Twelfth Night Confusion Essay
Confusions in Twelfth Night
In 1600, under the great social influence of Queen Elizabeth as the center of culture, William Shakespeare, a English men lived in mystery with an uncertain birthday, was favored by the monarch as well as the whole English society. Therefore, the play Twelfth Night, written in William Shakespeare’s mid-career, was among one of his works being widely spread and highly praised. For instance, it was titled "the last play of Shakespeare's golden age” by a twentieth-century director and critic Harley Granville-Barker (“Twelfth Night” 892). By vividly portraying his characters in the play, Shakespeare represents the frustration brought by the gender identity in society.
Twelfth Night is a play took place in the country …show more content…
of Illyria. The play begins with the main character Viola being separated with her brother Sebastian by a storm, and then she lives on disguising to be a servant for Duke Orsino who is willing to win the love of a noble lady Olivia. Having the occupation to help the duke win his love, Viola falls in love with her master; meanwhile, she is favored by Olivia. Ultimately, reunion comes for the lost siblings followed by Viola’s true gender identity being revealed and major characters find their love of life. William Shakespeare conveys the major themes of identity, celebration and festivity, and communication and language by conducting such a plot. By using gender criticism, an approach of understanding the impact of sexual identity on literary works, to view William Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, Shakespeare reveals confusion brought by gender ambiguity to both individual and society.
The perplex of sexual identity begins at troubling individual characters in the play.
Viola as the most important character in conveying the idea of vague in gender position, disguised as Cesario, a pageboy assisting the duke to win Olivia’s favor. With the fuzzy identity being a man in her appearance and being a girl in her heart, Viola fails to avoid the intricate love triangle among herself, Duke Orsino and Olivia. She longs for her love but she can’t express her truth emotion: "O time, thou must untangle this, not I. / It is too hard a knot for me to untie!" (2.2.40-41). Viola explains her concern of love and shows the reluctant feeling toward her condition of disguise. However, such confusion brings Viola a chance to change: "Twelfth Night’s feminine, comic world, however, emphasizes the positive aspects of self-fashioning. Viola’s strange passivity … helps transform self-loss into a new birth" (Melchior). In the process of shaping her persona to meet the socially approved standards as a man, thus getting rid of the confusion brought by disguise, Viola transforms from being lost inside to being brave enough to reveal her true self and her real …show more content…
feelings.
In addition to Viola’s disguise, Malvolio with the absurd style of dressing provides a more straight forward representation of the awkwardness of homosexual behavior in blur gender identity. Reflecting to reaction of Maria, a women servant of Olivia’s in the play: "For there is no Christian that means to be saved by believing rightly can ever believe such impossible passages of grossness. He’s in yellow stockings." (3.2.62-65)
Comments of Maria directly describe the plight faced by Malvolio because of wearing the odd yellow stockings. Color of yellow serves as a sign of homosexual behavior and stocking shows a sense of feminine identity, together they make Malvolio feels awkward and people around him ridicule his behavior. Working as a significant symbol in disguising confusion caused by ambiguity in gender identity, “his yellow stockings communicate subservience and embarrassment" (Giese). Awkwardness of homosexual behavior frustrates the character as well as the surroundings. Other than Malvolio behaving like being homosexual, Antonio as a character companies Sebastian throughout the obstacles is the true representative of homosexual love. Antonio never hide his strong feelings toward Sebastian: ”My willing love, / The rather by these arguments of fear, / Set forth in your pursuit" (3.3.11-14). His oral expression accompany with his personal action illustrate his gender identity of homosexuality. Antonio’s altruistic action is regardless of gender: ”The spirit of Epiphany, represented by Antonio's willingness to manifest his true self for the sake of another, is stifled behind these barriers" (“Twelfth Night” 911). In other word, Antonio is actually the only character who is not confused by one’s gender identity. He determines his altruistic love; however, ironically such homosexual love does not seem to be accepted by the society.
Accompany with the confusion in oneself, the blurry boundaries between genders bewilder the society as well. Olivia, as a character who is totally mislead by Viola’s appearance throughout the play, fails in love with Viola without knowing her real gender identity. She frankly expresses her love for Cesario, who is actually Viola as:
"I do I know not what and fear to find
Mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind.
Fate, show thy force. Ourselves we do not owe.
What is decreed must be, and be this so." (1.5.283-286)
By saying these words, Olivia cannot even believe her crush in Cesario. She does not understand how is it even possible for her to develop such a strong feeling toward someone she just meet for the first time merely base on his appearance. As a result, she attribute all the reasons for her love to fate, which is something hard to explain. Going through the queries raised in her heart, "Olivia does seem, at least initially, to find Cesario/Viola's youthful, feminine demeanor intriguing, but their interview reveals the extent to which Olivia's desire for Cesario/Viola emerges not from similarity (in speech or conduct), but precisely from the differences s/he embodies and the poetic alternatives s/he offers" (Ake). As the play carries on, Olivia starts to forget about all the confusion she originally have for Viola's appearance; instead, with further understanding of Viola's personality, Olivia is actually attracted to the difference she has found in Viola between other men. Clearly, these difference being found include these special traits of Viola as a women, such as poetic and prudent. Disguise makes Viola seems different and becomes more attractive as a men, and therefore result in the idiosyncratic favor of Olivia.
Besides the consequence of Viola's disguise on Olivia, Duke Orsino plays an significant role in representing the misapprehension caused by indistinct gender identity. All the incidents in the play starts with Duke Orsino's hiring of Viola as his pageboy to win Olivia's heart. Viola's appearance maintain the ingenious features of a woman:
"That say thou art a man.
Diana’s lip
Is not more smooth and rubious. Thy small pipe
Is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound,
And all is semblative a woman’s part." (1.4.31-34)
She impressed Duke with her male identity but feminine outlook and therefore wins herself the job as a pageboy. Viola's appearance blurs border of gender identity and lead "the Duke in Twelfth Night delighting in the page Cesario's fresh youth and graceful responsiveness, and so falling in love without knowing it with the woman beneath the page's disguise" (Barber). Without even noticing the subtle change of his lover in his heart, Duke develop his unconsciously love for Viola majorly due to the misleading disguise.
Last but not least, the impact of obscure identity in gender happens not only on the major characters of the play; it also causes the supporting roles to be delusory. Because of Viola's disguise as a man, she enjoys an appearance similar to her brother Sebastian; hence, the confusion between recognizing the siblings is easily generated. Take Sir Antonio for example, he tries to fight against Viola for Olivia, but accidentally take Sebastian for Viola:
"Nay, let him alone. I’ll go another way to work with him. I’ll have an action of battery against him if
there be any law in Illyria. Though I struck him first, yet it’s no matter for that." (4.1.29-32)
Sir Antonio refers to the fight with Sebastian who he meets instead of Viola who he wants to fight against; however, such failure to distinguish Viola with her brother is easy to be understanded. Sir Antonio is created to seem foolish in comparison to other characters: "[h]e is manipulated by Sir Toby to romantically pursue Olivia, and he finds himself opposing Viola/Cesario and later Sebastian in a duel for Olivia's favor" (“Twelfth Night” 898). His bewilderment is partially to due to his reckless, but it is also result from Viola's perplexing appearance as a "man".
The plot of Twelfth Night as well as the reaction of individual characters effectively represents the issues created by equivocal gender identity in individual's mind as well as the consequence resulted in the society. Reflecting on nowadays' world, problems due to blur gender division still exists. However, instead of simply holding a negative opinion as most of characters in the play, people today should conceive the magnanimous mind to embrace the confusion gender identity might cause and respect individual's choices.
In 1600, under the great social influence of Queen Elizabeth as the center of culture, William Shakespeare, a English men lived in mystery with an uncertain birthday, was favored by the monarch as well as the whole English society. Therefore, the play Twelfth Night, written in William Shakespeare’s mid-career, was among one of his works being widely spread and highly praised. For instance, it was titled "the last play of Shakespeare's golden age” by a twentieth-century director and critic Harley Granville-Barker (“Twelfth Night” 892). By vividly portraying his characters in the play, Shakespeare represents the frustration brought by the gender identity in society.
Twelfth Night is a play took place in the country …show more content…
of Illyria. The play begins with the main character Viola being separated with her brother Sebastian by a storm, and then she lives on disguising to be a servant for Duke Orsino who is willing to win the love of a noble lady Olivia. Having the occupation to help the duke win his love, Viola falls in love with her master; meanwhile, she is favored by Olivia. Ultimately, reunion comes for the lost siblings followed by Viola’s true gender identity being revealed and major characters find their love of life. William Shakespeare conveys the major themes of identity, celebration and festivity, and communication and language by conducting such a plot. By using gender criticism, an approach of understanding the impact of sexual identity on literary works, to view William Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, Shakespeare reveals confusion brought by gender ambiguity to both individual and society.
The perplex of sexual identity begins at troubling individual characters in the play.
Viola as the most important character in conveying the idea of vague in gender position, disguised as Cesario, a pageboy assisting the duke to win Olivia’s favor. With the fuzzy identity being a man in her appearance and being a girl in her heart, Viola fails to avoid the intricate love triangle among herself, Duke Orsino and Olivia. She longs for her love but she can’t express her truth emotion: "O time, thou must untangle this, not I. / It is too hard a knot for me to untie!" (2.2.40-41). Viola explains her concern of love and shows the reluctant feeling toward her condition of disguise. However, such confusion brings Viola a chance to change: "Twelfth Night’s feminine, comic world, however, emphasizes the positive aspects of self-fashioning. Viola’s strange passivity … helps transform self-loss into a new birth" (Melchior). In the process of shaping her persona to meet the socially approved standards as a man, thus getting rid of the confusion brought by disguise, Viola transforms from being lost inside to being brave enough to reveal her true self and her real …show more content…
feelings.
In addition to Viola’s disguise, Malvolio with the absurd style of dressing provides a more straight forward representation of the awkwardness of homosexual behavior in blur gender identity. Reflecting to reaction of Maria, a women servant of Olivia’s in the play: "For there is no Christian that means to be saved by believing rightly can ever believe such impossible passages of grossness. He’s in yellow stockings." (3.2.62-65)
Comments of Maria directly describe the plight faced by Malvolio because of wearing the odd yellow stockings. Color of yellow serves as a sign of homosexual behavior and stocking shows a sense of feminine identity, together they make Malvolio feels awkward and people around him ridicule his behavior. Working as a significant symbol in disguising confusion caused by ambiguity in gender identity, “his yellow stockings communicate subservience and embarrassment" (Giese). Awkwardness of homosexual behavior frustrates the character as well as the surroundings. Other than Malvolio behaving like being homosexual, Antonio as a character companies Sebastian throughout the obstacles is the true representative of homosexual love. Antonio never hide his strong feelings toward Sebastian: ”My willing love, / The rather by these arguments of fear, / Set forth in your pursuit" (3.3.11-14). His oral expression accompany with his personal action illustrate his gender identity of homosexuality. Antonio’s altruistic action is regardless of gender: ”The spirit of Epiphany, represented by Antonio's willingness to manifest his true self for the sake of another, is stifled behind these barriers" (“Twelfth Night” 911). In other word, Antonio is actually the only character who is not confused by one’s gender identity. He determines his altruistic love; however, ironically such homosexual love does not seem to be accepted by the society.
Accompany with the confusion in oneself, the blurry boundaries between genders bewilder the society as well. Olivia, as a character who is totally mislead by Viola’s appearance throughout the play, fails in love with Viola without knowing her real gender identity. She frankly expresses her love for Cesario, who is actually Viola as:
"I do I know not what and fear to find
Mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind.
Fate, show thy force. Ourselves we do not owe.
What is decreed must be, and be this so." (1.5.283-286)
By saying these words, Olivia cannot even believe her crush in Cesario. She does not understand how is it even possible for her to develop such a strong feeling toward someone she just meet for the first time merely base on his appearance. As a result, she attribute all the reasons for her love to fate, which is something hard to explain. Going through the queries raised in her heart, "Olivia does seem, at least initially, to find Cesario/Viola's youthful, feminine demeanor intriguing, but their interview reveals the extent to which Olivia's desire for Cesario/Viola emerges not from similarity (in speech or conduct), but precisely from the differences s/he embodies and the poetic alternatives s/he offers" (Ake). As the play carries on, Olivia starts to forget about all the confusion she originally have for Viola's appearance; instead, with further understanding of Viola's personality, Olivia is actually attracted to the difference she has found in Viola between other men. Clearly, these difference being found include these special traits of Viola as a women, such as poetic and prudent. Disguise makes Viola seems different and becomes more attractive as a men, and therefore result in the idiosyncratic favor of Olivia.
Besides the consequence of Viola's disguise on Olivia, Duke Orsino plays an significant role in representing the misapprehension caused by indistinct gender identity. All the incidents in the play starts with Duke Orsino's hiring of Viola as his pageboy to win Olivia's heart. Viola's appearance maintain the ingenious features of a woman:
"That say thou art a man.
Diana’s lip
Is not more smooth and rubious. Thy small pipe
Is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound,
And all is semblative a woman’s part." (1.4.31-34)
She impressed Duke with her male identity but feminine outlook and therefore wins herself the job as a pageboy. Viola's appearance blurs border of gender identity and lead "the Duke in Twelfth Night delighting in the page Cesario's fresh youth and graceful responsiveness, and so falling in love without knowing it with the woman beneath the page's disguise" (Barber). Without even noticing the subtle change of his lover in his heart, Duke develop his unconsciously love for Viola majorly due to the misleading disguise.
Last but not least, the impact of obscure identity in gender happens not only on the major characters of the play; it also causes the supporting roles to be delusory. Because of Viola's disguise as a man, she enjoys an appearance similar to her brother Sebastian; hence, the confusion between recognizing the siblings is easily generated. Take Sir Antonio for example, he tries to fight against Viola for Olivia, but accidentally take Sebastian for Viola:
"Nay, let him alone. I’ll go another way to work with him. I’ll have an action of battery against him if
there be any law in Illyria. Though I struck him first, yet it’s no matter for that." (4.1.29-32)
Sir Antonio refers to the fight with Sebastian who he meets instead of Viola who he wants to fight against; however, such failure to distinguish Viola with her brother is easy to be understanded. Sir Antonio is created to seem foolish in comparison to other characters: "[h]e is manipulated by Sir Toby to romantically pursue Olivia, and he finds himself opposing Viola/Cesario and later Sebastian in a duel for Olivia's favor" (“Twelfth Night” 898). His bewilderment is partially to due to his reckless, but it is also result from Viola's perplexing appearance as a "man".
The plot of Twelfth Night as well as the reaction of individual characters effectively represents the issues created by equivocal gender identity in individual's mind as well as the consequence resulted in the society. Reflecting on nowadays' world, problems due to blur gender division still exists. However, instead of simply holding a negative opinion as most of characters in the play, people today should conceive the magnanimous mind to embrace the confusion gender identity might cause and respect individual's choices.