The Role Of Women In Shakespeare's As You Like It

Sixteenth century England demanded strictly polarized gender roles, and, as a result, women were confined within the bounds of societal expectations. In As You Like It, however, Shakespeare’s Rosalind challenges those beliefs. She spends the majority of the play as a man under the guise of Ganymede. Her disguise grants her the ability to explore and expand herself beyond the culturally accepted views of women. She proves herself capable of adopting many traits considered strictly masculine. Thus, Rosalind transcends the barriers of gender to create a powerful female character, rejecting the stereotypical view of women during the sixteenth century. Early modern views of women were largely routed in Biblical proof of women’s inferiority and

The moment Rosalind discovers that the love poems in the forest were written by Orlando, she exclaims, “Alas the day, what shall I do with my / doublet and hose?” (3.2.216-217). Now certain of his love, she immediately wishes to reveal herself. It is only when Rosalind hears Orlando discussing his love for her with Jaques that she decides to remain as Ganymede. After hearing their conversation, she whispers to Celia, “I will speak to him like a / saucy lackey and under that habit play the knave / with him” (3.2.292-293). Her decision has nothing to do with necessity; she could easily have thrown off her disguise and revealed herself to Orlando after hearing of his love for her. Instead, Rosalind recognizes the necessity of educating Orlando in the ways of love, proving her deeper and more rational understanding of love. As Beckman argues, “women had traditionally been associated with the ‘heart’ or emotions, men with the ‘head’ or intellect. In As You Like It, however, it is Rosalind who intelligently and realistically speaks from the head” (47). Unlike Orlando, Rosalind is able to look past her feelings while interacting with Orlando to discover if he would be a wise choice for a husband. She bases her opinion not solely on her emotions felt during their one interaction, as Orlando does,

This forces Rosalind to take on the role of mentor, teaching Orlando how a man should love a woman. Rosalind chastises Orlando about this issue, saying, “you are no such man. You are rather / point-device in your accoutrements, as loving yourself, / than seeming the lover of any other” (3.2.372-374). Garber states that Orlando is “in love with love and with the image of himself as a lover” (171). Not only that, but his poems reveal the basis of his love, focusing on Rosalind’s physical appearance. Orlando’s love at this point, after the couple’s one brief interaction, is largely based on the fantasies in his head rather than reality. Through Rosalind’s teaching as Ganymede, Orlando is able to grow in his love for Rosalind and base his feelings on reality. After his education, “imagination and play...are no longer enough to sustain him” (Garber 174). As Ganymede, Rosalind removes the temptation of physical beauty that spurred Orlando’s earlier love and adopts the more dominant role of educator in the relationship. Carroll believes that through Shakespeare’s women who disguise themselves as men, “the women are doing for the men what the men can’t do for themselves” (128). Because Orlando cannot be educated on his own, Rosalind must take control of the relationship and his instruction. Her guise as a man allows her to instruct Orlando in the way she wishes to be loved before