Tuesday, November 20, 2007

"Ha! Belvile! I beg your pardon sir": Ineffectual Disguise in The Rover

As Sarah pointed out in her post, many characters in The Rover are disguised at some point in the play. Two of these disguises, Hellena as the boy and Belvile as Antonio, don't really work out too well. Willmore's exuberance causes Belvile to drop his vizard so that Antonio recognizes him. This failed disguise is due primarily to the incompetence of Willmore. Yet when Willmore sees through Hellena's disguise, the situation is more interesting. By "gazing" on Hellena, Willmore is actually able to see through her disguise. This is such a surprising moment considering all of the disguises in previous plays that last until a staged revelation scene at the end of the action. Is Behn commenting on the fact that the Restoration stage uses female actors, especially the fact that since female characters are actually women, they can no longer disguise themselves very well as men? What is the role of failed disguise in the play, especially when thinking about the larger theme of disguise?

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