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Celia's Attraction To Rosalind Surfaces At Several Junctures, Appearing Again ...

Celia's attraction to Rosalind surfaces at several junctures, appearing again in Celia's attempts to dissuade Rosalind from a courtship with the estranged Orlando. The wayward cousin attempts to defame Orlando, slandering him as the moral equivalent of the Biblical Judas, insinuating to Rosalind that progressing further in the romance would lead only to betrayal. Celia makes physical comparisons with Judas in order to portray Orlando's vile character as surpassing Judas in repugnance with the proclamation that his very hair is of the dissembling colour of Jesus' demonized disciple (Act III, Scene iv, line 6). Rosalind's sexual transgression takes on another level, remaining one of unbridled power in its attraction of Celia. As one of Shakespeare's unruly women, Rosalind's sexuality is such a strong force that it spurs other women to take on male characteristics in order to win her affection. Celia's attempts to dissuade Rosalind from love, almost seducing her cousin by making note that Orlando's hair of dissembling colour cannot compare to the chestnut [hair] Celia describes as being ever the only colour of desire (Act III, scene iv, line 9).

Discouraging her cousin from a loving relationship with Orlando, Celia happens to contest Orlando's character while Rosalind is Ganymede, a situation that would erstwhile make their union palpable, going as far as claiming Orlando is only true when he is in love, suggesting that Rosalind's feelings are unrequited (Act III, Scene iii, line 24). Celia retains her power over Rosalind, even assuming the position of an empowered woman controlling another female transgressive. As Ganymede, Rosalind is teased by Celia upon discovery of Orlando's cacophonous verses in praise of Rosalind's beauty in the forest. Empowered with the exclusive knowledge of the identity of the author of the forest verses, Celia teases Ganymede, resulting in stern chiding by the cross-dressed heroine's exclamation that the devil [takes] mocking (Act III, scnee ii, lines 202-203). Celia refrains from divulging Orlando's name as the author of the verses, therein keeping Rosalind/Ganymede in a position of inferiority. Through this mocking, Celia evokes in Rosalind a barrage of childish questions, revealing for the first time the depth of Rosalind's feelings for Orlando. Celia reduces Rosalind from an unruly woman of composure and control to a prototypical, accepted Shakespearean woman reliant on requited love to give her life meaning. The curious aspect of this particular exchange and reverse empowerment is that Celia teased Rosalind when her cousin was dressed as Ganymede; Celia thus gained the upper hand as a woman in control of another woman dressed as a man, who in turn claimed a power over other men.

Examining the later odd circumstance of Rosalind/Ganymede's tutoring of Orlando, Marjorie Garber writes in her The Education of Orlando about the adept, witty nature of Rosalind.


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