"Thus have you heard me severed from my bliss,
That by misfortunes was my life prolonged
To tell sad stories of my own mishaps."
At the beginning of the play, Egeon explains how he lost his wife, one of his sons, and one of his son's servants in a storm two decades prior. Here, he describes his current state of heartache as being "severed from my bliss," implying both that he is suffering and that, in being divided from his family, he has been divided from his happiness. He goes on to imply that the only purpose to his life is to recount his sad story, starting the play off on a somber and desperate note.
"My wife, more careful for the latter-born,
Had fast'ned him unto a small spare mast,
Such as sea-faring men provide for storms.
To him one of the other twins was bound,
Whilst I had been like heedful of the other.
The children thus dispos'd, my wife and I,
Fixing our eyes on whom our care was fixed,
Fast'ned ourselves at either end the mast."
In recounting the story of the storm that divided his family, Egeon remarks the Emilia placed the boys on the ship according to birth order rather than placing each twin with his brother. In this way, the play begins with a focus on family and nontraditional family structure: Egeon's remarks suggest that the Dromio twins were considered to be part of the family, and that they share the same import to Emilia and Egeon as their own sons.
"Till that, I'll view the manners of the town,
Peruse the traders, gaze upon the buildings,
And then return and sleep within mine inn..."
In this quotation, Antipholous of Syracuse describes his plan for traversing Ephesus. Interestingly, he does not seem to want to fully immerse himself in the activities of the town, preferring instead to observe from an outsider's perspective and then retreat back to the inn. This quotation suggests that Antipholus is not as self-assured or comfortable with his identity as his brother, Antipholus of Ephesus.
"A wretched soul bruised with adversity
We bid be quiet when we hear it cry,
But were we burdened with like weight of pain,
As much or more we should ourselves complain."
In this quotation, Adriana bemoans her own suffering, but she also offers commentary on the relationship between gender, pain, and social expectations. Here, Adriana suggests that emotional and physical pain are equally powerful, but that people (and especially women) are expected to bear emotional pain without complaint or recognition.
"Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking, mad or well-advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised!
I'll say as they say, and persever so,
And in this mist at all adventures go."
Antipholus recognizes that the world of Ephesus is confusing, strange, and even maddening, as everyone seems to know who he is despite his unfamiliarity with the place. Here, Antipholus resolves to keep up with the appearance that seems to be welcomed by the locals. His willingness to go along with the behavior rather than investigate it suggests that he is so alienated from himself that he sees no other alternative.
"Am I so round with you, as you with me,
That like a football you do spurn me thus?
You spurn me hence, and he will spurn me hither.
If I last in this service, you must case me in leather."
While a number of characters express sentiments of pain and suffering in The Comedy of Errors, Dromio of Ephesus's suffering as a servant to his master (in other words, a slave) is treated with markedly less severity. Here, although he expresses true feelings of unhappiness, his suffering is treated as a playful farce. Through his character and through Dromio of Syracuse, the play raises questions about the morality of the servant/master relationship that it ultimately refuses to answer.
"O, for my beads! I cross me for sinner.
This is the fairy land. O spite of spites!
We talk with goblins, owls, and sprites.
If we obey them not, this will ensue:
They'll suck our breath, or pinch us black and blue."
When Dromio and Antipholus of Syracuse encounter people in Ephesus who appear to know who they are despite their being strangers to the town, their immediately assumption is that it is the work of the supernatural. Here, Dromio clutches his rosary in an attempt to ward off whatever spirits are at work. The characters' perception of the supernatural is a source of comedy in the play, but it is also portrayed as an excuse that the Syracusians use in order to ignore the more complex reality in which they find themselves.
"Ah, Luciana, did he tempt thee so?
Might'st thou perceive austerely in his eye
That he did plead in earnest, yea or no?"
In this quotation, Adriana asks Luciana to confirm how Antipholus of Ephesus (actually Antipholus of Syracuse) appeared when he declared his love for her. This is significant and seemingly strange reaction to have to her husband's alleged infidelity. Adriana's line of questioning underscores how the characters in the play rely on appearance for truth above all else.
"He speaks to me.—I am your master, Dromio.
Come, go with us. We'll look to that anon.
Embrace thy brother there. Rejoice with him."
When all have been reunited at the end of the play, a stark contrast between the Antipholus twins and Dromio twins arises: the Dromios are immediately affectionate toward one another (they exit the stage holding hands) while the Antipholus twins remains formal and cordial despite acknowledging that it is a joyous occasion to be reunited. The play thus presents two versions of brotherhood and twinning, in which
"Though now this grainèd face of mine be hid
In sap-consuming winter's drizzled snow,
And all the conduits of my blood froze up,
Yet hath my night of life some memory,
My wasting lamps some fading glimmer left,
My dull deaf ears a little use to hear.
All these old witnesses—I cannot err—
Tell me thou art my son Antipholus."
At the end of the play, Egeon encounters Antipholus of Ephesus, whom he thinks is Antipholus of Syracuse. Ephesus, of course, does not recognize his father after having been separated from him for more than two decades. Here, Egeon delivers an eloquent and moving meditation on the enduring quality of family, pleading with his son to recognize him despite the changes that age has brought to his face and body.
