Sunday, November 2, 2014

Does Rosalind overshadow Celia in "As You Like It?" How?

Rosalind definitely overshadows Celia throughout the play.
Rosalind is a major character, while Celia is only a minor character who exists partly
to provide opportunities for dialogue which informs the audience of important plot
developments, such as the fact that Rosalind is in love with Orlando and that Rosalind
intends to join her banished father in the Forest of Arden. Celia's father recognizes
that Rosalind overshadows his daughter. He tells her: "She is too subtle for thee; and
her smoothness, / Her very silence and her patience, / Speak to the people, and they
pity her. / Thou art a fool. She robs thee of thy name, / And thou wilt show more bright
and seem more virtuous / When she is gone." It is because Rosalind is the stronger
character that she chooses to disguise herself as a man when the two young women travel
together. Rosalind makes all the decisions and acts as protector of Celia. Both
characters, of course, were played by young males. No doubt the one who played
Rosalind/Ganymede was older and taller than the boy who played
Celia.

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