From the perspective of our world today, Shakespeare's era seems about as conservative as one can imagine. Shakespeare completely demolishes this notion, with his progressive suggestions of a normality in homosexuality and transgenderism in his play As You Like It. She first introduces these different sexualities by describing a homosexual love between Celia and Rosalind, followed by Orlando and Ganymede, Rosalind's male disguise. In doing so, Shakespeare also raises the question of Rosalind as an independent character, or whether she is truly independent. More important, however, is the epilogue. Just as Shakespeare forces the audience and characters into a realm of heteronormativity, Rosalind's denouement reminds us of the homosexuality we had previously accepted, before it was overshadowed by the relationships society had deemed correct. Rosalind's epilogue leads us to ask whether the patriarchal and heteronormative society that Shakespeare presents at the end of the play is the ideal one, or whether, rather, a society in which all sexualities and genders are accepted is the ideal: we are left the desire for a transgender society. Rosalind and homosexual relationships presented above. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay This conflict of genders and sexualities referred to in the epilogue is called into question in Celia's and Orlando's loves for Rosalind and Ganymede respectively. Celia is suggested, in the first act, to have almost lesbian feelings towards Rosalind. Not only does she declare to Rosalind that "you and I are one," but when Rosalind asks Celia her thoughts on love, Celia says she "loves no man in earnest" (1.3.97, 1.2.26). This last statement raises the question of whether or not Celia intends to only love women "in earnest", whether she will not love men in this way, explaining her seemingly romantic love for Rosalind. Through our previous love for Rosalind and Celia, and their close bond, Shakespeare makes us passionate about the idea of ​​a lesbian relationship between them, or at least homosexual feelings on Celia's part. This then leads us to a better acceptance of homosexuality for the entire work. Likewise, Rosalind's epilogue recalls the acceptance of homosexual love. This is evidenced in the male actor (playing Rosalind) saying that if he were a woman, he would “kiss as many of you as have beards that he likes,” suggesting an acceptance of transgender or homosexual feelings on Shakespeare's part. , through the actor (Epilogue, line 17). The actor's homoerotic feelings, parallel to Rosalind's, are there intentionally: they reinforce the idea of ​​normality in homosexuality and transgenderism. In turn, the epilogue leaves us dissatisfied with the rather heteronormative ending, in which Shakespeare provides the ending that society wants, not what is best for the characters, or even what society should openly accept. Shakespeare, rather, touches on the fact that the character must hide her homosexual feelings - here, Celia hides her lesbian feelings towards Rosalind - just as homosexual tendencies were forced to be hidden from society. While Shakespeare rightly suggests a normality in homoerotic and transgender feelings, he seems to only allow these feelings to be openly displayed through men, in this case the actor in Orlando and Rosalind. Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting, once again, not only the disparity in power between heterosexual and homosexual sexualities, but also between men and women. Parallel to Rosalind's submission to men in the epilogue, women in this play are notopenly allowed to share their homoerotic and transgender feelings like their male counterparts. In this sense, Shakespeare reiterates homosexuality in Orlando's romantic interest in Ganymede. Although he is initially enchanted by Rosalind, his love for “Rosalind” transcends his later love for Ganymede. Perhaps the most revealing example in the play is the scene in which Rosalind and Celia openly discuss Orlando's kiss. Rosalind, crying with Celia, says that Orlando's "kisses are the sons of Judah" and that "his kisses are full of holiness like the touch of holy bread" (3.4.9-14). Since Orlando and Rosalind were not shown kissing at court, it can rightly be assumed that Orlando and Ganymede had just kissed. This implies a side of Orlando not clearly known to us before, one in which Orlando harbors homosexual feelings and, furthermore, is allowed to act accordingly. This leaves us with the question of why, unlike Celia, he was given more freedom to act on his homosexual feelings. Also questioned is why Shakespeare only allows the male actor to allude to homosexual feelings, rather than having Rosalind say that he would kiss every woman in the audience. Instead she is almost forced to apologize for her presence, since "it is not fashionable to see the lady as an epilogue" (Epilogue, ll. 1-2). In this regard, Shakespeare seems to criticize women's lack of power, both as a woman and as a woman with homosexual feelings. If you assume it's okay for the audience to be a little disappointed by the ending, then the epilogue is the key part where we really feel both the characters' lack of power in their sexuality, and also the lack of female power. The epilogue leaves us longing for the power Rosalind had as Ganymede and envious of the freedom the men in the play easily and openly enjoy. If the relationships between Rosalind/Celia and Orlando/Ganymede are the cause of our acceptance of different sexualities, then it is the ending and the epilogue that create our concern. Rosalind, throughout the play and epilogue, plays a critical, yet versatile role. Not only is he the crux of non-heteronormativity in the play, but he is also the character through whom others can express their less-than-heterosexual feelings throughout the play. It is Rosalind, however, who is unable to govern herself as she would like. Ultimately, she is forced to take on the heteronormative role that society wants her to take on, once again conveying the lack of power that women, homosexuals, and transgenders have. The epilogue also leaves the character Rosalind embodies open to interpretation. at that time. There is, however, no satisfactory answer to this question: dressed as Rosalind, we would be disappointed by the fact that the character does not have the freedom to identify herself as Ganymede; dressed as Ganymede, she would still be degraded to a status lower than that of men. The epilogue, in allowing the reader to interpret how Rosalind is dressed, serves to show the lack of power that women have, and leaves us wishing that Rosalind had more power, to be fully Ganymede, since Ganymede has granted her such freedoms. Rosalind admits in the epilogue that “It is not fashionable to see woman as epilogue,” humiliating herself to a lower status than men (Epilogue, 1). This attitude of Rosalind contrasts sharply with her Ganymede side, which had "an arrogant and martial appearance," but which is now meek and inferior (1.3.118). Perhaps Shakespeare, in showing this dynamic, wants us to be disappointed, and a little discouraged, by the character we see before us, so different from the Ganymede before. The epilogue describes the lack of power that people other than non-males actually had?.