The Grouch

Posted on Tuesday 9 December 2003 to Story So Far

A long forgotten9th century manuscript of verses written in Greek and originally from a Syrian monastery has been found in the Vatican library. The verses are by the ancient Greek author, Menander, who was born in Athens in 342 BC and was a prolific writer of comedies. He was a very highly regarded author in antiquity and considered a master of the New Comedy genre which emerged during the time of Macedonian hegemony and conquest.

Despite being quoted by numerous ancient authors (including the Apostle, St Paul), it was believed that none of the over one hundred plays that he wrote had survived. However in 1957, a nearly complete copy of his play Dyskolos ("The Grouch", written in 316 BC) was discovered on a recovered manuscript, a very readable translation of which may be read online here.

This latest find, which was made by Francesco D'Aiuto, a specialist in Greek manuscripts, also contains 200 verses from Dyskolos and hopefully will be able to fill in the missing fragments that appear toward the end of the play. Also the newly discovered manuscript contains another 200 verses which are unfamiliar and scholars are hoping that these will contains extracts from previously unknown works by the author.

New Comedy was a theatrical response to the changed political situation in Athens after losing its political independence to the rule of the Macedonians. Moving away from the biting personal and political satire of Aristophanes, this genre took its inspiration for the daily lives of ordinary people: farmers, merchants, cooks, slaves and their masters.

[Menander] was known for the delicacy and truthfulness of his characterizations, and his poetic style was often mentioned in the same breath as Homer's. Although he won first prize at only eight festivals, he did much to move comedy towards a more realistic representation of human life. Menander's characters spoke in the contemporary dialect and concerned themselves not with the great myths of the past, but rather with the everyday affairs of the people of Athens. His plots revolved around young boys in love with young girls, parents concerned with the misbehavior of their children, unwanted pregnancies, long-lost relatives, and all sorts of sexual misadventures. [link]
It's the first time that romance enters as an important themes in Greek theatre. Reading the online version of "The Grouch" made me feel I was reading something like one of Shakespeare's comedies. The jokes come thick and fast and the plot moves along at a snappy pace. The themes are all very familiar even to a modern reader.

The key difference seems to be with regard the status of women. In contrast to Shakespeare, whose plays are filled with interesting and powerful female roles, the women characters in Dyskolos, particularly the object of protagonist Sostrato's desires, hardly enter the picture. In her case, we never even learn her name! The fellows, on the other hand, have a rollicking good time.

Here's an excerpt: Sostratos, a wealthy young man is smitten with love for the beautiful daughter of Knemon, a poor and hard-working farmer who is also a really grouchy bastard. Most of the action in the following passage depends for its comic effect on the slapstick scene preceding it where the cranky old Knemon falls into a well only to be rescued by Gorgias, the half-brother of Sostrato's beloved.
Men, by Demeter, by Asklepios, by the gods, never in my life has a person more conveniently drowned -- almost.

What a sweet way to pass the time! For Gorgias, as soon as we went in, immediately jumped down into the well, while I and the child up above were doing nothing -- for what were we going to do? -- except she was pulling her hair, she was crying, she was beating her breast, while I, the golden boy, just as if, by the gods, I were her nanny, I stood next to her, I begged her not to do this, I pleaded with her -- meanwhile looking at a delight that was not at all ordinary.

As for the man who had been battered about down below, he mattered less than anything, except for constantly pulling on him -- this really bothered me.

In fact I almost destroyed him, for the rope, while I was looking at the girl, I let it go maybe three times. But Gorgias was a Atlas, and not an ordinary one at that: he held on and little by little eventually he succeeded in carrying him up. When he got out of the well I left them and here I am, for I can no longer restrain myself, but I almost went up to the girl and kissed her, so fiercely do I love her.