The Role Of Belonging In The Comedy Of Errors

Comedy of Errors Critic Roland Barthes once said,” Literature is the question minus the answer.” In the play, The Comedy of Errors, one of the themes has to do with the feeling belonging and having a place in the world. Decisions characters make have a huge impact on that. When thinking about the theme you could question how does the feeling of belonging affect one's character/decisions and the people around them. In William Shakespeare’s, The Comedy of Errors, Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus both are looking for a place in the world and may feel lonely. AS Antipholus of Syracuse left his father’s side at the age of 18 to look for his twin brother. While Antipholus of Ephesus was taken from their mother while he was a child. Even though Antipholus of Ephesus wasn't aware of having a twin, he didn’t truly know who he was or was supposed to be. Antipholus’ lack of having a brother made him question things like what it would be like to have one and how his life would've been if Antipholus of Ephesus was always present.

Antipholus of Ephesus’ character was changed and looked upon by the people of Ephesus due to Antipholus of Syracuse’s decisions. He was accused of taking the gold chain when it was really Antipholus of Syracuse who had it. Also, it caused Adrianna to call Dr. Pinch, a conjurer, to hypnotize Antipholus of Ephesus because of him acting acting out of character and accusing her of locking him out. That causes him to cheat on her making him a man he never was. Decisions made by Antipholus of Syracuse caused Antipholus of Ephesus’ character to change and looked down upon. It not only had an effect on Antipholus of Ephesus but Antipholus of Syracuse. It made the time for Antipholus of Syracuse more confusing. It also made the search for his brother