And one of the first concerns of Antipholus of Syracuse when he arrives in Ephesus is for the safety of his money. All of this emphasis on economic issues points to the general importance of exchanges in the play.
Then, it is with the return of these items to their rightful owners that the play comes to a resolution in the final scene. But it is not just objects that are exchanged in the comedy.
One could say that, for part of the play, Adriana exchanges husbands. As this suggests, the whole world of the play can be seen through a kind of economic logic of exchange, value, and profit: is it more profitable for Antipholus of Syracuse to play along with the person Adriana thinks him to be?
How much money is a life e. Characters in the play often seem more concerned with profit and money than with other matters. However, the play is also filled with examples of people who respect values other than monetary ones.
Antipholus of Syracuse and Aegeon are willing to travel faraway and risk their lives in order to find the missing members of their families. That very hour, and in the self-same inn, A meaner woman was delivered Of such a burden, male twins, both alike: Those, for their parents were exceeding poor, I bought, and brought up to attend my sons.
