Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare

Examining Viola's Character in Twelfth Night

"I may not be a lion, but I am a lion's cub, and I have a lion's heart" . These words are said by one of the most celebrated and authoritative women in the 16th century Elizabeth I. Even though the authority was at woman's hands at that time, a dominant woman was unnatural in the society itself. The presence of such a powerful female figure creates an interesting situation for dramatists and playwrights in terms of depicting women's status at that time. By using the psychological concept ,liminality; I am going to examine Viola's character with referring to her two main parts in her life: her private life as Viola and her public life as Ceaserio , her speech in both two parts and the authority of the society.

The liminality it can be defined as a psychological states when a character wavers between two worlds. The character's life is both destructive and creative while one identity dies and another is born. Thomas Coryat , English traveller , wrote in his Coryat's Crudities in 1611, a travelogue ,about his experience in Venice "I saw women acte, a thing that I never saw before, though I have heard that it hath beene sometimes used in London". In the 16th century, women were not allowed to act on the stage. If they have done so, they would have been scorned by society and considered to be lewd and immoral. Women at court ;however, performing in private performances for Elizabeth and her guests. Therefore, in such a public space like a theater boys or young men acted the women's parts.

The uncertainty of the sexual identity was one of Elizabethan stereotypes. Thus, performing twelfth night could double the humor by letting a boy play viola's role disguised as a boy as we...

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...o serve her "lord" the duke Despite of her being in love with him ;and as Viola she expresses her love to him throughout multi-gendered speech.

Although the crossed dressed Viola experiences the freedom behind her disguise, She finds herself between fear and hope - fear to express her true feelings to the duke and reveal her true indinitity and get punished and hope that the duke somehow decipher her words and reciprocate her love . Out of this liminality, Viola develops a multi-gendered speech in order to express her love to the duke when he was debating about the nature of love. In act 2, scene 4 Viola expresses her love through Ceasrio by saying " My father had a daughter loved a man , As it might perhaps, were I a woman, I should your Lordship. " As the duke's servant, Viola has the freedom to speak about love , but as Viola she couldn't expose this love.