The game is afoot!

Arlecchino, by his nature, is a protean figure — but I want to see just how protean he is.

A while back I made an offhand comment about how he and Columbina swapped clothing and identities which was based more on intuition than anything I’d actually read. Sure, I’d seen her referred to as Arlecchina and depicted in his costume but I didn’t think much of it. Then yesterday while looking up a completely unrelated topic I found a bunch of stuff about Harlequin as a hermaphrodite and cross-dresser which, apparently, was a very prominent theme in some of the later plays. (This was just the tip of the iceberg.)

This is not the first time that this has happened.

It’s not even the eighth time.

I have had no direct encounters with him up to this point — but clearly something is going on. (Yeah, I have an idea what. No, I won’t be sharing.)

So, I decided to make a game of it. Why not, ya know? Seems an especially appropriate way to honor his spirit.

(This is the point at which ominous music begins to sound, by the way.)

On my way home tonight I tried to think up a topic I’ve done a fair amount of research on and yet during the course of my studies had not turned up any references to him.

My choice? The Benandanti.

Result? This.

Well played, Arlecchino. Well played.