Rosalind and Celia

They flee together from the court of Celia's father, Duke Frederick. They pool their funds and set up a home together in the forest. To avoid being recognised, Rosalind dresses as a man and calls herself Ganymede. Celia disguises herself as a shepherdess called Aliena.

Rosalind’s cross-dressing is, like many other plays from the same period, used to create a scenario where both female and male same-sex desire can be expressed. Celia eventually marries a man but her strong and sometimes erotic desire for Rosalind remains a consistent theme throughout the play. Both the female, Phoebe, and the male character Orlando, fall in love with Rosalind and court her whilst she is disguised as a man. Shakespeare’s play therefore suggests that sexual desire is not fixed on one particular gender.