Analysis Of Philocomatus The Swaggering Soldier

In the first instance the cunning of Philocomasium will be examined in order to begin to definitively show that the female characters, in Plautus’ ‘The Swaggering Soldier’, are smarter than most of the men; there will be consideration of the puppeteer of the play, Palaestrio, and the very few intelligent ideas and actions of a couple of the other men, and finally the manipulative intelligence of Acroteleutium and Milphidippa will be discussed.

Throughout the play, Philocomasium’s intelligence, cunning, and ability to act and deceive were continuously shown especially in regards to playing the part for and deceiving the men around her. Philocomasium was the first person in the play to have the idea to deceive, the ‘swaggering soldier’ and her captor, Pyrgopolynices. The moment she saw Palaestrio she told him not to reveal their acquaintance with one another. Knowing that would have caused mistrust between Palaestrio and the household of Pyrgopolynices and been detrimental to Palaestrio’s future schemes.
Using an opening in the wall, as a secret path between houses, she jumped between Pyrgopolynices’ and Periplectomenus’ house to meet up with Pleusicles, her lover and make Sceledrus believe she has an identical twin sister staying next door. Playing both her innocent self and her pretend twin sister, whom she named “Honoria”, with conviction and without fault, leaving Sceledrus mistrusting his own eyes. Furthermore, she subtly brought up her twin sister, who happened to be staying next door, by saying “Oh, of course! This is the dream come true, / which I dreamt last night!” and then recounting her fictitious dream. Her excellent acting and improvisational skills added to her