# Scene II explained — The Comedy of Errors

> Chapter companion for The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare.

## 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.

## Themes 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_comedy_of_errors_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_comedy_of_errors_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_comedy_of_errors_se/chapters