The Clouds, Part 1 Summary

(p. 75 - 94) While his son Pheidippides lies asleep and dreaming beside him, Strepsiades sits wakeful and fretting, worrying in soliloquy about the debts his horse-crazy son is racking up, recalling the unhappy circumstances of his marriage (see "Quotes," p. 76), and musing on how his wife has spoiled their son. He comments that he's thought of a way to remedy the debt-full situation, wonders how he's going to convince his son of the merits of the idea, and then realizes the best way to do it is to get him to say yes before he's fully awake. This he does, but when Pheidippides learns that Strepsiades wants to send him to study with the "pale-faced bare-footed quacks" Socrates ... and learn the value of arguing for the wrong (see "Quotes," p. 79), he refuses and goes home.

Strepsiades then resolves to be...