The Complete Timon of Athens

About the Book

Timon of Athens might be regarded as the ancestor of Moliere’s Les Misanthrope—in that Alceste seems to embody all the negativity of Timon. Timon also illustrates the error of equating friendship with finances. “He finds that his idealization of friendship has been an illusion” (Mowat, xiv). “He is, thus, a man ‘nobly but unwisely generous’” (Hinman, 17). “The play, itself, is one ‘which its author never quite finished’” (Hinman, 27).

About the Author

Although he has long been eligible to retire, Donald J. Richardson continues to (try to) teach English Composition at Phoenix College in Arizona. He defines his life through his teaching, his singing, his volunteering, and his grandchildren.