n these lines we see how Orlando saves his brother from a snake and a lioness. This is basically what leads to their reconciliation. On the surface this seems fairly simple, but by using a pre-oedipal reading on this passage I'll make it a bit more complex. I will try to show that this passage depicts Oliver's liberation from his mother. I will also point out how Oliver is unable to achieve this liberation himself, and how he needs to be helped by his brother Orlando.
Already in line 106 we get a glimpse of Oliver's problem: "A wretched ragged man, o'ergrown with hair," He is unknown and unrecognisable, even to his own brother. You can see that he is an adult person by his hair (beard), but he has not got an identity as a man. Oliver suffers from the same problem as Orlando had before he met Duke Senior, in the respect that he does not have a father-figure to identify with. Rowland de Boys, who was his biological father, is dead. His only substitute, Duke Frederick,......
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Approximate Word Count: 598
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |