Women in Shakespeare: Rosalind in Leadership

Shakespeare’s female characters have attracted much attention in the modern era, as his portrayal of women gives us an insight into the political climate during which he wrote. In understanding his female characters, we are forced to see the similarities and differences between his era and ours––measuring the progress of women’s rights throughout history.

Rosalind from As You Like It is considered one of Shakesepeare’s most famous and flattering portrayal of women. When banished, Rosalind seeks refuge in the Forest of Arden, where she meets her love, Orlando. However, to stay safe in the forest, Rosalind has disguised herself as a man! Because she cannot show her love for Orlando, she instead decides to befriend him and talk to him of his love for Rosalind. At the end of the play, Rosalind reveals her femininity and marries Orlando in a group wedding.

The beginning of the play reveals Rosalind to be clever and witty. She sets up Touchstone, the court jester, for the punch lines of his jokes, and makes a few of her own. When Duke Frederick tries to banish her for no just reason, she refutes him in saying “Yet your mistrust cannot make me a traitor.” (I.3) She recognizes the injustice of his banishment, and questions his authority––perhaps an early sign of women threatening the patriarchal system.

When Rosalind and Celia plan their escape, Rosalind decides to “suit [her] all points like a man” (I.3) so that the two will be safe in the forest. She encourages herself and Celia to hide their “woman’s fear” (I.3) in order to convince others they may meet that they feel safe and at home in the forest. This decision can be interpreted in two ways: either Rosalind recognizes that two women seem more vulnerable than a man and a woman; or she wants to be courageous, and feels that the only way to adopt that stereotypically masculine quality is to adopt masculine attire. The first is a sad reality that continues today––in many places (if not everywhere), two women are much more vulnerable than a woman with a man. Even in the midst of the global feminism movement, mothers tell their daughters to be extra careful at night and to always walk with a buddy, particularly a man. The view of courage as a male quality is a product of history, much apparent in Shakespeare’s era but pervading today. Thankfully, as feminism gains more popularity, society is leaning increasingly away from this stereotype.

Rosalind’s cross-dressing has also garnered focus in the modern era. Shakespeare wrote multiple cross-dressing female characters: Rosalind, Viola, and Portia. Cross-dressing itself is no longer labeled as such, because society is transitioning to remove gender labels from specific pieces of clothing. For example, both women and men can wear pants and blazers. In Shakespeare’s era, it was quite a bold move for a woman to dress as a man––and it gave her more authority than she would have experienced as a woman. Here we see the familiar stereotypes of men as authoritative and natural leaders. But Shakespeare encourages us to see that authority and credibility in leadership are simply external elements, masks we employ to project a certain view of ourselves to the world. In this way, Shakespeare’s statement on gender in leadership was quite a radical one.

In isolating Rosalind from typical elements of femininity, such as clothes and family relationships, and in placing her in the context of adventure and leadership, Shakespeare encourages us to expand our view of a successful leader, evaluating based on the character of a person rather than gender. Rosalind is a wonderful leader who sees what she wants and takes charge of finding it, while Duke Frederick is terribly corrupt and paranoid. Shakespeare’s juxtaposition of Rosalind’s femininity with stereotypically male elements of the human experiences forced his audience to realize that there is no such thing as a natural-born leader or follower.

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