The Wild, Wild Women

What a big time for the Backblog- as I write this, I can see that Stan and Trevor are writing up entries of their own. Today I read the third of five plays in Plautus and Terence's Five Comedies: The Wild, Wild Women (Bacchides). Sadly, this one did not live up to the standards set by Major Blowhard and The Brothers. It really feels like two separate plays- the two halves are more than just tangentially related, but the plot of The Wild, Wild Women takes such a downturn halfway through that it became hard to care about any of the characters. The first half is more of a traditional comedy about two friends who get wrapped up in a plot with two whores who share the name Bacchis. This half was light-hearted and fun, essentially what I was looking for in a Plautus comedy. Sadly, once the main problem is solved, the story takes a dramatic shift to focus on the boy's fathers and their slave, Nugget. The fathers are understandably disappointed that their sons are dealing with "ladies of the night" but instead of actually dealing with the problem like normal people, they hatch some overwrought plan that never really came to make much sense. All of this happens under the watchful eye of Nugget, the scheming slave that appears to be something of a cliche in ancient comedies. Nugget and the two fathers are all prone to lengthy monologues, during which the comedy suffered and I grew bored. It seemed like it just kept going far longer than necessary, a criticism agreed with by translator Douglass Parker. It's a shame as Major Blowhard had me excited to read more Plautus, but it looks like his plays were kind of hit-or-miss. Nevertheless, only two more remain in the book, one of which I may have actually read in college- I'll keep the Backblog posted.