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When the play opens, Juppiter is inside the home of Amphitruo making love with his wife, Alcumena. To this end, he has assumed Amphitruo's form and brought along Mercury in the guise of Amphitruo's servant, Sosia. After a double night (which the king of the gods has conveniently arranged), he emerges from the house, bids Alcumena a fond farewell, and leaves (499545). Then the real Amphitruo, who has just waged a successful war, returns home with the real Sosia (654681) and is greeted by his wife with a surprised "Back so soon?" (682ff.). After a great deal of comic confusion and mutual recrimination Amphitruo sets off with Sosia to find a witness to confirm his story. Alcumena, left alone, is furious at her husband for the insults he has cast at her. It is at this point that Juppiter comes back and tries to make up with her. |
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This is the fullest representation of amorous reconciliation in Roman Comedy. Before it begins, we are given a description of the mood of each participant; then we hear the discourses of each during the scene, including a formulaic version of the request for forgiveness, and both possible responses (negative and positive) to the request; and, immediately after the scene itself, in the interchange between Juppiter and Sosia, we get some metalinguistic description of what has just gone on. In these respects, we could hardly have ordered up a better example. |
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On the other hand, there are many complications: Juppiter is not Alcumena's husband; Alcumena is mad at Amphitruo, but her wrath is directed toward Juppiter; it was Juppiter she spent the night with, but Amphitruo who insulted her and stomped off; when Juppiter, pretending to be Amphitruo, swears an oath that invokes the wrath of Juppiter against Amphitruo if he (Juppiter) is lying, this is, in Austin's terms, an "unhappy" speech-act. To be "happy", a performative (a strictly formulaic speech-act) must meet certain conditions, among them, "the particular persons and circumstances in a given case must be appropriate for the invocation of the particular procedure invoked."17 These twists, if they undermine the scene's |
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17 Austin (1980) 1415 provides a scheme of "felicity conditions" which "are necessary for the smooth or 'happy' functioning of a performative (or at least of a highly developed explicit performative)." The first (A. 1) of these states that "There must exist an accepted conventional procedure having a certain conventional effect, that procedure to include the uttering of certain words by certain persons in certain circumstances." The second condition (A. 2) is cited in the text. Furthermore "(B. 1) The procedure must be executed by all participants both correctly and (B. 2) completely" and "(G. 1) Where, as often, the procedure is designed for use by persons having certain thoughts or feelings, or for the inauguration of certain consequential conduct on the part of any participant, then a person participating in and so invoking the procedure must in fact have those thoughts or feelings, and the participants must intend so to conduct themselves, and further (G. 2) must actually so conduct themselves subsequently.'' Austin devotes lectures IIIV to felicity conditions and "infelicities" and the whole matter has been much debated. Cf. Searle (1969, 1979) and the critique in Levinson (1983) 238241, who |
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(footnote continued on next page) |
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