?? ?????????????????? ?????????????????? ?? ???????????????? ???????????????? (On the Nature of Conflict in the Comedies of Menander)

摘要

The traditional theme of "the reversed social order" (inwhich the last become the first) , involving an illusory, Utopiansolution of the play's plot, is present in almost everyAristophanic comedy. But the denouement of the Menandrean comedyproves to be equally illusory and Utopian, with the onlysignificant difference that in Aristophanes the Utopia extendsto the entire society, while in Menander it is limited to theinterests of two or three families.Now, in Aristophanes Utopian solutions may have been encouragedby the nature of the traditional literary genre itself.But in Menander such an "illusory harmony" only attests tothe incompatibility between the fresh ??? mostly peripatetic ???social and ethical ideals, and the surrounding reality. In brief,Menander 's characters are not real Athenians but rather idealizedmodels. The poet consistently re-examines the traditionalcharacters in an effort to transform them into more humane,conscientious, noble-minded, self-denying, ideal human beings.Such is the case with the hetaera and with the professionalsoldier, while the traditional abuse of the parasite and thecook is reduced to a minimum. Accordingly, the traditionaltheme of "the acquisition of the bride" is also re-evaluated,usually ending in a legitimate matrimony.Finally, there are no real antagonistic forces in actionin a Menandrean comedy: Chance is everybody's fiend or friend.She creates misunderstanding, confusion and conflict, and sheusually brings them to a happy solution.The author substantiates these remarks with many examplesfrom Menander.