Throughout the play there are several bends
on societal and gender norms and towards the end they become restored to a
certain degree. The fun starts with our protagonist Viola who was shipwrecked
gets saved by a Captain, and arrives to Illyria. She disguises herself as a
pageboy named Cesario to work for Duke of Illyria, Orsino. After dressing like
a pageboy she begins to fall in love with Duke Orsino who is actually
hopelessly in love with Lady Olivia a countess of Illyria. But to make matters
worse, Olivia ends up falling for Viola as Cesario when Orsino sends his
pageboy to woo Olivia on his behalf. Due to this gender change things are
turned topsy-turvy with the ambiguity of Viola/Cesario gender she attracts the
likes of Olivia and invokes great trust from Orsino. Therefore, Viola’s disguise
is what continues to make things topsy-turvy.
Nevertheless, gender and social order seems
to become restored to a certain degree when Viola/Cesario is reunited with her
brother Sebastian in public. Everyone seems to understand the confusion that just
occurred and that Cesario is actually Viola. After the twin’s status have been
affirmed, Duke Orsino and Countess Olivia would not be marrying lower than
their status.Later, they all come to terms that Viola/Cesario will marry Duke Orsino and
Sebastian will stay with Olivia. Both the twins rise up in the socioeconomic ladder.
In addition, Maria who ends up getting together with Sir Toby rises above her
status after marrying a knight. While Malvolio who is greatly influenced by
Puritan beliefs, is humiliated and does not rise on the socioeconomic ladder
which always his ultimate goal.
Even though things seem to be back to
normal what still seemed to be out of place was when Orsino claims to have been
in love with Viola but towards the end of the play still refers to her as
Cesario. Before he exits he states "Cesario, come - / For so you shall be
while you are a man. / But when in other habits you are seen, Orsino's
mistress, and his fancy's queen" (5.1.380-83). Basically, it seems that he
is attracted to her male persona and still refuses to accept that she is a female
until she dresses like one. But it also seems to show the ambiguity of her
gender, and makes the audience question the relationship that has emerged from
this ordeal. Thus, as he continues to call her Cesario he still keeps the roles
of master and servant. Moreover, it still does not go back to gender norms of
having a typical relationship between a man and woman. In addition, the same social
and gender order is still not completely restored when Olivia marries Sebastian
very fast without knowing who he truly is. Even Sebastian states to Olivia
after this confusion “But nature to her bias drew in that. / You would have
been contracted to a maid. / Nor are you therein, by my life, decieved / You are betrothed both to maid and man” (5.1,288-289). He understands the absurdity that if
Olivia had found Viola/Cesario, he would have wed a women and in society that
would have been unacceptable. However, he also acknowledges that she was attracted Viola/Cesario's womanly features. This still show the awkwardness of the situtation even if they all came to terms with one another.
Overall, this play seems to critique the
very idea of gender and societal norms specifically showing that they can be move
up or down on the socioeconomic ladder in addition to having women changing into male roles is acceptable as long as they act the part. In regards to social status it is easy to move up in status based on how you approach your goal. As pointed out by Malvolio’s egotistical speech
after reading Olivia’s fake letter, penned by her servant Maria. He goes on being
tricked by the letter about how loved he is and makes a fool of himself but
states “be not afraid of greatness. / Some are born great, some achieve
greatness, and some / have greatness thrust upon ’em” (2.5.135-137). Basically,
this sums up the idea of social status and how it affects our role in society. It
perfectly layers the differences in status some are either born into nobility,
some rise to it by other means, and others happen to stumble upon rising in
social status. This is how the majority
of the characters ended up moving up in status throughout the play.
This is a very thorough analysis, I think you did a great job! :) Your quote integration was very seamless, especially in your third paragraph. I also think you did a great job by including the quote about greatness in your conclusion to sum up some of the major themes in the play, very insightful.
ReplyDeleteI think including quotation to support your discussion of the characters marriages and their climbing up the social ladder in different ways would make your analysis even stronger. Wonderful job, I enjoyed reading your post.
I like your insight on Duke Orsino and Viola's relationship. I agree that there is a gender conflict in their relationship and that Orsino is still holding on to Ceasario.You gave evidence for your statement which was very good and reinforced your claim. I found your analysis on Duke Orsino's words to Olivia very interesting and gave me a new insight on what he meant by that quote. Overall I think you did a very good job(:
ReplyDeleteFirst paragraph: Good first paragraph, sums up the highlights in a very fun, interesting way.
ReplyDeleteSecond paragraph: good analysis of rising up and going down the social ladder.
Third paragraph: "Thus, as he continues to call her Cesario he still keeps the roles of master and servant." I totally didn't think of that. Orsino is used to treating her like a servant, so I wonder if this will pose a challenge in their marriage. "Cesario, fetch me some water!" "Can I get a 'please'? And I'm actually Viola..."
Last paragraph: "in addition to having women changing into male roles is acceptable as long as they act the part." Do you believe that Shakespeare was saying that women should be allowed to have mens' roles and wear the pants just as long as they can act like men, or simply that they are just as smart as men and so therefore should be treated as equals? Clear and fun analysis but I would've liked to hear more about what you introduced with that statement.
This is a good analysis on Twelfth Night. You did a good job of both telling the story and analyzing it without merely summarizing the story. You raised a good point about whether the social order was restored at the end, where you discussed Orsino's still behaving toward Viola as though she was still his page boy. Though this play ends happily for most of the characters, these details do make one wonder how these marriages turned out had the play continued.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good thought out analysis. you had a lot of good points in how Orsino is still holding onto the Cesario even do viola is a women . You made really strong arguments and you had just a strong quotes to back up what you where saying. This was a good analysis it had detail and a well done work . good job =)
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussions of the potential for disappointment in Orsino and Olivia's matches to Viola and Sebastian. This could push your analysis into even more dangerous and interesting inquiries into the nature of love and whether Shakespeare may have been arguing for gender blindness in love (a discussion that could be coupled with a discussion of the love triangle in the sonnets). Or, does the fact that the play ends with a reaffirmation of heterosexuality, negate any argument that Shakespeare may have believed in a fluidity to human sexuality and gender?
ReplyDelete