The Sociology of Rumor
in Plautus’ Trinummus

James P. Blackburn (Samford University)

In his Trinummus, Plautus places in the mouth of Megaronides two monologues that criticize the social mores he has encountered (ll. 23-38; 199-222). Both diatribes depend on his reaction to rumor and gossip. Together, they tell us as much about Megaronides as about the society he critiques. In this paper, I will examine the role of gossip and rumor in these monologues in light of contemporary sociological studies of the phenomenon of unverified communication. The resulting analysis will explain why Megaronides responds as he does to the dramatic circumstances and why he inadvertently becomes the object of his own criticism.

Megaronides opens the action of the play by speaking his distress over the behavior of his friend Callicles. He bemoans Callicles’ failure to adhere to the established conventions for an upstanding citizen. Megaronides, we will soon hear, learned of Callicles’ transgressions from the social gossip. When he encounters Callicles, however, he finds out that the things he has heard are not quite the truth. On the heels of his anguished tirade concerning morals, Megaronides is understandably embarrassed. This embarrassment leads directly to his second monologue, this time criticizing the foundation of moral decline, gossip. It is in this monologue that we see his attempt to explain his initial foolishness and we begin to understand its implications.

According to Rosnow and Fine, (Rumor and Gossip: The Social Psychology of Hearsay, 1976) gossip tells us about a person’s social status. The acceptance of and concern for gossip, along with its propagation, indicate a desire to enhance the ego. The embarrassment of Megaronides is logical when viewed through this lens. His primary purpose in confronting Callicles, it appears, was to maintain his status. The gossip about Callicles had threatened the status of Megaronides because of their close association. When he realizes that his sources are incorrect, his status again suffers because he is now no better than the gossips Megaronides is humiliated. His outrage, then, is not against gossip but against the negative consequences he experienced because he listened to gossip. The work of our colleagues in the social sciences thus sheds light on the dynamics of Plautine comedy.