Shakespearean Contracts and Marriage as Misdirection

Throughout Shakespeare’s work, contracts, whether in the form of a literal written document (such as the picture above) or a spoken promise of sorts (such as Viola/Cessario’s promise to Olivia that she/he will never marry a man), often play a key role in both the surface and underlying functioning of the play. Specifically, it is in Shakespeare’s focus on language and word play, and the deceptions/complications possible through this, that these contracts draw much of their significance/power in his works (the specificity of Shylock’s own contract proving to be his undoing). Yet the contract of marriage remains surprisingly untouched; while individuals (such as Bertram in All’s Well) might be “tricked” into getting married to someone in the first place, the actual marriage often appears to lack duplicity or major incident, the characters simply marrying once the time has come. I wonder, was this simply necessitated by each play’s narrative (the weddings serving often acting in part as a conclusion) or was this more of a reflection of the age Shakespeare inhabited and perhaps his desire to (while still playing with the lines of gender and sexuality) not alienate his potential audience through a total break in the current social norm?

It seems likely, or at least possible, that Shakespeare’s preservation of the “sanctity” of the marriage contract would've been used to simultaneously mask the often more fluid treatment of gender throughout the rest of the work[s]. Consider the conclusion of Twelfth Night. The Duke continues to refer to Viola/Cessario as his “boy,” even after the reveal of Viola’s true nature; this appears to be playing with the notion of the Duke’s sexuality, with a possible interpretation being that the Duke would/does/will love Viola Cessario no matter her/his form. However, it is made clear that before the wedding of Viola and the Duke, Viola will once more dawn her “woman’s weeds.” Thus, the two will be married as man and wife, adhering to the social standard, and in doing so possibly reassuring the piece’s original audience. A similar situation occurs in As You Like It, with the relationship of Orlando and Ganymede/Rosalind toeing the line between homosocial and homoerotic, until the quadruple wedding, at which point Rosalind abandons her disguise and returns to what would be considered the feminine norm in the play/society.  These examples lend credibility to the argument that Shakespeare might have in particular sought to preserve the “sanctity” of the marriage contract to allow for the relatively gray area of each couple’s sexuality to be addressed while still adhering to the social norm.

The Utility of Marriage in As You Like It

Everyone gets married at the end of As You Like It and then they all dance. It’s a common social convention that everyone is supposed to be happy and dance and eat cake and get super drunk at weddings, but does that mean everyone involved is actually happy? Nope. In fact, at the end of this play, I would argue that the majority of the relationships solidified at this mass wedding (horrifying in itself) are pretty undesirable. Really, only one of the pairs seems to be mostly happy and has a good future outlook.

            There are four marriages at the end of As You Like It: Rosalind and Orlando, Celia and Oliver, Phoebe and Silvius, and Audrey and Touchstone. Rosalind and Orlando’s relationship seems to be one based mostly on deception and it would be highly unlikely that after spending so much time with Ganymede that Orlando would just go back to being madly in love with Rosalind. Celia seems to just marry Oliver to be with someone because she obviously doesn’t have a shot with Rosalind, who she’s clearly in love with. Phoebe was tricked into marrying Silvius (happens to the best of us), which leaves Audrey and Touchstone, who are the only two people who seem to be content with their marriages.

            So what does this say about marriage in general, that to be happy in marriage, do we just need to say “yes” and not think? Is marriage even meant to be something we’re happy to be in? We’d maybe like to think that marriage should be a happy venture, and it certainly is for some, but given that the majority of marriages in As You Like It and even today are relatively unhappy and unsuccessful, why do people continue to glamorize it? Taking it a step further, do we tend to feel pressure from society to get married even if it isn’t something we would want? 

Everyone's Getting Married!

At the end of Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It, it seems that everyone and their dog gets married. There is Rosalind and Orlando; Audrey and Touchstone (I have a feeling this relationship wouldn’t last); Celia and Oliver (does Oliver love Aliena or Celia??); Phoebe and Silvius (all I have to say is, poor Silvius). I couldn’t help comparing this marathon wedding to a Good Morning America special I saw on ABC the morning of Valentines Day. Are you ready for this… “25 Couples Get Engaged in Epic Live 'GMA' Proposal.” Yes, 25 couples, a little more than Shakespeare’s four. Granted it’s not entirely comparable because in As You Like It couples are sharing their matrimony ceremony not their engagement.

The gangs all here and engaged! 

We live in a culture that hypes up weddings and engagements. Think of the TLC show “Four Weddings.” A majority of the price tags for those weddings, especially on the east coast are well over $40,000. Or, how about the countless Pinterest posts that are of overpriced, over edited, engagement pictures.

I couldn’t help by wonder as I was drinking my morning coffee watching GMA on that Valentine’s Day morning and watched 25 men get down on one knee, on ice, in ice skates, with Christina Perri blaring in the background, if these women, and men (there were a few same-sex couples, GMA is sooo progressive) cared that they were sharing this exciting moment in their relationship with other couples. Not to mention the cheesiness of the whole ordeal, I’d be so annoyed if I had to share my engagement with 48 other newly engageees and the entire GMA viewership. I can’t even imagine sharing my wedding (Oops, maybe I am guilty of falling into the societal trap that glorifies the marriage process).

Prom 2004 or Act 5 Scene 4 As You Like It?

How do you think those who were asked the “big” question on GMA’s proposal extravaganza feel about their proposal? How do you think the Shakespearian couples feel about sharing their weddings? Was this a normal occurrence for the time? 

I will say that Rosalind and Celia successfully accomplished my best friend’s and my life goal, without the questionable lesbian relationship between the two of us, of marrying brothers… wealthy brothers, so kudos!

The Short End

Helen, like every other woman during Shakespeare’s time, always gets the short end of the stick.  She works hard for what she wants but, time and time again someone of higher rank, typically a man, puts her in her place.  Unlike most of her submissive counterparts, Hellen perseveres to achieve her goals, which for her is a marriage to a Count, thus quenching her love for him and raising her ranking in society.

Throughout the first half of the play, Helen’s intentions are made explicit to the reader.  She’s in love with a man she knows she can’t have because of her commoner social status.  In spite of that, Helen puts forth her best effort to get what she wants, but is met with constant obstacles, many of which are created by the character, Paroles who mocks her for her position as well as for believing she can marry Bertram.  

“Your date is better in your pie and your porridge than in your cheek, and your virginity, your old virginity, is like one of our French withered pears: it looks ill, it eats drily, marry, ‘tis a withered pear—it was formerly better, marry, yet ‘tis a withered pear. (1.1)”  

This quote puts into perspective Helen’s position.  Although her father was a brilliant and well respected doctor and her being the ward of the Countess, she still isn’t completely respected as neither a woman nor a dignified person.  We can see here how much virginity is valued above every other aspect of a woman.  A woman of high ran’s virginity is her most prized possession besides her rank, but a woman commoner’s virginity is something to be lost immediately before it dries up like a “withered pear.”

However not ever man in the court thinks so little of Helen.  The King of France puts faith in Helen to heal him, which implies he respects her greatly, even more than Bertram.  A quote on page 2217 exemplifies this,

“More should I question thee, ad more I must, though more to know could not be more to trust: from whence thou cam’st, how tended on—but rested unquestioned welcome, and undoubted blessed. (2.1)”

Helen is confident in her abilities and is willing to put them to use but at the same time put her life in jeopardy all for what she most desires.  It is unfortunate that Bertram does not love her in return and resents their marriage because of her social standing.  And thus, by the end of Act three, Scene two, Helen feels the stab of rejection after Bertram leaves the kingdom vowing in a letter to never return so long as he remains married to Helen.  Helen makes the ultimate decision to leave because she knows that it is his marriage to a lowly commoner that is keeping him away from his home.  As the scene closes, in spite of Helen’s perseverance, it is her social status and strong will that denies her the man she loves.