Rudens is a play by Roman author Plautus. Its name translates from Latin as "The Rope;" in English translation it has been called The Shipwreck or The Fisherman's Rope. It is a Roman comedy, which describes how a girl, Palaestra, stolen from her parents by pirates, is reunited with her father, Daemones, ironically, by means of her pimp, Labrax. The play is set on the coast of Cyrene, in north Africa, although the characters come from a range of cities around the Mediterranean, most notably, Athens.
The date of the play is unknown, but from the average amount of musical passages that it contains, it is thought that it probably belongs to Plautus's middle period, about 200 BC.Discussion in de Melo (2012), pp. 397–8.
The story
The scene The scene shows the entrance to a villa, and next to it a temple, with an altar in front of it. On the audience's left is a road leading to the town; on the right is a path leading to the sea. The neighbouring parts of the stage are supposed to be overgrown with bulrushes and other plants.Sonnenschein, E. A. (1901). T. Macci Plauti Rudens: Editio Minor, p. vii.
Prologue Rudens is introduced by an actor representing the star Arcturus. Arcturus reminds the audience that Jupiter protects the virtuous and punishes those who have perjured themselves for gain. He then explains that the play they are about to hear was originally by Diphilus, and that the scene is Cyrene (in north Africa). The villa they see before them belongs to an old Athenian citizen in exile, whose daughter was lost when she was small. He explains how a vicious pimp had bought the girl and transported her to Cyrene, where a young Athenian man had fallen in love with her and paid the pimp 30 minae to purchase her. However, meanwhile the pimp had met a Sicilian man, who had persuaded him to break his oath and take her and another girl to Sicily, where they would earn a lot of money for him as prostitutes. He explains that the temple the audience see is the temple of Venus, where the pimp had invited the young man to breakfast. After the pimp embarked, he, Arcturus, had raised a storm that had shipwrecked them. The girls have escaped in a small boat and at this moment are approaching the shore.
Act 1 1 The slave Sceparnio emerges from Daemones' house, and explains that there has been a great storm in the night which has blown all the tiles off the roof.
2 The young man Plesidippus appears with three friends. He apologises to them that their mission to catch the pimp at the port has failed, and declares that he is going to pray at the temple of Venus. Daemones, an elderly Athenian man, comes out and calls Sceparnio; Sceparnio behaves cheekily towards his master, who seems to lack the strength to contest this behaviour. Plesidippus greets Daemones. After some banter between Sceparnio and Plesidippus, the latter finally asks Daemones whether he has seen Labrax recently at the temple of Venus. He also describes Labrax as bringing with him two girls, who are later to be named as Ampelisca and Palaestra. Suddenly, Daemones notices two men, shipwrecked, attempting to swim towards the shore; Plesidippus immediately leaves with his friends, in the hope that one of them might be Labrax. After he has left, Sceparnio spots a boat in the turbulent sea, containing two girls. He describes the girls being knocked around on the sea, and then being thrown out. Daemones, however, sharply tells Sceparnio that, should he wish to dine at his master's expense, he should get back to work of collecting mud and reeds to mend the roof.
3 The next scene opens with the first girl, Palaestra, lamenting her situation; she is in an unknown country, and the gods have punished her unjustly. She suggests that her ordeal would be less awful if her companion, Ampelisca, were with her.
4 Nearby, Ampelisca is similarly upset. She sings that she wishes to die, and that she has nothing to live for; nevertheless, she is driven to continue by the prospect that her friend might be alive. Ampelisca's soliloquy is cut short when Palaestra hears her voice. After a time, the girls realise that they have heard each other's voices, and follow them. Finally, the two girls turn around a rock and meet each other, grasping each other's hands with joy. The girls can see only the temple nearby, and so decide to go in that direction. Outside the temple, the girls pray desperately to its god (at this point, they do not know which god the temple belongs to), so loudly, in fact, that the priestess, Ptolemocratia, is drawn outside.
5 The priestess sings in a rather pompous tone, asking the girls why they have turned up to the temple so poorly dressed, seemingly disregarding the fact that they have been shipwrecked. However, Palaestra's desperate pleas for mercy and supplication soon soften her spirit, and, after complaining that she has barely enough resources to look after herself, she states that she has a moral duty to do what little she can to help the girls, and invites them into the temple.
Act 2 1 A group of fishermen cross the stage heading towards the sea, singing about their poor lives.
2 Plesidippus' slave Trachalio enters the scene, and in a tone of banter asks the fishermen whether they have seen his master. Having stated that they have seen neither Plesidippus nor Labrax, they leave. Because neither Labrax nor Plesidippus can be found, Trachalio comes to the conclusion that his master has been cheated by the pimp; Trachalio states that he had predicted this, and comically proclaims that he is a soothsayer.
3 On his way to the temple, to seek information from the priestess, Trachalio walks into Ampelisca, who is going to a nearby house (Daemones') to fetch water. Trachalio states that he recognises the girl, and Ampelisca recognises him; they enter into a friendly conversation, with Trachalio explaining that his master cannot be found and that Labrax has cheated him. Fuelling his ego, Ampelisca, too, states that he is a soothsayer, introducing further humour. Ampelisca refers to Palaestra being with her, the mention of whom prompts Trachalio to state that she is his master's girl. The conversation continues, as Trachalio obviously, but sweetly, flirts with Ampelisca who, apparently flattered, replies in similar ways; this gives further humour: while Plesidippus was negotiating the terms of buying Palaestra (his girl, according to Trachalio), Trachalio was forming a relationship with Labrax's other girl and Palaestra's friend, Ampelisca. Trachalio's wit is obvious soon after, explaining a rather complex logical argument to explain how Labrax could not have been caught by Plesidippus. Towards the end of this scene, Ampelisca states that Palaestra's misery is being caused by the fact that she has lost a chest, in the shipwreck, containing articles which would identify her to her parents, should she ever find them again; this becomes extremely important later in the play. Trachalio leaves the scene, entering the temple to speak to Palaestra.
4 Ampelisca continues with her task, and knocks on the villa door to get water. Sceparnio, Daemones' slave answers, and is delighted to see a woman — hardly the behavior of a slave, and thus another source of humor. Indeed, he interrupts her to suggest that it would be more appropriate for her to call again in the evening. He is given an extremely cold reception by Ampelisca, who is keen to complete her work. Incredibly, Sceparnio then announces that he is the resident priest, and that Ampelisca must speak to him nicely to get what she wants — an outrageous statement to be made by a slave. Finally, Ampelisca, tired of arguing, agrees to do whatever he wants, and so Sceparnio scurries away to fill her jug with water. However, after he leaves, Ampelisca looks out at the sea and notices, on the shore, two men, whom she instantly realizes as being Labrax and his friend, Charmides. Terrified, she retreats back to the temple to tell Palaestra and to seek safety.
5 Meanwhile, Sceparnio is returning with the filled jug, convinced that Ampelisca is deeply in love with him. When he does not see her, he presumes that she is playfully hiding, before his mood becomes more sour, until he gets tired of searching. However, worried that he would be in great trouble for leaving the jug, elaborately decorated, unattended, he takes it into the temple himself.
6 The emphasis shifts to Labrax and Charmides on the shore. They pointlessly argue for some time, blaming one another for the current situation; they suspect that the girls are both dead and that Plesidippus will not be happy, since he had paid a deposit for Palaestra.
7 Suddenly, they come across Sceparnio, now leaving the temple, and wondering why two women are there, crying. Hearing this, Labrax interrogates Sceparnio, realising that they are Ampelisca and Palaestra; his continual questioning annoys Sceparnio, who is then cheekily asked by Labrax whether he can provide them with a place to stay. Sceparnio does not oblige, but does offer to dry their clothes — an offer which Charmides refuses. The scene ends as Charmides enters the temple to seek shelter.
Act 3 1 Shortly after, Daemones emerges from his villa, explaining a dream he had had about being attacked by a monkey, trying to climb a tree to get to a swallow's nest, because he did not lend the monkey a ladder; like the audience at this stage, he has no idea what the dream meant.
2 Daemones hears a great noise from inside the temple, and then sees Trachalio running out, exclaiming incomprehensible pleas for help. Trachalio hysterically approaches Daemones, begging for help in the same complex way, but still making no sense to the latter. Finally, he explains that two girls and the priestess are being attacked in the temple; he expands on this, explaining that a man (known to the audience as Labrax) is trying to take the girls, clinging to the altar, away. Being a decent man, Daemones calls upon two strong slaves, Turbalio and Sparax, to go into the temple to help them; Palaestra and Ampelisca leave the temple.
3 Having been found by the pimp, from whom she thought she was now safe, Palaestra despairs, asking what will become of herself and Ampelisca now; once again, she states that it would be better for them to die. Suddenly, the girls notice Trachalio, giving them some hope; however, despite Trachalio's reassurances, both girls insist that they are intent on suicide. Trachalio tells the girls to wait at the altar outside the temple, where both he and Venus will ensure their safety. Ampelisca prays to Venus for this protection, joined by Trachalio who begs for the goddess to help them both.