Although some Shakespearean plays carve out a more passive, male-defined role for women, as exemplified by Ophelia's obedience to Polonius in Hamlet, the plays As You Like It and Twelfth Night explore women's potential for unexpected honesty, especially within the dynamics of courtship. In As You Like It, the female character Rosalind, who is disguised as a male named Ganymede, is defined by her interactions with Phoebe and Orlando. As a result of contact with each of these characters, Rosalind articulates a series of truths about the other character's personality or social conception of appropriate behavior for their gender. The character of Countess Olivia in Twelfth Night, however, expresses her personal attitude towards others less with the aim of exploring the tendencies of human nature than with the hope of gaining the favor of those to whom she is attracted. In both works cited above, female courtship seems to be primarily centered on the desire to express a certain truth, both about themselves and the other characters with whom they interact. The motivation to express this internal thought, however, tends to be dictated by behavioral expectations related to one's gender. In Rosalind's case, honest speech is produced as a result of the newfound social freedom associated with adopting a masculine physical appearance. In Olivia's purely feminine aspect, however, the courtship appears to be driven by a more emotional concern for her romantic future rather than an attempt to better those with whom her security is not inextricably linked. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This social freedom through the realm of courtship is first illustrated through Rosalind's interaction with the shepherdess Phoebe, who is against the advances of a shepherd named Silvio. After the audience experiences the painful and seemingly repeated rejection of Silvio by the shepherdess, Rosalinda exhorts: ...mistress, know thyself; on my knees / And thank heaven, fasting, for the love of a good man; / Because I have to tell you with friendly ears, / Sell when you can. You are not for all markets. (As You Like It 3.5.110-113) Although Rosalind claims to use a "friendly ear" to make the shepherdess aware of negative traits that make her unattractive to any other man, it is quite obvious that these comments are instead of an extremely hard. Although Rosalind is primarily motivated to cross-dress as a male because of the physical safety from danger provided by gender, she is also unknowingly presented with social security. He now possesses the ability to comment on the lack of social success of others not only without producing animosity but also ironically arousing loving feelings. This concept is exemplified in Phoebe's later statement that, even though the qualities of her personality have been constantly abused by Rosalind, "...the contempt in your bright eyes / Has the power to stir such love in mine, / Alas , what a strange effect in me / Would they work with a mild appearance?” (As You Like It 4.3.50-54). Ultimately, although Rosalind does not intend to invite an intimate relationship with the shepherdess, she represents a form of truth not bestowed upon her by Silvio that she finds attractive. While Silvius usually showers her with countless compliments, Rosalind increases Phoebe's awareness of her own ugly personality. Therefore, the honesty produced by this male character is simply acceptedbecause Rosalind presents a different variety of courtship that the shepherdess finds more attractive. If Rosalind did not embody a male figure, Phoebe would not be attracted to her criticism and therefore would not react positively towards her. This freedom associated with her gender ultimately allows her to express disapproval of In contrast to these conversations with Phoebe which are primarily concerned with a specific critique of her overly selective romantic standards, Rosalind's subsequent interactions with Orlando exemplify a different kind of social analysis: that of general gender characteristics. Although Rosalind's love for Orlando, as well as his overwhelming attraction to her, are made clear after the decisive defeat of the wrestler Charles in the first act, Rosalind displays an entirely different feeling after embodying the persona of Ganymede. When Orlando states that he cannot be cured of his love attachment, Rosalind states that she had previously pretended to be the woman that another man strongly desired and that he should imagine her to be his love, his lover; and she sent him every day to woo her. Then she... now he would have liked it, now she would have hated it; then entertain him, then disown him; now cry for him, then spit on him, so as to drag her suitor from his mad humor of love to a living humor of madness..." (As You Like It 3.2.364-374) It is within this passage that Rosalind first uses her disguise to comment on accepted gender roles through her contemplation of the unpredictable nature of women. It is evident that Rosalind believes she has significant insight into certain aspects of gender that can make or break a relationship. This opinion, when coupled with her aforementioned personal criticism of Phoebe's personality, shows that this character's sense of successful courtship is strongly rooted in what these gender roles deem appropriate if a woman is unreasonable in her actions, as shown in the quote above, a male's romantic emotions can rarely tolerate tension This interaction between Rosalind and Orlando, therefore, is based on the same premises as his criticism of Phoebe in that, although Phoebe is examined on a more personal level, both of them. situations maintain the same truth about love relationships in relation to cultural constraints. It is only through the freedom that ostensibly male-to-male communication produces that these opinions about women, particularly those concerning the behavior of Orlando's beloved, can be expressed without offense. This decision to help Orlando shed his love for Rosalind further develops a meaningful relationship that ultimately provides the opportunity for even more direct criticism to be well received. Rosalind later extends her assessment of the social premises of courtship to the general tendencies of men. as he states that “…men are April when they court, December when they marry. May when they are handmaids, but the sky changes when they are wives” (As You Like It 4.1.124-127). Comparable to Rosalind's honest expression of the stereotypical nature of women, she once again freely criticizes Orlando, but this time focuses on a woman's interactions with the opposite sex. Through this quote, Rosalind seems to question the long-term validity of Orlando's romantic attachment and states that despite the fact that he now claims to be devoted to the satisfaction of his love, his subsequent actions will prove identical to those of others men. He also continues this generalization of his character as he later states, “I knew what you would prove; my friends have it for mesaid and I thought no less. That flattering tongue of yours has won me over” (As You Like It 4.1.156-158). Rosalind's mention of Orlando's “flattering tongue” once again refers to the idea of ​​false courtship that ultimately ends after the woman is contractually obtained. This critique of negative male characteristics, as well as the previously mentioned female ones, is made possible by the closer relationship Rosalind forms with Orlando due to her altered physical appearance. The male disguise created by Rosalind leads to the development of friendship between the characters. This in turn allows him criticisms of Orlando's nature as well as those of his beloved to be interpreted as a playful joke rather than a petty reproach. While many of Rosalind's judgments maintain a certain level of clarity, they would not be frowned upon unless she is able to create, in Orlando's case, the friendship that serves to validate these claims. In her interactions with both Phoebe and Orlando, Rosalind provides a refreshing escape from the characters they usually interact with, and as they are provided with what they perceive as a much-needed companion, they accept Rosalind's outspoken nature. The freedom of expression embodied by Rosalind is primarily motivated by her need to comment on the social flaws of others, Olivia is more directed at getting what she wants. When confronted with yet another female character dressed as a male, Viola, she attempts to seize the opportunity for personal support that seems to be offered to her. After a conversation with Viola in which he asks what her social stature is, he reflects on Viola's response and the nature of her sudden change in emotion: "Who are your parents?" / 'Above my fortunes, yet my state is good. / I am a gentleman." I will swear that you are. / Your tongue, your face, your limbs, your actions and your spirit / Give you quintuple blazon. Not too fast. Slowly, slowly / Unless the master were not the man. And now? / Even so quickly can one catch the plague? / I seem to feel the perfections of this young man / With an invisible and subtle stealth / To creep into my eyes. (Twelfth Night 1.5.259-268) It seems that Viola's revelation of her status consolidates the positive regard that Olivia has developed and that, although she is amazed at the sudden effect that their brief conversations have produced, this technicality of Social privilege more clearly defines the possibility of a successful relationship. Although Olivia is, at this point, capable of being internally honest about her emotions, it is only later in the play that she is able to explicitly express her desires to Viola. in an attempt to forcibly create a mutual loving attachment. She confesses that for virginity, honor, truth and everything / I love you so much that, despite all your pride, / neither ingenuity nor reason can hide my passion... / The love sought is good, but given without search is better... / Yet come again, for perhaps you might move / that heart which now abhors, to appreciate this love. (Twelfth Night 3.1.141-155) This evolution from an internal expression of truth to one explicitly directed at another character exemplifies the fact that Olivia uses honesty when she deems it necessary to gain some sort of emotional security, even if the second part is not available. It is evident from Olivia's final words to Viola that Olivia is of the opinion that, if Viola would only spend more time with her, the powerful attraction Olivia feels would eventually become mutual. Ultimately, it seems like Olivia believes her decision to allow herself to be enough.