AYL Final Four (Tyler Damerall)
Helen Mirren as our lovely Rosalind/Ganymede
The two final pairings that are
arranged by Rosalind, being Orlando with herself, and Silvius with Phoebe, are
conventional in terms that a comedy is usually concluded with a wedding and
that the characters who truly are in love are the ones paired despite any
obfuscation during the rest of the play.
The act of pairing is unconventional as it is done by Rosalind, a
woman. As we have seen in other plays by
Shakespeare, the authority of matchmaking was traditionally reserved for men. Nonetheless, it follows Rosalind’s
unconventional personality. She has been
shown to act assertively and, though she initially dresses up as a man to bear only
semblance of power, her actions while disguised as Ganymede for the greater
part of the play prove her real potential.
While still disguised in Act V, scene ii, Rosalind plans that Orlando
shall marry Rosalind; and Phoebe shall marry Silvius if he cannot
Ganymede. The first pairing is rather
obvious as a plot device. The second, however, is a clever sleight of hand over
which she has total control, since once she assumes again her proper identity,
then Ganymede will be impossible to marry. The marriage is carried out in Act V, scene iv
and so the pairs of lovers are rightfully married and the divine order is “atone,”
to borrow a word from the god of marriage, who shows up to suggest the union of
Orlando and Rosalind is divine will. Thus,
at the end of the play, there is love and mirth, and all is set right not just in
the world, but also the heavens.
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