lawrence-cook
This list is for an assignment to show off the resonances of the character Ganymede in Shakespeare's "As You Like It"
Ganymede is seen as a hero in Greek mythology. Ganymede was a young boy with incredible features, and Zeus had fallen in love with this beautiful young man. Zeus abducted him to Olympus where he served as the wine or cupbearer of Zeus.
The character of Rosalind in the play disguises herself as the character of Ganymede. Basically, she is dressed as a man but still acts very feminine as the character of a Ganymede would. Rosalind is doing this to try and be in charge of her own life, and while doing so she is using it as a way to get closer to Orlando.
*The picture is from when the play was performed at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
The act of dressing as the opposite gender is known more modernly as cross-dressing, and while it is usually more out of personal tastes, it has actually had some historical uses. As in women during the Civil War would dress as men to fight in the battles and be on the battlefield.
Being Ganymede allows Rosalind to maneuver and change her life to how she wants it to some degree. In this time period, women often didn't have the choice to follow out their own interests, and her disguise as Ganymede allows her to distance herself. It also allows her to get closer to Orlando as a romantic interest without him knowing, and acting as a "love tutor" it gives her the role to turn Orlando into the best love interest.
Joanna Horton (Celia), Pippa Nixon (Rosalind) and Alex Waldmann (Orlando) in Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's As You Like It, directed by Maria Aberg. See more...
this gives an insight into the Ganymede character as it is being performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
A small part from the film As You Like It 2006. This is a part from the As you Like it 2006 movie. It's a bit more elaborate and out there, whereas the previous one is a bit more reserved and dialed in to get that human relationship more developed.
Reading into the character a bit more and looking at some research, the character of Ganymede breaks against the social norms of the time when this play was written. She plays in both the female and male roles that allow her to become a strong character. One of such things that people focus on when researching the character is how she the one in control of the relationship; Orland and Rosalind that is. She tunes him into a more passionate and respecting lover that focusing on putting the woman before himself.
The following is a link that goes more into the character of Ganymede and how she is as a character in the pages of William Shakespeare's "As you Like it"
A weird comparison here, but let me explain. Will Smith plays a character called Hitch that helps men improve themselves so they can get dates and find the loves of their life. He is a love tutor in a way, just like Rosalind as Ganymede is pretending to be for Orlando. As Rosalind says in Act 3, "I would cure you if you would but call me Rosalind and come every day to my cote and woo me" She is telling Orlando to woo him as if he was her, which she is. It is a weird comparison, but one that I had fun in making.
