'The root of my desire was virtue dressed in constant louse attire.' (Arcadia, III)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get an original essayDress and appearance are at the heart of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia of the Countess of Pembroke (or simply Arcadia) , the plot hinges on ideas of costume, changing identity and deception; this is not surprising considering Sidney's role in the humanist tradition of the Renaissance, in which writers revived ideas from classical antiquity. Greek literature and mythology relied heavily on ideas about disguise and costume, with the title of Ovid's Metamorphoses translating, for example, to "books of transformations." “Transformations” here seems a particularly relevant term for Arcadia, in which a change of costume or clothing amounts to a transformation of identity rather than a simple adoption of an identity; Dress and appearance are therefore important in the sense that they are the main deciding factor in how each character is approached and treated by the others. In Book I, the two princes adopt different identities as a means of wooing Pamela and Philoclea, bypassing the Duke. refusal to allow nobles near his daughters. Musidorus remains a man but puts on the clothes of a shepherd and becomes "Dorus", while Pyrocles puts on "female clothes" and becomes "Cleophile". Sidney describes at length the different parts of Pyrocles' costume, and states once he has finished dressing: "and thus Pyrocles became Cleophile." This statement is boldly declarative and uses “becoming” rather than an alternative such as “took the appearance of,” thus emphasizing the connection between appearance and identity. In this case, Pyrocles donning the clothes of a woman makes him a woman, and this meaning is continued by Sidney throughout the use of the feminine pronouns "she" and "she" for the duration of Pyrocles' disguise . Winfried Schleiner notes in his essay on cross-dressing in Renaissance romance that "cross-dressing [...] highlights, perhaps in all literary periods, the differences between men and women and cultural gender stereotypes", and that this is most evident “when such garments are worn.” and when they will be removed. Indeed, Pyrocles' dressing in "feminine clothing" is significant in the attitudes he projects toward female identity. Once Pyrocles "became" Cleophile, Musidorus "could not content himself with looking at him, so he found his excellent beauty enhanced by this new change, like a diamond set with a more advantageous species." Sidney's "diamond" simile suggests that although Pyrocles possessed good qualities as a man, his beauty is only fully realized in the adoption of a feminine identity. However, what is even more telling is that Musidorus is incapable of "just looking at [Pyrocles/Cleophile.]". “Satisfy” has an overtly sexual connotation and, associated with “watch,” objectifies Cléophile. Pyrocles adorned himself with finery to become a woman, with “velvet buskins,” “with a very rich jewel,” and in doing so became a sort of decoration; Musidorus instantly targets Cleophile where he would not have Pyrocles. The importance of costume here therefore lies not only in its ability to completely alter identity, but also in the fact that it reveals cultural attitudes towards gender. Additionally, Pamela and Philoclea's appearances and clothing are thefrontal features attributed to them by Sidney, with very little revealed about them. More importantly, Pyrocles and Musidorus fall in love with the simple images of the two women before they have actually met or encountered them: "she [Philoclea] drew as well as it was possible for art to counterfeit so perfect a work of nature" . Even after the princes meet the women, Philoclea is described as the "beloved image" of Pyrocles, an "image" contributing to the impression that Philoclea is decorative and to be appreciated visually, rather than existing in its own right. . Throughout Arcadia, these two women are praised primarily for their physical appearance, perhaps not telling us about the importance of that in the story, but once again showing us a reflection of the importance and emphasis placed on the appearance of women in Sidney's time. in which women's appearance was considered the most important part of their identity. Although costume and disguise may seem intrinsic to identity, the relationship between appearance and attraction is slightly different. There are signs of attraction between Phioclea and Cleophila when they first meet, although Philoclea is under the impression that she is a woman, where her cheeks blush and she is said to have "already [...] conceived a pleasure in the presence of Cléophile. Because the reader is aware of Cleophilus's intention to woo Philoclea, the word "already" used here allows us to assume that this moment in the book marks the beginning of Philoclea's attraction to Cleophilus/Pyrocles. Likewise, Gynecia falls in love with Cleophile while she is in women's clothing, although it is with the knowledge that she is in fact Pyrocles in disguise: "have pity on me, O Cleophile, but not as Cleophile, and do not don't disguise me in words, as I know you do in dress. Although it can be argued that Gynecia's attraction here is to the male Pyrocles and not the female Cleophile, it is fair to appreciate that she fell in love despite Pyrocles' feminine disguise, suggesting that the Dress and appearance are not necessarily important in one's relationship with attraction. However, in most cases, the love or attraction that different characters feel for each other cannot be truly expressed or realized until the true identity is revealed. For example, in Book II, Philoclea states: “O Cleophilus (for so I love to call you, since it is in this name that my love began, and in the shadow of this name my love will be better hidden [.])” Here, while Philoclea confesses that it was while Pyrocles was playing the role of Cleophile that she fell in love, this realization comes chronologically after she discovers that her true identity is that of the prince Pyrocles. The effect of this is that Sidney avoids the suggestion of homosexual love between Philoclea and Cleophila, a very controversial subject in the heteronormative climate of the Renaissance era. Because both princes in the book change their appearance and identity as a means to conquer or woo. The Duke's daughters, their appearance and dress in the book are naturally linked to deception. From the beginning of Book I, the reader is presented to the princes as virtuous and noble characters endowed with "all good interior and exterior qualities" who defended ladies "from wrongs" and restored their rights to "disinherited people", establishing From the outset, the reader's expectations regarding their future behavior and efforts. Despite this, Blair Worden states in The Sound of Virtue that "[The Princes] face a test that confounds the expectation of chivalric adventure that our introduction to princes has created in us.".