The Courtesan

            On Monday after midnight I did my usual search for bedbugs and once again I happily found none. That makes it eleven days since the last sighting. That's definitely past the egg hatching period. Another three times and I'll stop checking. 

            I finished posting my translation of "La java des chaussettes à clous" (The Tap Dance of the Hobnail Boots) by Boris Vian. That completes all the recordings I have of his voice in my files but I have an album of Vian songs sung by Serge Regianni. The next Vian song I'll try to learn is "Arthur, où t'as mis le corps?" (Arthur, Where'd You Put the Corpse?" 

            I worked out the chords for the instrumental bridge of "U.S.S.R. / U.S.A." by Serge Gainsbourg and then the third verse and chorus. There's really just the finale to go. 

            I weighed 90.7 kilos before breakfast. 

            Before 9:00 I logged into the Zoom meeting room for my Shakespeare class and just kept my video off while I had half of my breakfast. I was the first one there for several minutes. I've had too many connectivity problems to try to log in just on time. 

            One of the most frequent questions about the theatrical representation of twins is how is it done. Professor Lopez will talk about that in the final class. 

            The Courtesan would be considered by most as a minor character in The Comedy of Errors. She does not appear until Act 4 and her line count is low but she is extremely important. More than she needs to be, which is typical of Shakespeare. The procedure of following a character with low lines is rewarding and productive. One of our essay topics will ask us to do that. 

            A convention in talking of Shakespeare is that people want to divide characters into strong ones and opposites. The strong ones have articulated goals or desires that are demonstrated by their actions that resonate with other actions. Some characters may seem weak and marginalized. When characters are not speaking it is hard to pay attention to them but they are present. Lopez encourages the habit of paying attention to the fact that there is no such thing as a weak character in any good play. 

            We are reading five of Shakespeare's very best plays. They are extremely great and are five of the best plays ever written in English and perhaps any language. All characters need humans to embody them and realize their presence. Shakespeare thought about every human he put on the stage because he was making art. Every piece of a work of art is essential to the work. Rembrandt did not just grab any yellow for a painting. 

            Shakespeare as a playwright is more interested in details than themes. The details are interesting in themselves. He uses extreme detail and more than is needed to simply tell the story. 

            4.1.1-6 introduces characters not seen before. The Second Merchant says to Angelo that he has known since Pentecost that he owes him money. Now he is bound for Persia very soon and needs to be paid before leaving. Angelo is in danger of being arrested if he does not fork up the funds. Pentecost is the Sunday after Easter and so the money has been owed since late spring. It is made clear that in the merchant's dealings his debtors are given casual leaway about paying back the money under normal circumstances. The socio economic relationship is not usually hurried but now the merchant has to go. The merchant's speech gives us a glimpse of Shakespeare's interest. The details in this play are finely worked out around transactions. 

            5.1.381-94 near the point of reconciliation Antipholus of Ephesus reminds Angelo that he never had the chain but he was arrested anyway. Angelo says he thought he had the chain and won't apologize. Adriana speaks with deference to her husband saying that she gave the money to Dromio but he failed to deliver it. But she gave it to the wrong Dromio. Dromio defends himself and demands not to be beaten. Everyone is protecting themselves and justifying their behaviour. Antipholus of Syracuse tries to smooth things over and says there is no need to argue since Dromio gave him the money. 

            When Antipholus of Ephesus says, "We saw each other's man" he may be speaking directly to his twin Antipholus of Syracuse. He must gesture somehow to Antipholus of Syracuse in order to get his money back from him which he uses to pay the fine for the man he only just discovered is his father. This solution is unexpected because Antipholus of Syracuse has the money which he could have used to pay for his father's life. But then the Duke says there's no need to pay the money after all. He renders the financial problem between the brothers irrelevant. The money and the law are thrown out. 

            But I wonder if Aegeon's crime of trespassing in Ephesus is rendered void by the Duke because Aegeon turns out to be married to Aemilia who is a citizen of Ephesus. 

            The Courtesan then speaks, demanding of Antipholus of Ephesus what he owes to her. He gives the diamond readily and thanks her. The professor suggests that this is the real conclusion of the play.

            We must go back to trace the Courtesan from her beginnings in the play. She is first mentioned in 3.1.109-11 when Antipholus of Ephesus is locked out of his home as a woman he knows at the Porcupine Inn. His wife has expressed jealousy over his relationship with her. He says he will give her the chain that he had planned on giving to his wife. We do not yet know that the woman being spoken of is a sex trade worker. The Porcupine is a good name for a dangerous establishment. He says he will give the chain to the hostess there but we do not yet know what that means. 

            In 4.1.12 the Courtesan is first mentioned in the stage directions but the audience does not see the stage directions. Antipholus of Ephesus is angry because Angelo did not bring him the chain. Angelo gave it to Antipholus of Syracuse. Antipholus of Syracuse wants to give it to the Courtesan to spite his wife for locking him out. There is no need at this point for the Courtesan to be in the plot. The problem becomes a crisis when Antipholus does not receive the chain and does not give it to the Courtesan. Later she will bring in more financial confusion. Angelo might imagine that the Courtesan has the chain. There is no reason to think that she will appear as a character. 

            In 4.3-40 the Courtesan enters, sees Antipholus of Syracuse wearing the chain that was promised to her and accuses him of shirking his obligations. She is obviously recognizable by her costume as a sex trade worker and Antipholus warns her not to tempt him. The story of Antipholus of Ephesus's transaction with the hostess of the Porcupine Inn regarding the chain suggests the nature of his lunch at the inn. She is a merchant and he has made a financial transaction with her. Maybe they had sex and the chain was promised as payment. Their relationship deepens. She asks for the ring he had at dinner and this is the first time it is mentioned. She took the ring from her finger and gave it to him. This giving of a ring usually indicates marriage or engagement. Big promises were made. She was promised more than just the chain showing that this is a relationship of high value with each investing in the other. The ring is unseen. She says she wants her ring or the chain. In 4.3.75-6 she makes it clear she wants to be square in this arrangement but she is high and dry with no ring and no chain. 

            In 4.3. 80-4 she concludes Antipholus must be mad because of this and added to the proof of this condition is the story he told at dinner of having been locked out of his own home. She will make use of his madness and tell Adriana that her husband came to her house and stole her ring. 

            We took a break. 

            In 4.3.80-4 we learn the Courtesan's plan. Think about the work of any character no matter how few lines they have. She is on a parallel with the other merchants. She is not elaborated historically but she is precisely sketched. Her function is to complicate the plot. She is a multiplier. The conventional function of the play could have left her out but Shakespeare puts emphasis on her. She has a transactional relationship with Antipholus of Ephesus that goes beyond financial value. He does not need her ring. 

           The mistress of Antipholus of Ephesus goes to his wife. She is like Antipholus in that she wants that which is hers. She is smart and realistic when she tells the story to Adriana. She knows that she thinks her husband is crazy. She uses an Iago-like process in that she uses materials at hand to bend someone's belief to her advantage. 4.4.39f Adriana is well primed. Antipholus of Ephesus is arrested. The Courtesan points out to Adriana that Antipholus is beating Dromio as further proof of his madness. But he beats Dromio all the time and so does Adriana. 

            Antipholus of Ephesus sees his wife coming with the Courtesan. He sees all of his worlds colliding. His wife, her sister, his mistress, and the jailer. At this point Dromio jokes about him being hanged so no wonder he beats him. What is unsaid and needs to be said is that Antipholus now knows that the Courtesan has been talking to his wife. In 4.4.102 he calls her a dissembling harlot and technically she is a harlot but the term can also mean sexually promiscuous. 

            Adriana and the Courtesan are silent rivals. It is silently dramatized that they are a matched pair in their opposition. Antipholus cannot return the ring to her in front of his wife. The Courtesan needs to take the focus back. She points out the ring and dominates the scene with her need for it. The chain and the ring are another matched pair. Adriana has not seen the chain. 

           The Courtesan stays with Adriana and Luciana. From 5.1.32-102 the Courtesan is silent as she watches and listens. Angelo knows Antipholus of Ephesus's wandering nature as he was asked for the chain to give to the Courtesan. It's the boy's club of Ephesus. 

            In 5.1.45-6 Adriana knows her husband is having an affair. The Abbess advises her not to be a nag and Adriana admits she's too hard on her husband. 5.1.57-90 the Courtesan is listening to Adriana. The Abess's criticism is a moment for the Courtesan. 5.1.98-100 Adriana is trying to cure herself of jealousy by taking on the role of nurse for Antipholus. The Courtesan watches and listens as Adriana embellishes the story she told her. In 5.1.136-44 maybe Adriana is trying to cause the Courtesan's story to make sense. She uses the Courtesan's story to deceive herself. 

            In 5.1.205 Antipholus accuses his wife of feasting with harlots. The professor adds "like a Republican." 

            5.1.219-25 we have a revisionist history of the earlier part of the play when Antipholus says he had lunch with Balthazar. But in 5.1.276 Dromio spills the beans that Antipholus had lunch with the Courtesan. He does so to get him out of a jam but it puts him in another. The Courtesan is also saving Antipholus by claiming he is crazy and saying that he snatched her ring from her finger. 

            After speaking, the focus on the Courtesan is sidelined as Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse arrive. She confirms that she has no authorized place in the social world of Ephesus. She is external to the recombination. Like the merchant bound for Persia she has a huge place in the economy of Ephesus. He is bound. Bound for Persia but also bound in his obligations as are others bound to him. The Courtesan is unbound and can bind others. There is a connection between economic and emotional ties in the final reunion. 

            She reminds Antipholus of Ephesus of his debt to her and in an amazing moment, instead of taking this opportunity to disavow her he responds by acknowledging her, paying her and thanking her for a good time. 

            I weighed 89.9 kilos before lunch. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride to Yonge and Bloor. As I went south on Yonge I passed the Zanzibar, which had a big sign above the door that read, "No Pass, No Ass." Obviously in reference to the covid 19 vaccination pass. 

            I weighed 89.7 kilos when I got home. I almost finished typing my lecture notes before dinner. 

            I had a potato with gravy and two pork chops while watching an episode of Gomer Pyle. 

            In this story Camp Henderson is having a talent contest to send the winner to represent the base in Washington. Sergeant Carter is not interested in it until Sergeant Hacker taunts him with the opera singing recruit named Brian Jones he's had transferred to his platoon. Carter auditions talent in his platoon but is disappointed to find that only Gomer has any talent. He reluctantly signs Gomer up. Later Gomer meets Brian when he hears him singing and is impressed. Niether of them feel competitive towards the other and it turns out that Brian's first love is teaching voice. Brian begins to coach Gomer. Carter tries to sabotage Brian's voice by pretending he's made a mistake and forcing him to repeat over and over that he will not do it again. Hacker tries to sabotage Gomer's voice by having him work in the refrigerated food storage room and turning down the temperature. At the competition both men sing so beautifully that the officer in charge has to flip a coin and Gomer wins. Gomer says that Brian should have won because he taught him how to sing. Learning Brian is a teacher the officer assigns him to be head of the base glee club, which is his dream assignment. Gomer is now being sent to Washington and Carter thinks he'll be rid of him for three weeks, but Gomer requests that Carter be sent to Washington with him. 

            Brian Jones was played by Brian Aver, who caught the attention of a Hollywood Scout when he was co-starring in How Green Was My Valley on Broadway. He was signed to Universal with Harrison Ford and Katherine Ross. He costarred with Ford in Journey to Shiloh and he and Ross played the wedding couple in The Graduate. He played Diane Keaton's boyfriend in Woody Allen's "Sleeper." He became a member of the board of governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He became a producer of such films as "Crash" and "The Devil and Daniel Webster." He is the father of Eric Avery, the bass player for Jane's Addiction.