Marni Brewster

ENGL 339 Paper #3

The Fuzzy Continuum

The title of William Shakespeare’s comedy, “As You Like It,” implies that the characters can do anything that they like. Shakespeare constructs his characters to explore the themes and motifs of exile, the country life versus the city life, and of course, love. As the main characters are exiled to the Forest of Arden, they begin to explore the country life as an escape from the court and its restricting limitations. Once the characters begin to embrace the pastoral country life, they begin to experience love and the range of intimacies and sexual possibilities as they like it. Out in the forest, love is seen as a continuous spectrum between heterosexuality and homosexuality. “As You Like It” explores different kinds of love between members of the same sex.

In Act I, we are introduced to Rosalind and Celia, cousins who are extremely close friends. At times their relationship becomes quite intense, as seen when Celia is trying to cheer up Rosalind after her father had been banished to the Forest. “Herein I see thou lov’st me not with the full weight that I love thee.” (Signet Classic, pg. 9, ln. 7[SM1] ) Act I is full of declarations of love between the cousins, but the two’s sexual identity with each other is never clearly realized.[SM2] In the following Acts, Celia does become extremely jealous when Rosalind falls in love with the dashing Orlando, but this is normal for any person who becomes a third wheel in a relationship.

The main focus of homoeroticism arises from Rosalind cross-dressing. She is exiled to the forest and Celia faithfully follows, so Rosalind dresses up as a boy to keep them both safe out in the country. Rosalind chooses the name Ganymede as her alter ego, traditionally the name of a beautiful boy who was a lover to the gods, in particular Jove, and who’s[SM3] name carries homosexual nuances. Out in the country everyone seems to fall in love with Ganymede, the beautiful boy that looks like a woman because he is really Rosalind in disguise! The shepherdess Phoebe is more attracted to the feminine Ganymede than the manly shepherd Silvius. “Dear [Ganymede], now I find thy saw of might, ‘Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?’” (pg. 70, ln. 81) Another character that seems to fall in love with Ganymede is Rosalind’s true love, Orlando. Orlando employs Ganymede to help him win the heart of his fair Rosalind, not knowing it is truly Rosalind who is giving him the advice! Ganymede suggests that he could pretend to be Rosalind so that Orland can practice his wooing skills. Orlando is supposed to be in love with Rosalind, yet he seems to enjoy the idea of acting out his romance with a young and beautiful boy. Ganymede teases him, “come now, I will be your Rosalind in a more coming on disposition; ask me what you will, I will grant it.” (pg. 77, ln. 106) It’s as if Orlando finds the boy who looks like his love more appealing than the real Rosalind[SM4] .

“As You Like It” ends in four heterosexual marriages with a “happily ever after” as everyone heads back to the court and leaves the pastoral life. Yet we cannot overlook the point that Shakespeare is trying to make about the confines of society and what is and is not acceptable, especially in the realm of sexuality. At court, heterosexual marriage is the only acceptable lifestyle, but out in the freeness [SM5] of the country sexuality is a fuzzy continuum on which one can move as one likes[SM6] .