The Swaggering Soldier is a comedy of intrigue.1 As is typical of Plautine comedy of intrigue, a clever slave, Palaestrio, is the central character and trickster. Palaestrio employs three schemes:
2. Having Philocomasium pretend to be her own twin sister to prevent Sceledrus from telling the soldier about Philocomasium’s lovemaking with Pleusicles.
3. Having a prostitute, Acroteleutium, play the role of Periplectomenus’ wife to entice the soldier into the old man’s house.
The device that puts the plot into motion is the soldier’s attraction to a prostitute Philocomasium, who is loved by Palaestrio’s original master in Athens, Pleusicles. What is unusual about this relationship is that Philocomasium loves Pleusicles; her motives are not mercenary. As Palaestrio points out in the prologue to the play, it is true love (101).3
The problem that leads to the intrigue in this play begins with the soldier’s arrival in Athens from Ephesus while Pleusicles is absent on a diplomatic mission in Naupactus. The soldier tries to get access to Philocomasium by playing up to her mother, who is also her madam. But the soldier’s intentions are not at all honorable, even though the woman involved is a prostitute. At the first opportunity he kidnaps Philocomasium without her mother’s knowledge and against her will takes her back to Ephesus (113).
Palaestrio’s loyalty to his master, intelligence, and initiative are revealed when he sets off by ship to Naupactus to tell his master of this turn of events. Then an incident occurs, which is the result of an implausible coincidence, a phenomenon typical of comedy. Palaestrio is taken captive by pirates and given as a gift to the soldier, who is back in Ephesus with Philocomasium. When the slave and the girl meet, Philocomasium gives a silent signal to Palaestrio to conceal their previous acquaintance. The girl later reveals that she absolutely loathes the soldier and wants to escape him at all costs (121-28).
Philocomasium’s discontent encourages Palaestrio to summon his master to Ephesus, who comes and lodges with a guest-friend of his father, Periplectomenus (129-35). In another coincidence, Periplectomenus lives next door to the soldier and shares a common wall. Palaestrio points out that, with the sympathetic support of Periplectomenus, he has already employed his first deception of the soldier. He had dug a hole in the common wall, which allows the girl to visit Pleusicles in Periplectomenus’ house (142-43). He also mentions that no one except the girl herself is allowed to enter her room in the soldier’s house. This restriction is necessary, otherwise the hole in the wall might be detected. Although the soldier had assigned a slave (Sceledrus) to guard the girl, this plan is at first successful (Palaestrio indicates that this slave is worthless as a guard, 145).
At the end of the prologue, Palaestrio anticipates the trick he will employ against Sceledrus. The deception involves Palaestrio convincing Sceledrus, who accidentally saw the lovers kissing next door (while chasing a pet monkey on the roof), that he has not seen what he has seen (149). This is to be accomplished by having Philocomasium pretend to be her own identical twin sister (150-52).
In the Sceledrus scene we see for the first time Palaestrio's powers of deception in action. The comedy of the scene consists in Palaestrio’s making a fool of the slow-witted Sceledrus by convincing him that he has not seen what he is confident he has seen. The deception of Sceledrus is a foreshadowing of the later deception of the soldier. Palaestrio tricks both by playing on their weak points. Although Sceledrus is confident of what he has seen, he fears what the soldier might do to him if the soldier finds out that he has been negligent. Although Palaestrio might also incur the wrath of the soldier, Sceledrus is in the greatest danger. Since he has been specifically charged with guarding the girl, he has a choice of two risks, one more attractive than the other: 1) if he tells the soldier that he has seen the girl next-door, he will certainly be punished; 2) if he doesn’t tell the soldier, then he risks punishment only if the soldier finds out. Palaestrio confidently and correctly relies on Sceledrus choosing the second alternative.
Since Sceledrus believes that Philocomasium is still in Periplectomenus’ house, the slave stands guard at the door of that house, because he believes that is the only way the girl could have entered the house. He expresses complete confidence that he cannot be fooled (353). So Palaestrio offers to make Philocomasium appear from the soldier’s house, which he enters.
Because Sceledrus is so intent on watching Periplectomenus’ door, he does not see Palaestrio and Philocomasium come out of the soldier’s house. After the girl confidently assures Palaestrio that her powers of deception are unmatched (a conversation that Sceledrus doesn’t hear), Palaestrio presents Philocomasium to Sceledrus, who is confused but still believes that he saw her next door (379). This reaction leads Philocomasium to fulfill her promise of trickery earlier in the scene. She reports a “dream” in which her “twin sister” arrived at Ephesus from Athens and took up lodging next door in Periplectomenus’ house. Palaestrio reveals that this is the dream he cooked up for her (386). Philocomasium goes back into the soldier’s house and Sceledrus, now totally confused, promises to keep quiet (407, 410).
Philocomasium (probably dressed differently in some way to make the trick more believable) then appears from Periplectomenus’ house pretending to be the twin sister mentioned in her ‘dream’. She announces that she wants to give thanks to Diana4 for having survived a storm at sea and says that she just arrived last evening with her lover in search of this sister (411-42). This is intended to explain to Sceledrus why he thought he saw Philocomasium kissing another man, but he remains unconvinced. He grabs her and promises to let her go if she goes into the soldier’s house. When he releases her, she instead goes into Periplectomenus’ house, evoking a sarcastic comment from Sceledrus about women’s lack of trustworthiness (456).
Palaestrio then tells Sceledrus to get a sword from the soldier’s house with which he will invade Periplectomenus’ house and slaughter Philocomasium’s lover. When Sceledrus enters the soldier’s house, he sees that Philocomasium (who has gone through the hole in the common wall) is there, lying in bed. Now Sceledrus is convinced that he has seen Philocomasium’s twin sister and fears that he is guilty of manhandling a woman who is a guest next door (472).
Periplectomenus comes out of his house, complaining of Sceledrus’ treatment of his female guest and threatening a day long beating with rods for breaking his roof tiles when he was on the roof chasing the monkey and observing the love-making (502-07). When Sceledrus still wonders whether there is one girl or two, Periplectomenus allows the slave to enter his house to see for himself that Philocomasium is there. Periplectomenus then shouts into the soldier’s house that Philocomasium should rush back to his house. When Sceledrus sees her there, he apologizes profusely to Periplectomenus (540-67) and promises that Periplectomenus can hand him over to be tortured if talks about this incident.
Sceledrus, however, is still not convinced by the twin sister ruse and realizes that Palaestrio and Periplectomenus (576-77) have duped him. In an aside, Sceledrus says that Periplectomenus’ intention was to cause him to be punished upon the soldier’s return from the marketplace. Therefore he decides to hide out somewhere until this tempest calms down (582). After his departure, Periplectomenus exults in his victory but announces the need for more planning (592-94).
In the next scene Palaestrio announces that he has a ruse which will deceive the soldier and allow the young man to take Philocomasium away (767-70). Since the soldier with his ruthlessness and potential for violence cannot be directly challenged, Palaestrio must make the solider want to give up the girl. The slave, like any good trickster, will play upon the soldier’s weaknesses. The deception is based on the soldier’s belief in his own beauty and his sexual attractiveness to all women (92). Palaestrio’s plan involves a client5 of Periplectomenus, (a prostitute) dressed up as a matron6 and pretending to be the old man’s wife. She will proposition the soldier with the gift of a ring (796-97). No doubt to help the audience better follow the plot, these details are repeated in a later scene when the prostitute (Acroteleutium) and her maid (Milphidippa) arrive on-stage. Acroteleutium will pretend to be Periplectomenus’ wife (908), Palaestrio and Milphidippa will act as go-betweens (910), Palaestrio will give the ring to the soldier and convey Acroteleutium’s proposition (912-13).
A little later in the play, Palaestrio begins his deception of the soldier. He mentions to Pyrgopolynices a ring that Periplectomenus’ “wife” intends to give him as a pledge of love through her maidservant, Milphidippa (957). He plays upon the soldier’s vanity about his good looks (959, 968). Then the soldier wonders what he should do with Philocomasium (973). Palaestrio is ready with a suggestion: her twin sister and mother have just arrived and are looking for her (975); why not seize the opportunity to get rid of her on amicable terms (979)? The slave also suggests that the soldier give Philocomasium as a gift the jewelry he has provided for her (981-2). Here Palaestrio ensures that Pyrgopolynices will not only lose his girl, but will also suffer financial loss.
In the beginning of the next scene, Milphidippa, Acroteleleutium’s servant works in cahoots with Palaestrio to ensnare Pyrgopolynices even more deeply. First, the soldier is allowed to overhear a soliloquy by Milphidippa, in which she describes how desperately her mistress is in love with the soldier (996-99). When Palaestrio leads her to the soldier, she tells him that her mistress is dying of love for him (1040). The soldier typically expresses a lack of interest since “many other women want the same thing” (1040). As ordered by Palaestrio (1027), Miphidippa, resorts to flattery, to which the soldier is particularly vulnerable (1041-42):
In the next scene, the soldier asks Palaestrio what he should do with his concubine, since she must be released before the new woman can be received into his house. The slave asks rather testily wonders why the soldier is asking this question since Palaestrio has already told him what to do: give her all the clothes and jewelry with which the soldier has adorned her and tell her that she go back home with her twin sister and mother (1094-1103). This admonition is no doubt intended to remind the audience of this important detail. The mention of a sister piques Pyrgopolynices’ sexual interest: he asks if she good-looking (1105). Then when the slave mentions the ship captain who supposedly has brought the twin sister and mother to Ephesus, the soldier asks the same question about him. Palaestrio comment on the soldier’s omnivorous sexual appetite no doubt drew big laughs from the audience: (1011-13):
The irony continues in the next scene. The soldier marvels at how much Philocomasium loves him (as he thinks) and the ease with which she complied with his request that she leave his house. The dramatic irony here can be compared to that in Sophocles' Oedipus the King, when Oedipus, told that his father in Corinth is dead, expresses great relief because he believes that he could not have killed his father. Both characters are totally blind to the truth.
Pyrgopolynices was so pleased by Philocomasium’s reaction that he gave her Palaestrio as a gift (1202-05). Palaestrio immediately seizes upon this opportunity to play up to the soldier’s immense vanity. In mock distress he wonders how he can live without the soldier (1206), praises him as “excellent master” (1210), and mentions the power of his beauty (1211). The soldier promises to free him (1207) and in addition give him money, if the slave is successful in bringing him and his female next-door neighbor together (1213). Palaestrio reassures the soldier and scolds him for his unrestrained sexual desire (1214-15) and, as prearranged by Palaestrio, the very woman whom they have been talking arrives with her maid (1215).
The next scene is an opportunity for an over-the-top performance by the actor7 performing the role of Acroteleutium, who must comically exaggerate her desire for the soldier in order to attract his interest. Palaestrio is temporarily reduced to a supporting role, occasionally stressing to the soldier the desperate nature of the woman’s love for him and confirming his belief that all woman find him irresistible.
Acroteleutium and Milphidippa allow themselves to be overheard by the soldier. Their comments are designed to take advantage of the soldier’s narcissism. When the maid tells her mistress that she has spoken with the soldier, Acroteleutium exclaims with mock enthusiasm: “You are a fortunate woman (1223).” Acroteleutium compares the soldier to a king who can only be approached through a letter or messenger (1225). Milphidippa says that it is almost impossible either to get an interview and obtain one’s request (1226). When Acroteleutium overhears the soldier mention Venus, she then launches into a prayer to the goddess to aid her in winning the soldier’s love (1228-1230). She, however, continues to express her fear of rejection by Pyrgopolynices and her lack of confidence in her own beauty (1233-35). She also says that if the soldier refuses to marry her, she will embrace his knees (in the manner of a suppliant) and beg him. If this fails, only suicide remains (1239-41). All these sentiments enlarge the soldier’s self-esteem to gargantuan dimensions, and make him look upon the woman’s desires with favor. When, however, Pyrgopolynices is alarmed by this threat of suicide and asks Palaestrio if he should approach her, the slave restrains him, warning that acceptance might diminish his glory. Palaestrio explains why this might happen by referring to a Greek legend that Sappho was so deeply in love with a young ferryman named Phaon, that she committed suicide when Phaon rejected her. Thus, because Sappho’s suicide made Phaon famous in a legend, it would be better for Pyrgopolynices’ reputation as a lover, if he refused the woman’s advances and she killed herself (1242-47).
As Acroteleutium comes into the presence of the soldier, she pretends to be on the verge of fainting (1260); Milphidippa stresses her mistress’s astonishment at the soldier’s good looks and also her fear (1270-73). Pyrgopolynices is pleased by her reaction and compares the woman’s fear to that of warriors he faces in battle (1273-74). It is clear that the soldier sees his powers as a soldier and a lover as parallel.
Milphidippida then tells the soldier that her mistress wants him to go to her in her house. Pyrgopolynices immediately expresses concern about the woman’s husband catching him, but the maid then says that the woman drove her husband out of the house because of her love for the soldier. As agreed earlier, she says that she was able to do this because the house was part of her dowry and reverted to her when her husband left (1275-78). This satisfies the soldier and he agrees to go to the woman.
Pleusicles arrives disguised as a ship captain and performs his task of speeding up the release of Philocomasium efficiently (1298-1305). Philocomasium then comes out of the soldier’s house. It is now her turn to make a fool out of the soldier. Her performance has the same exaggerated quality as the earlier one by Acroteleutium. With the comic support of Palaestrio, she effusively laments her departure for the benefit of Pyrgopolynices (1321-30). Philocomasium then pretends to faint (1331-33) and is tended to by Pleusicles. This occasions some amusing comic business. The soldier notices that the first aid Pleusicles is giving to the fainting Philocomasium seems to resemble kissing. The soldier becomes suspicious and tells Pleusicles to stop (1334-35): "I don’t see why they need have their heads so close together. Hey you, boatman, take your lips away from hers, confound you!" When the young man explains that he was only trying to see if she was breathing, the soldier recommends putting his ear to her mouth instead (1335-36).
Palaestrio makes a big show out of bidding farewell to the god of the household (called a Lar familiaris) and his fellow slaves (1339-41) and tearfully taking leave of the soldier (1342-43). The soldier, distracted by all the commotion going on around him, can only urge Palaestrio to keep a stiff upper lip (1343). Philocomasium then "comes to" and continues her emotional demonstrations (1344-46) to such a degree that Palaestrio expresses fear privately to Pleusicles that the soldier’s suspicion might be aroused by Philocomasium’s overacting (1348). When Pyrgopolynices hears the word ‘fear’ he asks what Palaestrio what he is afraid of. The slave again shows his quick wits and invents a reason on the spot: he is afraid that people may criticize the soldier for sending his girl friend and slave away with so many possessions (1349-50).
In a final farewell to the soldier Palaestrio lays it on thick (1354-57):
2. See chapter II (“From Forum to Festival”) in
Erich Segal’s Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus (Cambridge, Mass.
1968) 43-69.
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3. The modern reader
may well wonder why the primary object of the young man’s affection is a
prostitute. The answer lies in Greco-Roman culture. Parents arranged
marriages between a boy and a girl from good families and the custom of dating
a prospective marriage partner was unknown in the ancient world. Thus
the only available females for a healthy young man were girls of dubious reputation
like prostitutes. As noted above, Philocomasium is unusual in that
she has fallen in love with Pleusicles, but undoubtedly marriage is not in
the offing for these two lovers. Pleusicles must be from a family of
some prominence in Ephesus,
because, as we are told early in the play, he had been sent out by the city
government on a public mission (102-03). A young man of such status
would not marry a prostitute. Occasionally, however, in other Plautine
comedies the prostitute is revealed at the end of the play to be a freeborn
girl, worthy of marriage.
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4. Diana (the Roman equivalent of Artemis
in the Greek original) was the patron goddess of Ephesus (a Greek city on
the western coast of Asia Minor), where the action of the play takes place.
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5. In ancient Rome a client was a lower
class citizen who was dependent in various ways (financially, legally, etc.)
on a wealthier, more influential citizen. This relationship was recognized
by the law and was one of the most sacred of ties among the Romans.
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6. “Roman matrons differentiated themselves
from courtesans and unmarried girls in dress (by wearing the stola) as well
as by arranging their hair on top of the head in a cone-like knot...and covering
it with a chaplet or headband...” (Plautus’ Miles Gloriosus,
ed. by M. Hammond, A.M. Mack and W. Moskalew, revised by M. Hammond, London,
1970, note on line 791).
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7. Note that, as in Greek drama, all actors in
Roman drama were male, no matter what role they played.
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