Please read The Pot of Gold, Pseudolus, or The Brothers Menaechmus
Cite here some lines/passages that would be particularly good for showing what the play you read says about Roman values, family relationships, romantic relationships, day-to-day life, religion, etc.
From the start, we learn the poor man's daughter has lost her virginity and has become pregnant from it. I can take from this that, despite many values being established, and possibly the value of waiting until marriage, people will be people and will throw their values away when they get in the mood for intimacy.
ReplyDeleteStaphyla, throughout most of the play, is concerned about the daughter and the baby she carries. While it is implied that it would be good for the daughter to be married, doing so under the guise of not being pregnant and passing the child off as her husband's would be quite disdainful.
Add onto all of this the stress of having no dowry at all - the only ones who may want the daughter are ones who either have no good intentions or are also poor and will therefore subject the daughter to a life of continued poverty.
We also see Megadorus and his sister arguing about him getting married - clearly, marriage is a fairly big deal here. Even if it is just for the sake of appearances or having an heir to pass along the wealth and land of the family, it is critical both in peasant and in wealthy life.