555. Evolution of the Servant Character in Comedy. Elizabeth Prueter 2004- Summary

555.  Evolution of the Servant Character in Comedy.  Elizabeth Prueter  2004.  Ms. Prueter asserts that the comedy of Plautus/Terence provides a window through which we may see concerns and opinions which these authors have concerning proper attitude and treatment of slaves in antiquity.  This is accomplished via making the slave more clever and on occasion display higher level of education than the master.  Ancient society maintained strong class distinctions- to what degree did Terence and Plautus question this system?  (I would like to know when , if it is known, slave laws were modified or softened and investigate if the time sequence of these events reflect the influence on the Roman legal system- such change would take time but it would be interesting to check this out.)  Perhaps the plays helped the aristocrats in the audience to chuckle at themselves somewhat and look upon slaves as more human.  It appears and Prueter puts together a good case that Plautus’ plays and Terence’s plays were meant to make people laugh and think.  (The more I learn about the Romans the more I am convinced that their reputation as thinkers has not been given their due).  To quote Prueter: “Comedy is not meant to merely make us laugh.  It is meant to make us think.”  This fits well with the rise of Roman interest in moral philosophy.  Prueter asserts that  {Roman comedy} challenges both the audience and the reader to look past the jokes, the outlandish situations, the seemingly unrealistic premises in order to extricate the real meaning of the purpose of such entertainment.  At its core comedy allows a playwright to challenge norms, resist standards and oppose the status quo.”  This puts a new twist for me in appreciation of Roman comedy.  Roman comedy as social reform.  This paper puts comedy on the same footing and importance as tragedy, as a medium of thought.  Prueter takes this power of comedy as developed by Plautus and Terence and traces it through the comedies of Moliere and those of the Restoration  in England.  By the time of the Restoration the social commentary aspect of comedy is heavily watered down.  In the final pages Prueter discusses the role of the servant/lower class character in context of Will and Grace. Silly situations abound, witty remarks but there is little sense of challenging norms, resisting standards, opposing the status quo.  This kind of scholarship takes the past, brings to the forefront and opposes the status quo.  Plautus would be proud.