A Night With Shakespeare

Memorial to Shakespeare at Southwark Cathedral

I must say that attending a production of As You Like It at the Globe Theater was by far one of my favorite things that we've done so far. Reading one of Shakespeare's plays is one thing, but I think that actually being able to see it performed live adds a whole other layer to it. 

What I found really interesting about seeing the play live was really getting to fully understand the whole masculine vs. feminine tension that runs throughout the whole of the play. By seeing it live, you get a kind of understanding of what Shakespeare's audience must have felt like while viewing this play. For instance, Rosalinde would have certainly been played by a boy back in Shakespeare's time, so seeing a boy playing a girl disguised as a boy would certainly have been something very unusual for Shakespeare's audience. 

I also found it interesting how much Rosalinde's personality changes when she takes on the persona of Gannymede. When we first meet her as a woman, she's a scared and slightly weak young woman who's afraid for her life and has no idea where she's to go after she's banished by her uncle. In reality, it's her more feminine and delicate cousin Celia who comes up with their master plan to leave in disguise. 

But after Rosalinde's disguised as Gannymede, she changes into the worst kind of man imaginable. She turns into a harsh and misogynistic character who looks down on women and bullies them. This can be seen in her treatment of both Celia and Phoebe. It's almost like donning a man's clothes gives her a feeling of having more power and freedom to do as she pleases. 

But after she takes off Gannymede's disguise, she turns back into the stereotypical woman of the time. She gives up all her freedom to her father and her husband, pledging herself in obligation to them. 

What bothers me about this play is it seems to be sending the message that as a woman you can only have power while "wearing mens' clothing". But I also think it's important to remember that we're looking at this play through a modern lens, and that that paradigm makes no sense to us now, but to Shakespeare's audience it would have made perfect sense. In Shakespeare's time it was the man who was in charge, and it was the woman's duty to do as he commanded.