Classics in everyday speech

You don't have to read the classics to meet them. Their characters have become shorthand. A woman who can't choose between two men gets called วันทองสองใจ, after the heroine of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, even though many modern readers think she was the story's real victim. Someone who scolds others for their own fault hears อิเหนาเป็นเอง, someone who wins on a technicality is a ศรีธนญชัย, a jealous partner might be a ผีเสื้อสมุทร, and a loyal right-hand man is a ทหารเอก. The whole Ramakien is painted around the cloister of Wat Phra Kaew, and Hanuman and Thotsakan appear on amulets, tattoos and beer adverts. When a Thai friend drops a name like this, ask about the story: people enjoy retelling it.