The Comedy of Errors · Chapter
Scene II explained
Adriana interrogates Luciana about Antipholus of Syracuse's behavior, revealing her jealousy and conflicted feelings.
What happens
Adriana interrogates Luciana about Antipholus of Syracuse's behavior, revealing her jealousy and conflicted feelings. Dromio of Syracuse arrives with news that his master has been arrested for a chain, and Adriana sends Luciana for money to secure his release.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Closing
This scene is the dramatic climax because it represents the peak of confusion and danger, with Antipholus of S…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Marriage and Jealousy
Adriana's intense jealousy and contradictory feelings toward her husband are central to this scene.
- Commerce and Money
The arrest for a chain and the need for money to secure release highlight the theme of debt and financial obligation.
Characters to notice
- Adriana
Jealous and anxious, she questions Luciana about Antipholus of Syracuse's advances and sends money for his release.
- Luciana
Reports Antipholus of Syracuse's flirtatious words and fetches the purse for his bail.
- Dromio of Syracuse
Arrives breathless, reporting that his master is arrested for a chain and requesting the money.
Key passages
“He is deformed, crooked, old and sere, Ill-faced, worse bodied, shapeless everywhere; Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind, Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.”
She calls him ugly, misshapen, and cruel, though she doesn't truly believe it.
Adriana's hyperbolic insults reveal her anger and jealousy, yet she admits she thinks better of him.
“A devil in an everlasting garment hath him; One whose hard heart is button'd up with steel; A fiend, a fury, pitiless and rough; A wolf, nay, worse, a fellow all in buff;”
A sergeant in a buff coat has arrested him; he is a heartless, relentless officer.
Dromio of Syracuse describes the arresting officer in vivid, fearful terms.
