Twelfth Night takes a creative stab at judging a book by its cover. The topic of gender is one of the most discussed/enacted in the play, in which a female character who goes by the name of Viola disguises herself as a man. She doesn't really gauge how long she will have to take on this persona (of Cesario), and this results in a few major misunderstandings. Viola actually falls in love herself with Orsino (who fancies Olivia). The only thing is that she can't tell him that she loves him only because Orsino thinks she's a man. Meanwhile, Olivia falls in love with Viola (while under the guise as Cesario). Orsino talks about how beautiful Viola... I man Cesario looks, which actually makes it seem as though he is more attracted to Viola's male
The play Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare is a 1601 comedy that has proven to be the source of experimentation in gender casting in the early twenty-first century due to its portrayal of gender in love and identity. The play centrally revolves around the love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola. However, Olivia and Orsino both believe Viola is a boy named Cesario. Ironically, only male actors were on the stage in Shakespeare’s time. This means that Olivia, Viola, and other female characters were played by young boys who still had voices at higher pitches than older males.
Laura Jastrem’s essay “Romance and Gender Positions in Twelfth Night” focuses on the attraction that Olivia formed for another woman, Viola, who masquerades as Cesario throughout the play. The audience is aware of the fraud male persona that Viola has mislead the others to believe. Given that the play was written in 1601, there are diverse critical responses regarding the concept of love between two people of the same sex based on their time period. Jastrem’s critique was composed in 1999, when same sex marriage was still a notion that was not heavily accepted by the vast majority. Being 2016, with same sex marriage now legalized, it is clear that perspectives will differ concerning this view. Jastrem’s sexist critique focuses on the lesbian attraction between Olivia and Viola but fails to mention
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are many traces of lenses. The lens that I chose to explain is the gender lens. Since this is a long time ago, women weren’t treated the same as men. Women were treated as items, as property. Men were the rulers of everything, they made the big choices. Hermia was treated as property that Demetrius wanted, even though Lysander already “owned” and Egeus (Hermia’s father) was lending out to people. It seems like a sexist world back then.
The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello. Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy, which should have been a love story, speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source of the tragic action in Shakespeare’s
Othello represents a prime example of Shakespeare's ability to develop relationships between the sexes so as to demonstrate those relationships' weaknesses. In Othello, the sexes are divided by misconceptions and ego- centric views of the opposite gender. The men of the play, in particular Othello, maintain a patriarchal, chivalric notion of the sexes, while the women of the play yearn for more involvement in their husbands' affairs. So it is that the thrust of the play emerges from "the opposition of attitudes, viewpoints, and sexes." (Neely 214)
The movie She's the Man shows much of the general idea of the original Shakespearean book, the twelfth night. It also, illustrates the change in feminine roles in the community and society at large, the main theme of the movie being feminism. In Shakespearean era and time, the important, recognizable and powerful positions in the society were taken by men and therefore Viola in the twelfth night disguises herself as a eunuch in order to get close to the Olivia, the countess and the
In Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, gender identity and alternative sexualities are highlighted through the depiction of different characters and personalities. In the play, Viola disguises herself as a man thereby raising a merry-go-around of relationships that are actually based on a lie rather than actual fact. Viola attracts the attention of Olivia since she thinks that Viola is a man but even more fascinating is the fact that Orsino is attracted to Viola although he thinks that she is a man. In another twist Viola is attracted to Orsino and has fell in love with him although their love cannot exist since Orsino thinks that Viola is a man.
It is also one of the themes in Twelfth Night that the play revolves around as Shakespeare makes it out to be by presenting the character of ‘Caesario’. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare presents the obvious deception of the play that is Viola. Viola’s role in the play is purely based on the ideas of disguise and deception. She initially deceives everyone by disguising herself as a man, ‘Cesario’, in order to serve Orsino. We can see this from the quote, “For such disguise as haply shall become: The form of my intent”.
Twelfth Night consists of a large number of love triangles, however many characters are too indulged in love that they are blind to the untrue, and the weakness of their relationship, they are deceived by themselves and many people around them ( ex. Malvolio is tricked by Sir Andrew, Feste ,Sir Toby and Maria),but there are certain incidents where the love is true and two characters feel very strongly about one another. In the play, Viola and Orsino have the most significant relationship. The way they interact with each other causes the complexity on which the play is all about, their relationship turns from strangers to friends then lovers .In the First Act Viola is not honest with Orsino because she disguises herself as a male servant named Cesario in order to get closer to the duke. Orsino. Orsino quickly trusts Cesario and sends him to Olivia to declare Orsinos Love for her, the girl he most dearly loves. This quick bond is the fast example of their relationship. At the beginning of the play, Viola thinks her brother (Sebastian) is dead (after they’re deadly boat crash, where they get separated) when actually he is alive and thinks she is dead, Viola always seems to have a part missing from her which shows her bond with Sebastian is strong, and a part of her but in a brotherly/sisterly way rather than a proper relationship like viola and orsino, At the end of the play they meet and both fall in love , Viola with Orsino and Sebastian with Olivia.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
Unlike the other characters in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", Viola's feelings of love are genuine. She is not mistaken about Orsino's true nature and loves him for who he really is, while the other characters in the play seem to be in love with an illusion. Viola's love for Orsino does not alter during the play, nor is it transferred to another person.
Shakespeare and his works questioned and presented the Elizabethan society, the stage used as a tool to represent larger ideas. Gender in the play is largely linked with morality, sin, redemption, fall and passionate pleasure. In King Lear there is an abuse of power, especially in regards to woman. The devouring feminine, and a fall from grace by the patriarchy ensued through incestuous behaviour, adultery and unnatural relationships leads to a fluidity in gender and generational roles. The violation of the natural order awakens divine retribution, leading to the collapse of the kingdom and chastisement eventually resulting in the rebirth of the patriarchy. In King Lear gender issues resolve from a power struggle, a deviation by the paternal
The Impact of Gender on Shakespeare’s Othello. In the book “Gender Trouble” (1990), feminist theorist Judith Butler explains “gender is not only a social construct, but also a kind of performance such as a show we put on, a costume or disguise we wear” (Butler). In other words, gender is a performance, an act, and costumes, not the main aspect of essential identity. By understanding this theory of gender as an act, performance, we can see how gender has greatly impacted the outcome of the play in William Shakespeare’s Othello.
In Hamlet, gender plays a huge role in the assumed capability of people. Queen Gertrude had to remarry instead of rule the kingdom by herself. If she wouldn’t have gotten remarried, it would have been likely that her kingdom would have been usurped by a chauvinist male ruler; who felt that women couldn’t rule a kingdom.
Throughout Twelfth Night, disguise and mistaken identity works as a catalyst for confusion and disorder which consistently contributes towards the dramatic comic genre of the play. Many characters in Twelfth Night assume disguises, beginning with Viola, who disguises herself as a man in order to serve Orsino, the Duke. By dressing his protagonist in male garments, Shakespeare creates ongoing sexual confusion with characters, which include Olivia, Viola and Orsino, who create a ‘love triangle’ between them. Implicitly, there is homoerotic subtext here: Olivia is in love with a woman, despite believing her to be a man, and Orsino often comments on Cesario’s beauty, which implies that he is attracted to Viola even before her male disguise is removed. However, even subsequent to the revealing of Viola’s true identity, Orsino’s declares his love to Viola implying that he enjoys lengthening the pretence of Vio...