The Princess, Rosaline, Maria, and Katherine

In the same way that the men are considered as a unit, the women must also be studied as a unit, though Rosaline, like Biron, seems to stand apart. She hardly ever loses in a battle of wits, and astonishes Boyet with her quick retorts. She is almost wicked in the sarcasm of some of her dialogue, and she metes out a harsh punishment for Biron with almost a smug attitude. While all the ladies have a keen sense of reality, Rosaline is the most shrewd, cautioning the others to elude Cupid.

The princess and her three ladies prove themselves to be intelligent and refined beings. Before they arrive at the court of the King of Navarre, they have heard about the King's foolish and pretentious experiment and question it from the beginning. Waiting at the gate of the court, they grow impatient, for they are used to better, more genteel treatment. When they finally meet the King and his lords, the women are already prepared to show them the foolishness of their ways. By the end of their first meeting, the females clearly sense that all four men are attracted to them, and they feel the same way. They agree, however, to make it hard on the men and punish them for thinking they can control their emotions.

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