Women In Disguise

Phoebe pursuing Rosalind disguised as Ganymede.

In Act IV scene ii the main character of the play As You Like It, Rosalind (who is disguised as Ganymede), convinces the people she meets that she will find ‘Rosalind’ and that Ganymede will not love a woman. When each character is stating who they love Phoebe states “and I for Ganymede” (IV,ii) but Ganymede/Rosalind says “and I for no woman.” (IV,ii)  For the characters in the play this is a comedic situation because they are not sure if Ganymede is gay or if he is just not interested in Phoebe. Though Rosalind is trying to keep her disguise a male she is throwing herself of by admitting that she/he doesn’t love women. In both Twelfth Night and As You Like It, there is an important pattern of mistaken identity. Mistaken identity is comedic because it causes a large amount of confusion among the characters and sometime among the audience.

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