The Rover

The most prominent symbol in the play is the mask, which is central to the deception and mistaken identity that drives the action. For the characters in the play, when their faces and contextual identifiers are hidden, even their loved ones fail to recognize them. While the mistaken identities work to comical effect, they also comment on the nature of marriage in a world where marriage might be completely arranged or occur at the end of a very short courtship. The masks also obscure who is or is not a “person of quality,” creating further ambiguity around identity and social status. Removing one’s identity signifiers for a brief period is a way of taking off the binding social constructs that limit choice.

The masks hide the characters’ identities, but they also allow the characters to adopt new identities—and often, to speak more candidly than they can when presenting as their usual selves. The power of a new identity through disguise is used most effectively by Hellena. With her mask and costume, Hellena can speak freely to Willmore about love and sex. Willmore assumes correctly that she is a noblewoman because she is witty, but she is also mirroring back his level of frankness about an otherwise inappropriate topic.