It's Complicated

Phebe: "Dead shepherd, now I find thy saw of might
             Who ever loved that not at first sight?" (III.v.53)

Today in class the theme that we explored was that love is complicated and it messes with people's minds. Throughout As You Like It this theme was scene in all the relationships that ending up forming rather quickly. Phebe fell in love with Ganymede/Rosalind upon first meeting 'him,' and though Phebe tries to convince herself that she doesn't love Ganymede, it is evident that she is in love with him by her above words and also when she states, "For no ill will I bear you" (III.v.52).  Phebe isn't the only character that fell in love at first sight though. Orlando and Rosalind also love each other upon their first encounter. When Rosalind gives Orlando a chain from her neck, the two are even more drawn to one another. Oliver and Celia are another pair that quickly fall in love. Their relationship or interest in one another was never mentioned before Act V but suddenly in scene II, Oliver says "I love Aliena" (V.ii.69). Many of the relationships in As You Like It are rather sudden and seem to be more based off of infatuation feelings rather than true love. Another example of how love is complicated is when Touchstone wants to marry Audrey, yet he talks about how he plans to separate with her after the marriage. Touchstone wants Sir Oliver Martext to marry Audrey and he "for he is not likely to marry well; and not being well married, it will be a good excuse hereafter to leave [his] wife" (III.iii.48). The only reason Touchstone wants to marry Audrey is for selfish reasons...and because he desires her "sluttishness" (III.iii.47). The only person that seems to be genuinely in love with anyone is Silvius and his love for Phebe: "So holy and so perfect is my love" (III.v.53).  He seems to actually love Phebe, but Phebe is too preoccupied with her sudden interest in Ganymede, which is a woman...Overall, the concept of love in this play is unrealistic. The marriages all occur rather suddenly and the couples don't seem to know the meaning of true love.