Note to As You Like It, 1.2.31-32: "Let us sit and mock the good huswife Fortune / from her wheel, that her gifts may henceforth be bestowed equally"
Let us sit and mock the good huswife Fortune from her wheel, that her gifts may henceforth be bestowed equally:In referring to Fortune as a "good huswife," Celia is using a little humorous word-play. Lady Fortune was a mythological personification of good and bad luck who "came to represent life's capriciousness" (Wikipedia). As in the woodcut below, Lady Fortune was often depicted turning her wheel, which both raised up people (such as the king and bishop on the left side of the wheel) and threw them to the ground. Because of her flirtatious and treacherous nature, Lady Fortune was often referred to as a "hussy," which is a variant of the word "huswife." However, "huswife" also meant "housewife," a dutiful manager of household affairs. Celia humorously proposes to use mockery to make the hussy Fortune into a good housewife who treats all members of her household fairly.