‘Fraternal Culture Shock’: Unchanging (Ex)changes of Identity in Plautus’ Menaechmi and Terence’s Adelphoe

Anita M. Valverde (Indiana University)

At the end of Terence’s Adelphoe, Demea, whose lifestyle and principles differ from those of his brother, undergoes a change of heart and thus of character.   However, in his commentary of the Adelphoe, R.H. Martin questions the authenticity of Demea’s supposed change of heart and thus re-presentation of character in his monologue at the end of the play, particularly in light of the “the basic Greco-Roman concept of character, viz that it is unchanging and unchangeable.”[1]  At the time of production in the mid-second century B.C., the Adelphoe represents the shift of Roman comedy and in general the cultural progressions of the period, namely “the propagation of aristocratic ideals” as a means of re-defining societal values and re-forming Roman identity.[2]  Indeed, during “much of the third and second centuries,” the Roman elite were preoccupied with the ongoing engagement of “collective introspection,” as well as the need to convey national values and shape a distinctively Roman character, a character necessarily fashioned by yet in contention with Greek culture.  As Erich Gruen suggests, “the relationship between Hellenism and Roman cultural evolution [is]...an evolving process through which the Romans shaped their own values and gained a sense of their distinctiveness.”[3]  The changing interaction between Greek and Roman worlds frequently emerges in Roman literary culture and in particular the comedies of not only Terence but his predecessor Plautus, as they reflect (aristocratic) Rome’s examination of and development towards a distinct self-definition.

In a culture continually interacting with and attempting to define itself distinct from yet in relation to its cultural heritage, the question arises, is the Greco-Roman concept of character “unchanging and unchangeable”?  In a period witnessing manifold influences and transitions, Plautus and Terence question the authenticity or unchanging nature of identity through an exploration of fraternal (double)-dealings.  In their prefaces, both Plautus and Terence set the tone for their use of the dichotomy of the insider and outsider, which functions as a precursor of identity throughout their plays, Menaechmi and Adelphoe.  In both plays, the characters engage in a constant flux of movement inside and outside various spheres and persistently, though not always consciously, ex-change identities through diverse means.  Throughout the plays, the process of ex-changing identities through changing movement serves to question the authenticity of the “unchanging” character in the Greco-Roman world.  Who is who, Plautus and Terence inquire through various uses of insider and outsider dichotomies, in a world of unchanging (ex)changes?

Though roughly half of a century separates Plautus’ Menaechmi from Terence’s Adelphoe, comparing and examining their employment of fraternal interaction and conflict provides insight into the evolving nature of the Roman character.  As I demonstrate in my paper, the constant in/flux and movement into and out of different spheres, as well as ex-changes of possessions, serves to explore and reflect the progression of the Roman identity.  Plautus and Terence’s play illustrate the struggle to break away from while maintaining and even reinforcing the reflection, the mirror image as it were, of Greek (literary) culture.  Through fraternal (double)-dealings, their characters gain an understanding of and in turn (feasibly) reshape their own identities.  Thus, the authenticity of Demea’s change by the end of the Adelphoe, while important to ponder, is less significant than the actual interaction that allows for the change and the possibility of reshaping identity.