In the first episode of Rose of Versailles, we see the patriach of the Jarjayes family designate his newborn daughter as his son and name her Oscar, because he is in desperate need of an heir to his office and his offspring only consist of daughters. Thus, it looks like a woman would not be normally regarded as an appropriate candidate for military duties. This makes sense combined with the gender roles alluded to in the first two episodes:
- Girodelle initially refuses to duel Oscar on account of gender
- Later he makes mention of "womanly whims" when she disappears in the second episode
- The Jarjayes housekeeper laments that Oscar isn't treated like a daughter and hopes when she refuses to become an officer that she is doing so because she wants to be a woman.
However, both in this episode and the one that follows, it is shown that Oscar's gender is more or less an open secret: at least three people outside of the Jarjayes household know of it.
- Girodelle (see above)
- The woman who tells Marie Antoinette about Oscar while she is going to Versailles
- The man whom Jarjayes talks to who proposes the duel between Girodelle and Oscar, although he tells Jarjayes that it's fine that Oscar is a woman
Given that a number of outsiders are aware of Oscar's gender, is there any in-universe reason why Oscar is still permitted to take on masculine roles, if being female was supposed to be an impediment in the first place? Or is everything fine and dandy provided that Oscar does not appear overtly feminine and so long as the average person isn't aware of it? After all, Marie Antoinette, Fersen, and Rosalie are unaware of Oscar's gender until they are told of it.
