Allison Claire Peterson Spies

Gender and Sexuality in Antiquity

Response to Robyn Hendrix

In Robyn Hendrix's paper, "Female Deception in Aristophanes," she discusses several attitudes surrounding deceit by women in the Greek comedies. She comes to the conclusion that women view their own deceit as natural and useful if for a good cause. She also discusses the effects on the reputation of women caused by male impressions of more serious crimes done by women, and thus the importance of keeping any deception secret. There are interesting comparisons to be made between the Greek comedies of Aristophanes and the Roman comedies of Terence. Terence seems to deal more with the attitudes and actions of men than those of women, but views of women and deceit are still present in the plays. Looking specifically at Terence's The Mother-in-Law, parallels can be drawn with how female deception is addressed in Aristophanes, but there are also significant differences to be found.

Hendrix, in her paper, deals with the notion of women's reputations as a whole being based on the negative actions of a few, and this is brought up in The Mother-in-Law as well. Sostrata, mother of Pamphilus, laments her treatment by her husband on lines 270-272, "There's no justice in the way our men detest all women alike, simply on account of a few wives whose behavior brings disgrace on us all." Although she is not referring to deception specifically, the idea of the delicate reputation of women still stands. If the wayward actions of a few had been kept silent, Sostrata would have more respect from her husband and had to endure much less emotional torture.

Philumena's mother, Myrrina, shows in her speech that admittance to deceit is dishonorable for the Roman women as well as the Greeks. "Whatever can I say to my husband?... What reason can I give him for having kept it all secret?" she cries (lines 516-519). But it is apparent that within the plot, the deception undetected would have been beneficial. Had Philumena's rapist not turned out to be her husband, a wise concealment of the birth of the baby would have saved the alliance between the two families. Here it appears that, like for the Greek women, deception is useful and valuable unless it is revealed.

Along with these similarities, however, there is a major contrast between the treatment of women's deceit in Aristophanes and its treatment in Terence. In Women at the Thesmophoria, Hendrix tells us that men speak of women as more deceitful than they may actually be, and being generally distrustful of women. In The Mother-in-Law, both Laches and Pamphilus assume that women are honest. When Sostrata suggests to Laches that Philumena may only be pretending to dislike her, Laches, unwilling to believe she would be deceptive, completely rejects the idea as "Nonsense" (line 234). Pamphilus is also hesitant to believe the deceit as shown in his reaction to his discovery of the baby. He admits that he didn't consider Philumena being untruthful at all. He enters her house, "expecting to see [Philumena] suffering from something quite different" (lines 365-366). As opposed to the constant suspicious attitudes of the Greek husbands, their Roman counterparts never anticipate deceit from their wives and daughters.

The Mother-in-Law is an exceptional comedy in that the truth is never completely revealed by the end of the play. The action is centered on deception, but instead of the truth being exposed to all for resolution, secrets are still kept from many characters. This may indicate that deception is condoned if it is for a good cause, as Hendrix discovers in Aristophanes. It is interesting to note, however, that the chief instance of unraveled misconception occurs at the hands of a woman. Bacchis the courtesan acts as the bringer of truth, and yet, as the mistress of the good husband, she is the most disreputable woman in the story. It is possible to interpret the text from earlier in the play as saying that Pamphilus had in fact continued relations with Bacchis, in which case she lies to Laches and Philumena about it to save his happy marriage. Here again, her deceit would be acceptable since it is meant to make amends.

A look at how deception in women is treated in both Greek and Roman comedic contexts has led to the discovery of several similarities. Hendrix's understanding of the Greek approach is appropriate within the works of Aristophanes, as she has evidence to support it, and it is also relevant in the works of Terence. However there are differences between them, and perhaps upon further investigation, these few discrepancies would lead to clarification of certain cultural differences.