, brazen, wicked man" (1.713), and in anger, asks him how "Did you dare to murmur, did you dare to say a word to me? " (1.711) when he asks her identity. However, the fundamental disparity between her behavior and that of her Shakespearean counterpart is highlighted when she responds to Menaechmus calling her a "bitch" (1.718) after she approaches him: WIFE I just can't stand all this shame, I'd rather even live my life….a divorce? Rather than bear the weight of this shame of yours. (1.719-721) In saying that he "would rather live... life... a divorce?" ending her marriage to Menechmus, her response is key as it strikes a stark contrast to Adriana's. Unlike the Wife, who creates an easy escape route for herself by resorting to divorce, Adriana reminds her husband of their marital vows and the consequent incorruptible bodily separation. Unlike the first, she does not verbally abuse or threaten to leave her husband because of his infidelity, but instead begs him to return to her. This difference is important here as in changing her response, she is characterized as loving and co-dependent, rather than shrewish and short-tempered, as Plautus describes his female antagonist here. This is highlighted when the Wife implies that she would rather bear the social shame of divorce “rather than bear the burden of this shame,” in reference to Menaechmus's adulterous behavior. Consequently, Shakespeare's reflection and alteration in The Brothers Menaechmus can be said to forge an alternative depth of Plautus' Wife and paint it in a more dependent and three-dimensional way. Perhaps for this reason readers do not root for the Wife, who lacks even a name other than a sign of ownership by her husband, and is static in her constant reproaches and intrigues. On the other hand, it may not be right to judge her actions so cruelly, given that her concerns towards her husband are very material; she knows that he stole her dress and gave it to her lover Erotium, something her husband has outwardly lied about. Adriana, however, only suspects that Antipholus skipped dinner in the company of another woman, while in reality he was detained by the Goldsmith, to whom she had ordered a necklace to be made for her. Although Antipholus is suggested to have had previous illicit affairs with the courtesan, his sins are not as profound as those of Menaechmus, who openly steals from his wife. Consequently, the Wife can be said to differ in her relationship with her husband in that, in response to the confusion, she threatens to leave him, while Adriana warns her husband of the social shame of his adultery and reaffirms its corporeal significance. of their marriage. Furthermore, in case of problems between "husband" and wife both in the Comedy of Errors and in the Brothers Menechmus, a third party appears to despise the wife, either in the form of the Abbess, a nun from the city of Ephesus, or the Old Man, the father of the Wife. These encounters find parallels in both texts as external characters accuse their respective wives of illicit behavior towards their husbands, effectively silencing them. In the Comedy of Errors, the Abbess attributes Antipholus's madness to a consequence of Adriana's complaints about his obvious adultery. He states that: ABBESS The poisonous clamors of a jealous woman Poisons more deadly than the tooth of a mad dog. It seems that his sleep has been hindered by your railing, and that's why he feels light-headed.(5.1.69-72) In accusing Adriana of easing Antipholus's "head..." by talking about misdeeds, the Abbess suggests that her madness stems from the "poison" of Adriana's jealousy. She believes that this jealous “poison” got into him like the bite of a “crazy dog's tooth” might, preventing him from sleeping, thus explaining his strange behavior. In response to this, Adriana invades the abbess to free her husband, softened by the promise to take care of him in the moment of illness: ADRIANA I will assist my husband, I will be his nurse, I will cure his illness, because it is my office, and I will have no other lawyer than myself; And so let me take it home with me. (5.1.98-101) She claims that, as his “nurse,” Adriana will make it her “office,” or duty as a wife, to ensure that Antipholus is cured of his madness. She turns to the abbess not to complain but to take him back into her care, illustrating her desire to remain with Antipholus despite his misbehavior, shedding light on the loyal and forgiving nature of his character. However, even if the abbess is wrong in her diagnosis of Antipholus, who is hiding in the monastery as a place of refuge from the charlatan Doctor Pinch, her attitude towards Adriana is still a reflection of the society that has shaped her view of the rights and wrongs of relationships between men and women. Furthermore, this scene is reflected in the text of the Menechmus Brothers, in which the Old Man, even before arriving at the scene of the conflict, prophesies the cause of the trouble by saying that: OLD MAN Well, so it is always with wives with a large dowry, they are fierce with their husbands, they order their lives. But then sometimes man is... let's say... not so pure. There are limits to what a good wife can tolerate. (1.766-769) With this song, he implies that his daughter's annoying behavior towards her husband is typical of rich women ("...so it is always with wives with a large dowry"), indicating that the Wife she believes that her great gift the dowry guarantees her the right to be demanding towards her husband (“They are fierce with their husbands, they order their life”). As in the case of the abbess, there is a note of guilt here, but it is tempered by the recognition that there are “limits to what a good wife can tolerate.” This therefore illustrates the different ways in which Shakespeare and Plautus' respective societies treated the concept of marriage, as for Adriana her marital bond with Antipholus is all-encompassing and eternal. In contrast, for the Wife, the bond with her husband is forged by monetary constraints and can be easily severed, an idea reinforced by the Old Man in his speech. Approaching the couple, his daughter, the Wife, tells him about her husband's spending, his attempts to control his business and drinking, claiming that she wants to abandon her husband and return home to her family: WIFE I haven't done anything bad, dear father, you can be sure of it. But I simply cannot go on living with him in any way. Accordingly, take me home. (1.779-782) In saying this, her behavior once again marks a profound disparity between her and Adriana; rather than care for her sick and evidently insane "husband", she chooses to leave him ("Accordingly, take me home") and return to live in her father's house, claiming that she is blameless in this situation since she has "not done nothing "wrong". While Adriana selflessly goes to the abbess to bring her husband home and care for him, the wife wants to be brought home herself, reflecting a disgruntled child, rather than a wife dealing with a difficult husband. For the Wife, marriage is not the indissoluble bond that Adriana sees, but rather a temporary agreement that can be severed in the presence of inconveniences. For her, not her and Menecmothey share a united body and soul; it is evident that she feels that her misdeeds are exemplary of her poor character, and only that, without any other reflection or guilt in herself. By refusing to take responsibility for her husband's actions, the Wife can also be interpreted in a more feminist light; unlike co-dependent Adriana, she is not willing to tolerate Menecmo's violent behavior. This disparity once again casts a divide between the two women, differing in their solutions to their fragmented relationships. After hearing the Wife's complaints, the Old Man rebukes her, defending Menaechmus I by saying that her dissatisfaction with her husband's behavior will not resolve her.change despite her qualms: "Thanks to all your diligence, I promise you, he will love her moreover." (1,791). He then goes on to say: OLD MAN ...Look, you are quite well dressed, well jeweled and well supplied with food and maids. Being well off, woman, be wise, leave well enough alone. (1.801-802) These words of warning resonate with the Abbess's speech, for here too the Old Man advises the Wife to stop being jealous and to leave things as they are ("Be well, woman, be wise, let alone enough Well"). Accusing her of "blaming blameless men" (1.805), like the abbess, he does not sympathize with the wronged woman's difficulties, instead placing the blame for Menaechmus' erratic behavior on his jealousy. Therefore, both the Old Man and the Abbess ignore the women's pleas, demonstrating their mutual lack of compassion towards the men's adultery and abusive behavior. Following these arguments in both the Comedy of Errors and the Brothers Menaechmus texts, another meeting between the two occurs during the bouts of alleged madness seen with both Antipholus of Ephesus and Menaechmus II. After being restrained by Doctor Pinch, Antipholus' speech aligns very closely with that of Menaechmus II, for whom the Old Man sends the Doctor following his mad threats to kill those around him. In these scenes, both men attack and blame their wives, as seen when Antipholus of Ephesus condemns Hadrian for claiming that Dromio had not come to her for Antipholus' bail: ANTIPHOLUS Dissimulating harlot, thou art false in all things; And you ally yourself with a cursed pack to make me a disgusting and abject contempt: but with these nails I will tear out these false eyes that would like to see this shameful game in me. (4.4.102-6) In his anger, he threatens to “put out these false eyes,” which he feels so unfairly accuse him of an evil he did not commit. Calling Adriana a lying "prostitute", he places the blame for his promiscuity and his arrest on her. Likewise, this directly parallels the case of Menaechmus, who when confronted by the Old Man, begins to verbally abuse both father and daughter, calling the wife "a very rabid bitch" and her father "a goat who smells of 'garlic". : MANAECHMUS II …On the left I am watched by a very rabid dog. Right behind her is a goat that smells of garlic, and this goat has countless times accused a blameless citizen of perjury. (1.838-840) As in the Comedy of Errors, Menaechmus II threatens to "Take burning torches, [and] set fire to this woman's eyes." (1.841), using the promise of violence to get rid of his Wife. Therefore, it is clear that both he and Antipholus resort to verbal abuse in their treatment of their respective wives. Overall, it is evident that, compared to The Brothers Menaechmus, Shakespeare deviates to a greater extent from the content given in The Comedy of Errors, employing Plautus's Bare Plot to create more dynamic characters and reflect on key social issues. This is especially..