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The Difference Between The Two, However, Is Key; Orlando Is Excluded By ...

The difference between the two, however, is key; Orlando is excluded by outside forces, while Rosalind opts to break social boundaries. Shakespeare's very choice of Ganymedethe Hellenistic companion and boy lover of Zeusbelies Rosalind's exploits as a cross-dressing heroine. The moniker she assumes at the onset of her dichotomous existence attributes to Rosalind an added depth of character; Rosalind is a woman who dresses like a man, named after the homosexual consort of the most powerful of the Greek gods, later pretending through her character of Ganymede to be her actual ego, Rosalind, in a series of exchanges with Orlando (the object of mutual affection) whose goal is to ultimately learn to woo Rosalind. The sexually multi-faceted heroine assumes the identity of Ganymede in order to gain a sense of freedom; as Ganymede, Rosalind is free to pursue her interest in Orlando, a practice not becoming of the typical Elizabethan Era woman. The alter ego of Ganymede affords her greater mobility socially; she is able to vocalize her emotions, albeit indirectly, to Orlando. Maurice Charney notes in his Shakespeare On Love & Lust that Rosalind is at her best when she is Ganymede pretending to Rosalind,' at which point she can fully exploit her coy artifice (Charney 2000, p. 40).
Depending on the spectrum of her intent, Rosalind poses several subversions to accepted Elizabethan gender roles. As a woman, Rosalind is restricted to a pacified, immobile role. She is subdued by her place in society, unable to transcend her station and without the means necessary to pursue her desire. It should be noted, however, that Rosalind is sexually deviant even as a woman. Her love affair with Orlando aside, Rosalind defies several Elizabethan social strictures in her evocation of homoerotic affections from her cousin Celia. Ruminating on Orlando's virtues and her adulation, Rosalind's awe promotes a sense of jealousy from Celia, who finds her cousin's words too precious to be cast away upon curs; Celia laments Rosalind's affections and her words, asking her cousin to throw some at me, wishing her cousin to lame [her] with reasons justifying love (Act I, Scene iii, lines 4-6). Where Elizabethan women and their compatriots had to wait for male interaction to find adulation and romantic exchange, Rosalind is immediately privy to Celia's homoerotic advance. This exchange is significant because it removes the exclusive realm of female sexual admission from men, therein empowering Rosalind who, at the mentioned point in the play is not a part of society at large, still an exile of sorts. To a degree, Rosalind's sexuality attracts women, therein raising Rosalind's status from that of woman to attract to a woman who attracts other women. On an Elizabethan stage where lesbianism was practically non-existent, Rosalind was made into a de facto man.


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