Rosalind addresses the issue of gender confusion in the epilogue. She tries to clarify the situation by addressing the real gender and the one that is performed. These events, which lead up to As You Like It’s epilogue, are complex and fraught with gender confusion. While this confusion is based on the Shakespearean practice of acting out the female role as Rosalind, it also occurs in other parts of the play. This male actor plays Rosalind opposite Orlando, and in his role as Ganymede pretends to be Rosalind so that Orlando can get rid of his love. This is illustrated by Rosalind, the character, dressing as the male Ganymede. When actors change their genders so frequently, it makes gender seem random and arbitrary. Rosalind told Orlando that she would cure him if he would call her Rosalind and come every morning to her cote to woo and seduce me (III, II). 1603-4). Rosalind’s “real” role in the play is reaffirmed by suggesting that Orlando perform his love. This happens even though she appears as a male. Rosalind and Orlando both want to woo Rosalind even though she is absent. Orlando can express his desire verbally, while still adoring and idealizing the “absent Rosalind”. Rosalind can fulfill both of his roles as absent muse/tutor and love. The play epilogue functions as an explanation and a compounding of roles.

Rosalind’s suggestion to “cure” Orlando could be better understood as her desire to see Orlando’s wishes acted out in front of her, even if she doesn’t participate. Rosalind is justified in “pretending” to play a game of romance with Orlando because she loves him. This pretending allows Rosalind to express herself without jeopardizing her status as “beloved”. She can also reveal her emotions without having to compromise her distance from her lover. She can freely express herself, even her most intimate desires. i. In the epilogue, Rosalind returns to the issue of traditional gender roles. Rosalind revisits the topic of gender roles and traditional roles in the epilogue. “It was not fashion to see a lady as the epilogue,” she says (V.iv. 2776-7). The statement is ironic because Rosalind was dressed in male clothes, but she has said that she loves “Fridays, Saturdays and everything”. However, since it was “fashion” for men to play women’s roles, “Rosalind”, offstage, is actually a man, so dressing as a man does not “actually commit” any unfashionable act. This is only true within the boundaries of the drama. Underneath, it’s still the male character who delivers the lines. Rosalind suggests that a female character should have the right to speak. She says that allowing a woman to speak the epilogue would be no less attractive than having the lord deliver the prologue. 2777-8). Prologues and epilogues are the “bookends,” which introduce and close the action. They seem to be equally important. Rosalind implies that the choice of a female or male actor to deliver the epilogue is not arbitrary. Rosalind by using “to be seen” suggests that audience members must accept both genders. She also reinforces performance’s visual elements. In “to See…the Epilogue,” “see” is not just “allow,” it also means “watch”, since the epilogue was performed by a drag-clad male actor. In this case, the gender of the actor is being manipulated as a show. He plays the female role and then dresses and appears like a male. For the audience, “male” status is blurred as a man plays Rosalind and then Ganymede. The audience is forced to “see” Rosalind giving the epilogue despite the fact that outside of the theatre, the actor was male. In this context, gender can be arbitrary. It was irrelevant, for example, that the actor who played Rosalind had female lines. On the other hand, it would not be “unhandsome”, if a male Rosalind were to deliver the epilogue. Rosalind’s statement that “it was not fashionable to have a lady deliver the epilogue,” speaks to the audience’s preconceptions regarding “male” or “female”, speech. Rosalind dressed as a guy is not acceptable because it violates the accepted gender norm of males playing female characters. Rosalind tells the audience that she is capable of giving the epilogue like any other man. After all, they have already seen her dressed as a guy. Rosalind in a man’s disguise suggests that genders are easily changed. Rosalind could then give a speech more like a typical male.

Rosalind’s epilogue confirms that the performative nature of gender is beguiling and even magical. “To beg won’t become me” she declares. My way to you is conjure (V. iv. 2785). Rosalind’s many transformations have made her a “conjurer”, and not a begging woman. The male actor fooled the audience by assuming a female disguise. This female character then convinced Orlando of her male identity through a further disguise. Rosalind is familiar with conjuring, and she has seen its effectiveness in the context. She does not need to argue or beg rhetorically to get the desired result. Instead, she can act as either a man or woman. Rosalind is very clear in her strategy. She says, “I will conjure,” suggesting that her disguise and acting are almost magical techniques. Her reason for not asking is also a dramatic one: she states that “I do not look like a begging beggar. Therefore, I will not beg” (V.iv. 2784-5). This sentence reveals the causal link between “furnished as” and playing a role. Rosalind is not a beggar and “therefore” cannot play that role. Rosalind’s choice of reasons to prefer conjuring instead of begging is that she feels “furnished” and disguised. It is clear that Rosalind believes the causal relationship between role-playing, disguise and her present position. She is not used to just begging and suggests that it would “not be [her]”. So she avoids this role.

Rosalind’s character, when she states, “If it were me, I would kiss all of you …”, (V. 2791-2). Rosalind’s character is a female but she uses “if” to suggest that her gender may or may not be female. This conditional expression could be used to refer either to the male Ganymede actor or Rosalind herself. Rosalind may still be in her male Ganymede disguise even though some critics say she hasn’t changed. Rosalind says in her first sentence that “it’s not fashionable to have a “lady give the Epilogue.” She implies that Rosalind herself is the “lady”. In “if i were a female,” Rosalind implies she doesn’t even identify as a female. Rosalind is clearly referring in her lines to two characters or two sets of conventions. The terms “lady”, “woman”, and “woman’s” may be used to distinguish between a character and her actor.

Although the actor portraying Rosalind is the “lady”, he’s still male underneath the disguise, and can say “if i were a lady” without contradicting themselves. Rosalind’s speech is a meta-theatrical one. It seems that she wants to convey the idea that actors are always playing non-intuitive roles, which are arbitrarily gendered. For an actor to be convincing, they must be able “to conjure” a desired character by dressing in the clothing and using the mannerisms. The abrupt switch to future indicative “will…bideme farewell”, at the end the epilogue (V.iv), is an example. The 2795-6 suggests that a farewell kiss for Rosalind is better than a male kiss. The audience should recognize that the actor is male when they applaud, rather than kissing. Even though the actor plays Rosalind in a disguise of a woman, the audience needs to recognize his male presence off stage.

The actor shows the audience that gender can be interpreted in many ways. Rosalind’s act demonstrates that flexibility. Rosalind suggests that while “it may not be fashionable to show the lady as the epilogue”, this is still appropriate. Rosalind’s actor skills are highlighted when she describes her ability to “conjure” audience members by using convincing disguises. Rosalind then reveals her conditional acting when she states that she will only kiss a man “if she were a girl.” The characters are finally aware of how they are being portrayed, even though the play is based on the gender disguises. Rosalind plays Ganymede and the male actor plays Rosalind. Rosalind will not kiss the male actor because she does neither look like Rosalind nor do they have a female body. It would be more appropriate for her to say “him” goodbye. The play ends by revealing that the actor under all the disguises was male. This was a fitting gesture, since the actor would soon be getting rid of his stage clothes.

michaellang

Michael Lang is a 33-year-old professor and blogger who is passionate about writing. He has been blogging for over 7 years and has written for various online publications. Michael is also a seasoned professor who has taught at the college level for over a decade. He is currently a professor of English at a community college in the Midwest.