The happy endings of comedy resolve conflicts that have their sources in the real world. These conflicts, in turn, leave their mark upon the texts in the form of gaps in the plot and inconsistencies of characterization. Greek Comedy and Ideology analyses how the structure of ancient Greek comedy betrays and responds to cultural tensions in the society of the classical city-state. Individual chapters treat Aristophanic and Menandrean comedies, with a final chapter on Molière.