Post #2: Identity

When considering identity in William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, it can be useful to turn back to the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition for reference. The OED defines identity as follows:

Identity is the quality or condition of being the same in substance, composition, nature, properties, or in particular qualities under consideration; absolute or essential sameness, oneness.

So when regarding The Comedy of Errors, this definition can be applied to the plot in many facets. The main issues of identity that occur in the course of the play stem from the appearance of Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio, in Ephesus – where unbeknownst to the two, their twins, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio, reside.

Though it can be said that both sets of twins do indeed share the same substance and composition (appearance and shape), and nature (violent tendencies or foolishness, respectively to the Antipholuses and Dromios) – that does not equate in the two sets of men, from Syracuse and Ephesus, being alike in properties (from a material standpoint), nor are they absolute in essential sameness. There is no oneness between the individual men and their double, because though they may share appearances and temperaments, that is where the similarities end.

The most basic difference between these men is that two different aspects of family raised the sets, after the oneness of that family unit was separated by sea (I.I.99-120). Though the pair from Syracuse sets out to find their missing set, they have no way of knowing them. Antipholus S. even acknowledges this himself with his water droplet speech in I.II.33-40. He does not know his twin as he knows himself, nor can he because he is a different man. Even in venturing into the world in attempt to connect with his brother, he himself will lose a sense of his oneness. SO in this way identity isn’t solid but something that is fluid (no pun intended).

Another way that the sets of twins differ is in their relationships with others. Of the time, identity wouldn’t necessarily be considered something as belonging to oneself but rather belonging in community with others. So a big difference is that both Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus are married men, and their twins are not. The way their wives work in the plot to control action can also say something about the character of the men they are married to, and how the influence of the woman can serve to identity the content of the character of their husbands. One similarity that can be found amusing in terms of relationships, especially with women, between the twin Antipholuses is that both of them can be seen as having somewhat of a wandering eye. Though Antipholus S. is believed, and allows himself to be, married to his brother’s wife Adriana, he has eyes on her sister, Luciana. In turn, Antipholus E. seems to have an arrangement with the courtesan behind his wife, Adriana’s back. Maybe that similarity between the two brothers is a family trait, maybe that’s just men being men. But I jest.

To summarize, identity is something that can be construed in multiple ways when it comes to The Comedy of Errors, especially when it is applied to the sets of twin brothers. Though some aspects of the definition from the OED can be found to be true with the context of the play, again, identity and its definition are concepts that are malleable, and when it comes to people, as seen in the play, aren’t always concrete.