"Love is merely a madness; and, I tell you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip as madmen do."
As You Like It, III.ii.pg 45
What is Rosalind's motive when she poses as Ganymede? She doesn't trust him, and wants to find out if his love is sincere. From the above quote, we can infer that Rosalind has not had the best experiences with love. So, this is Rosalind's defense mechanism. It makes perfect sense, for she has just met Orlando. However, Orlando already says,
"fair youth, I would I could make thee believe I love"
III.ii.pg 45
he says he already loves her, but she wants him to prove it. This is completely understandable, as Rosalind doesn't want to be hurt by a boy's fickle mind. By posing as Ganymede, Rosalind is able to test Orlando, to see if he speaks as well of her when she is not around as when she is. She also seems to test his character and reliability during this time. In the end, it all appears to work out for her.
No comments:
Post a Comment