ABSTRACT
Rosalind paradoxically reconciles the opposites of male and female by combining them-emotionally and physically-in the plot, language, and disguises of ^4YL. Rosalind’s union of the sexes creates the harmony of marriage which is a concordia discors of realism and idealism. Rosalind thus symbolizes the "natural harmony of opposed forces that constitutes man’s ‘possible perfection’" (49). She and Orlando "often switch traditional sexual characteristics" (41); Rosalind speaks from the head while Orlando does from the heart. It is only when feminine pity overcomes Orlando’s "‘masculine’ anger at his brother" that he can fight the lioness (48). Serving a complex function by joining male and female, Rosalind symbolizes the union of Mars and Venus, the "Renaissance prototype of all combinations" of man and woman (47). She is the "protecting male figure" and the "aggressive lover" as well as a chaste woman with a faint heart with Orlando. Yet while Rosalind displays outside a "man’s readiness to fight," she has a woman’s fears inside. In "both
instances, the inner ‘reality’ ... [is] ... less real than the disguising outside” (48). Rosalind’s wit and puns, which also "bring together contrary meanings” (49), are a sign of an active masculinity, another concordia discors. As both shepherd and courtier, Rosalind’s estate further "comprises both extremes of the play" (51).
