Rosalind: Shakespeare's Immortal Heroine
Angela Thirlwell
2017, Pegasus Books
A biography of a fictional character is an intriguing idea. I've often contemplated the difference between fiction and "reality" as we know it, and found the line either blurry or in constant motion. Fictional constructs not only exist IRL, but are much longer-lived. That is, more real than me. Hamlet is some 425 years old; Sherlock Holmes, 135; Batman, 83.
And although one might have a favorite interpretation, there is no definitive version. Characters like these are continuously reimagined. They are, to use Thirlwell's word, immortal. I would also argue that their fictional actions have real world consequences. Life and agency: sounds real to me.
And so Thirlwell has given us a biography of the character at the heart of As You Like It. She examines proto-Rosalinds in other works and Rosalind's "sisters" in the Shakespeare corpus: Julia, Portia and two Rosalines (Romeo & Juliet and Love's Labors Lost). She chronicles Rosalind's descendants on stage, screen, and literature.
But the central thesis concerns gender roles in As You Like It. What makes Rosalind unique? What makes Orlando a suitable partner for her? What do we make of Rosalind's relationship with Celia? How is the Orlando/Ganymede romance reflected in the other pairings in the play or in Jaques' famous 7 ages speech?
As someone who identified as a cross-dresser for decades, I am particularly drawn to AYLI. For starters, when Rosalind is presenting as Ganymede, she's hot. Portia as Balthazar isn't. And Rosalind's sizzle comes from the fact that Ganymede isn't a fiction to her. He's real; she is he.
The scene that I always watch most carefully is III.iii and I looked forward to Thirlwell's dissection of it. Rosalind, as with all female roles in Shakespeare's time, was performed by a boy actor. Rosalind (i.e., a boy presenting realistically as a woman) conceives of the idea of donning boy drag when she is exiled by her uncle. In Arden forest, calling herself Ganymede, she encounters Orlando; the two had experienced love at first sight before the exile. Because Orlando is pining for his lost love, Ganymede offers to playact as Rosalind so Orlando can practice wooing her/him/her/him. What's real and what's fiction now?
Thirlwell gave me a much deeper understanding of the epilogue of AYLI. Rosalind is the only female character Shakespeare allows to deliver this speech. She breaks the fourth wall, flirts with both the men and the women in the audience, and attempts to put a multifaceted jewel of a play into context. Her epilogue is 1st person singular (unlike Puck's 1st plural). It seems a moment when all pretenses are dropped, and the actor/actress is themself. "Play's over; go home." But of course it's not that simple.
This book is written with such affection for the characters and the play, and with impeccable scholarship. Make yourself a suitable beverage, sit down in whatever gender you choose to present in, and read this book!
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