Character Development in Terence's Eunuchus Samantha Davis
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 6-9-2016 Mixing the Roman miles: Character Development in Terence's Eunuchus Samantha Davis Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/fll_etds Recommended Citation Davis, Samantha. "Mixing the Roman miles: Character Development in Terence's Eunuchus." (2016). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/fll_etds/31 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Candidate Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: , Chairperson by THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico iii Acknowledgements I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my committee chair Professor Osman Umurhan, through whose genius, dedication, and endurance this thesis was made possible. Thank you, particularly, for your unceasing support, ever-inspiring words, and relentless ability to find humor in just about any situation. You have inspired me to be a better scholar, teacher, and colleague. I would also like to extend the sincerest thanks to my excellent committee members, the very chic Professor Monica S. Cyrino and the brilliant Professor Lorenzo F. Garcia Jr., whose editorial thoroughness, helpful suggestions, and constructive criticisms were absolutely invaluable. In addition, a thank you to Professor Luke Gorton, whose remarkable knowledge of classical linguistics has encouraged me to think about language and syntax in a much more meaningful way. You have all impacted me profoundly and I am forever grateful to have had the honor of being your student. I would like to also thank my fellow graduate students at the University of New Mexico for your friendship and counsel. I would particularly like to thank Makaila Daeschel and Dannu Hütwohl, who have been the greatest friends and office-mates a girl could ask for. I am so thankful to have had you both throughout this process, your friendship is priceless. I would also like to thank my family for always being there for me, just a phone call away. Finally, I would like to posthumously thank my beloved father, Dr. Jeffrey R. Davis, whose absolute genius and never-ending thirst for knowledge inspired me in every way possible. “What the hell, it’s not so high.” iv Mixing the Roman miles: Character Development in Terence’s Eunuchus By Samantha C. Davis B.A., Classical Studies, University of New Mexico, 2013 M.A. Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, University of New Mexico, 2016 Abstract In my thesis I explore Terence’s innovative development of three stock characters: Chaerea, the adulescens amator, Thraso, the miles gloriosus, and Gnatho, the parasitus. In the Eunuchus Terence provides each of these characters with a mythological parallel that reveals the character’s inner thoughts, motives, and justifications, as well as their self-perceived position within Roman society. The first chapter traces the development of the figure of the adulescens amator in Roman literature and examines how Terence’s incorporation of mythological burlesque defies dramatic conventions. The second chapter analyzes key dramatic relationships that suggest a parallel to the historical relationship between Rome and her subjugated territories. The miles gloriosus, Thraso, is cast as a socius miles, whereas Gnatho, the parasitus, appears as a ciues miles. My analysis, ultimately, offers an interpretation of how these issues respond and react to contemporary Roman political and military institutions of the second century BCE. v Table of Contents INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 New Comedy Stock Characters and Terentian Innovation .......................................... 1 New Comedy Stock Characters ................................................................................... 2 Metatheatrical Irony: Challenging Audience Expectation........................................ 5 Character Introspection and Extraspection ............................................................. 10 Chapter Overview ....................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................. 16 Chaerea: When a Soldier is a Lover ............................................................................. 16 Chaerea as Adulescens Amator ................................................................................. 18 1.2. Jupiter and Danaë: Terence’s Burlesque ........................................................... 20 1.3. Chaerea: A Soldier Compared to Jupiter .......................................................... 25 1.4. Defying Conventions: Chaerea’s Character Development ............................... 29 1.5. Defying Conventions: Sexual Violence ............................................................... 32 1.6. Ludo: Sex as a Game ............................................................................................ 40 1.7. Chaerea: A Reflection of Roman Reality ........................................................... 45 1.8. Conclusions: Introspection and Extraspection .................................................. 52 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................ 55 A Soldier and his Parasite: Roman Reliance on socii milites ...................................... 55 2.1. Thraso as Miles Gloriosus .................................................................................... 59 2.2. Hercules and Omphale: Terence’s Burlesque ................................................... 62 2.3. Thraso: a Soldier Compared to Hercules ......................................................... 66 2.4. Defying Conventions: Thraso’s Character Development ................................ 72 2.5. A Reflection of Roman Reality: Thraso as Roman miles ................................ 76 2.6. Sisyphean parasitus: Terence’s Burlesque ........................................................ 80 2.7. Gnatho: a Soldier compared to Sisyphus .......................................................... 83 2.8. Defying Conventions: the Development of Gnatho .......................................... 87 2.9. Gnatho: A Reflection of Roman Reality ........................................................... 91 2.10. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 98 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 105 1 INTRODUCTION New Comedy Stock Characters and Terentian Innovation Publius Terentius Afer is one of the most praised authors of archaic Latin dating to the early second century BCE. Plays written by Terence (166-161 BCE) and his predecessor Plautus (ca. 205-185 BCE) constitute the entire surviving tradition of New Comedy at Rome, a Latin genre of plays famous, among other features, for its recycling of Greek material. The Greek based comedies that both Plautus and Terence wrote are called fabula palliata, translated as “Greek-cloaked plays.”1 Although Terence’s plays are set in Greece and his characters typically bear Greek names, in many aspects they portray the society of the Roman Republic.2 References to Roman gods, localities, laws, customs, and attire can be found within Terence’s Eunuchus, but the presence of such Romanisms has often been explained away as a feature of the play’s “Plautine” qualities.3 I argue, however, that Romanisms help contextualize Terence’s provocative development of certain stock characters, a Terentian innovation to the New Comedy genre. This project follows a trend in recent scholarship, which demonstrates that Terentian innovation can be found in his instances of variation and defiance of the dramatic conventions of New Comedy.4 Specifically, this thesis explores Terence’s use 1 All Latin and Greek translations are my own, unless specified otherwise. 2 Konstan 1983: 22 argues that Roman comedy did not ignore anxieties relating to the turbulent social scene at Rome. He discusses Roman political and social issues such as Roman allies, citizenship, familial structure and paternal authority, and marriage ritual. Hunter 1985 argues that Plautus drew material from contemporary Rome for his plays; however, he denies that Terence did the same. Goldberg 1986: 214 claims that in the plays of Plautus there are reflections of and reactions to contemporary Roman culture. However, some scholars maintain that Terence offers little to no comment on the contemporary scene at Rome. Ludwig 2001 utterly denies Terence any significant originality or Roman commentary and claims that he simply stuck more closely to the Greek originals than Plautus. 3 For scholars who discuss “Plautine” elements in Terence, see: Norwood 1923; Fraenkel 2007; Sharrock 2009; Christenson