The Place of a Cousin in As You Like It
By Julie Crawford.
Crawford’s article is an in-depth examination of female homosociality and eroticism in As You Like It, particularly the relationship between Rosalind and Celia. Crawford provides historical context for the relationships between cousins in early modern England, reads Celia and Rosalind’s relationship in dialogue with the Biblical story of Ruth and Naomi, and argues that due to their cousinhood, the love between Celia and Rosalind is not fully subsumed by heterosexual relationships, but is normalized and allowed to exist through the play’s conclusion.