Identity Changes in "As You Like It"

As we have discussed in class, "As You Like It" has a multitude of characters who undergo identity changes. To review, Rosalind is disguised as Ganymede throughout the majority of the play, so she undergoes an identity change in the sense that she changes genders by means of dressing and acting like a man. This sort of behavior, as noted in act 2, scene 4, includes not crying, for it would "disgrace [her] man's apparel... to cry like a woman" (4-5). Similarly, Celia takes on the disguise as the shepherdess Aliena and, like Rosalind, by assuming this disguise, she falls in social rank. However, Rosalind's identity change questions society's gender roles, and I am not sure if I would consider Celia's disguise to be as impacting. At the very end of the play, Duke Frederick lets go of his desire of worldly possessions and concerns and joins a monastery. This identity change is quite the contrast when compared to the Duke's violent temper and hunger for power.

However, one of the most pivotal scenes in the play, and arguably one of the biggest identity changes, takes place in act 4, scene 3, when Oliver converts to loving his brother. This turning point in the brothers' relationship essentially collapses who Oliver was; the "new" Oliver is removed from the Oliver who wanted to kill his brother and deny him of an education. This collapse in identity ultimately leads to Oliver marrying Celia, even though, as far as he is concerned, she is only a shepherdess.