Since the early 1990’s, “Queer Theory”, or queer study, has emerged and become very common in influential readings throughout literature. Many scholars apply this poststructuralist theory when criticizing works within the Renaissance period, including the works of William Shakespeare. Twelfth Night continues to be a commonly reviewed work when discussing the recurring homoerotic themes throughout Shakespeare’s works. Though Twelfth Night is often used for the discussion of homosexual interaction in Shakespeare, the conclusions drawn from these possible same-sex attractions are still divided and unclear. Regardless of this division, there is a large amount of substance that supports the unquestionably present homosexual relations in the play. …show more content…
Twelfth Night incorporates homoerotic relationships and specified societal gender roles to arrange generally unaccepted sexual attractions as a centerpoint of the work; however, I will specifically be accessing and analyzing Olivia and her qualities while asking questions about her convoluted sexuality. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare generates comedic confusion by disguising Viola, a young woman, as a man by the name of Cesario, which allows for social and personal limitations to be broken throughout the play. By doing so, he complicates the gender roles in the relationship between Olivia and Viola/Cesario. Olivia and Cesario meet as Cesario is sent to deliver her the news that Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, has announced his love for her and wishes to court her. However, when our virtuous, young Olivia meets Cesario, she is absolutely taken by him and shows no interest towards Orsino. Olivia believes that she has found the man of her dreams, but it is later revealed her ideal relationship is more complicated than it seems. Her beloved Cesario is a woman in disguise by the name of Viola. So, is this attraction that Olivia feels actually a homosexual desire for Viola? Though Olivia was at the time unaware of this lesbian attraction she is having, the qualities that she seeks in a partner are ever present in that of a woman, not a man. From the beginning of the play, Olivia assumed a traditionally masculine role throughout her activities. Power and overall domination is seen as a common desire for strong men in this time period. This remains present for men when considering their fancies in life and in their relationships. However, our young and willful Olivia also demands this same sensation of dominance. Though Olivia desires a man that is more submissive, the men in this time period devote themselves towards being dominant, strong figures while keeping their acquiescent women in the background. In other words, Olivia’s search for an unmasculine man is a search with no end and is why she becomes so instantly favorable towards Cesario. This attraction becomes blatant as soon as Olivia and Cesario meet for the first time. OLIVIA: “Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, thy actions, and spirit Do give thee fivefold blazon. Not too fast! soft, soft! Unless the master were the man. How now? Even so quickly may one catch the plague? Methinks I feel this youth’s perfections With an invisible and subtle stealth To creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be” (I, V, 298-304) The quote provided above is stated after the first interaction between Olivia and Cesario.
Her attraction for Cesario comes from his gentlemanlike and submissive behavior that she immediately recognizes. Though Orsino is not portrayed as necessarily “masculine” throughout the play, it is the overall declared gender roles in her society that make her feel that she would be dominated in the relationship. The time period of the play also may be a factor in her decisions throughout the play. Many may argue that, after Cesario admits that she is a woman, Olivia’s feelings for Cesario diminish because she is only attracted to men. However, after finding that Cesario is, indeed, a woman, Olivia immediately refrains from showing much emotion and, therefore, never responds in a way to deny her love for Cesario. This reluctant silence is due to the fact that in her society the idea of her being in love with a woman is something that is generally left as unspoken, since it is considered unnatural. According to Bruce R. Smith, a common editor and Shakespeare lecturer, during the Renaissance period, there was no definition to identify a man or woman that was attracted to the same sex (Smith 11-12). Therefore, Olivia has no way of describing or understanding her personal situation, because this issue had never been raised in her society. This, not the lack of attraction to women, is what keeps Olivia from pursuing Viola. Certain aspects of Olivia’s emotions after the discovery of …show more content…
Cesario may also support that Olivia is indifferent towards the gender of her partner, so long as they have feminine characteristics. After Cesario is exposed, Sebastian admits his lack of masculinity when he says that, as a virgin, he is “both... a maid and a man” (V. I. 279) when explaining to Olivia that she had been mistaken. In this sense, Olivia’s affection is not individualized to any one person, but to those who have feminine features. Another masculine quality that Olivia shows throughout the play is an idea on which many feminist critics would expand on: the lack of compliance that Olivia has throughout the play. For example, when men pursue Olivia, she responds that she is in mourning of the death of her brother and father. However, when Olivia confronts a man, Cesario, she springs onto him trying to grab his attention. Typically, in a Renaissance setting, the man, or in this case masculine figure, would pursue the partner of his choice and try to “woo” her. However, from the view of gender studies, it seems that Olivia overtakes this masculine role and pursues the young Cesario because her ideal relationship requires a submissive partner. Though Olivia receives an offer of everlasting love from a strong gentleman, Orsino, he still cannot fulfill her wants and needs like the presence of a submissive woman can. OLIVIA: “Your lord does know my mind; I cannot love him. Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble, Of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth; In voices well divulged, free, learned, and valiant, And in dimension and the shape of nature A gracious person. But yet I cannot love him” (I. V.260-266) The quote provided above is taken from Olivia’s first encounter with Cesario. Olivia’s indifference towards the well-rounded qualities seen in Orsino is explained due to her inability to love a man. Monica W., a scholar from Brooklyn College, announces that “these qualities [Olivia desires] would be more than any woman would want in a husband. But Olivia… will only have a man that she has fallen in love with; that supplies to her what she deems as qualities of a true husband… [and she only] finds them in Viola”. Even though Olivia does end up married to a man, Sebastian, at the end of the play, this is only by accident. Originally, Olivia thought that she was proposing to Cesario, but since Sebastian and Cesario are twins, she confused the two of them. Despite the fact that she marries the wrong twin, Olivia seems content with her decision and it becomes evident that, since Viola and Sebastian look and act so similarly, she believes they are essentially the same person. ANTONIO: “Sebastian are you?....
How have you made division of yourself?
Am apple cleft in two is not more twin
Than these two creatures. Which is Sebastian? (V. I. 234, 236-238)
The quote provided above is taken from Antonio’s and the others’ general confusion about the identity of each twin. Olivia’s seeming lack of concern for this dilemma and the constant confusion between Cesario and Sebastian that is present throughout the play may confirm this. Olivia is not the only person who shows this same emotion or lack thereof. Both Orsino and Olivia seem to shift easily between lovers: Orsino from Olivia to Viola and Olivia from Cesario to Sebastian. Ultimately, it is recognized that both Orsino and Olivia are essentially marrying the same person, just in the socially acceptable male or female version.
Though Olivia originally falls in love with what she believed to be a man, it is apparent that it is the feminine qualities in Cesario that drive her passion for him and his identical twin, Sebastian. Olivia’s indifference towards the well-rounded qualities seen in Orsino is explained due to her inability to love a man; however, her society’s ignorance towards the topic makes
her
Olivia’s public status shows her as a caring and high-class lady, a persona with a stark contrast to her inner self as a bold and tenacious woman. When Olivia pines for Cesario, she takes action and confesses, “But, would you undertake another suit, / I had rather hear you to solicit that/ Than music from the spheres” (3.1.108-110). This confession shows Olivia’s yearning for Cesario to woo her, revealing a bold inner character and desire that doesn’t align with how others perceive her. Another example is after Cesario denies having married her and redirects the topic back to Duke Orsino, Olivia replies, “If it be aught to the old tune, my lord/ It is as fat and fulsome to mine ear/ As howling after music” (5.1.104-106). Olivia dismisses the Duke’s affections and rebukes him as a man would, saying his courting is gross and disgusting. This shows she is not the fragile and polite woman one may perceive her to be, but an abrasive woman who can speak her mind. Olivia breaks out of her social identity as a frail, polite, and proper Elizabethan lady and reveals her true inner character as a strong and empowered woman.
Sebastian, the twin brother of Viola who was lost at sea after a shipwreck, and Lady Olivia are the first to marry, but things are not as they seem. During the weeks leading up to matrimony, Olivia fell madly in love with Cesario, who though looks and sounds just as Sebastian, is truly Viola dressed as a man. Sebastian does not realize this as he meets Olivia for the first time. He is amazed that a woman of her statue and beaut...
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy that has been interpreted in different ways, enabling one to receive multiple experiences of the same story. Due to the content and themes of the play, it can be creatively challenging to producers and their casting strategies. Instead of being a hindrance, I find the ability for one to experiment exciting as people try to discover strategies that best represent entertainment for the audience, as well as the best ways to interpret Shakespeare’s work.
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 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.
The play opens with Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, expressing his deep love for the Countess Olivia. Meanwhile, the shipwrecked Viola disguises herself as a man and endeavors to enter the Duke’s service. Although she has rejected his suit, the Duke then employs Viola, who takes the name of Cesario, to woo Olivia for him. As the play continues, Cesario falls in love with the Duke, and Olivia falls in love with Cesario, who is really Viola disguised. Maria, Olivia’s servant woman, desires to seek revenge on Malvolio, Olivia’s steward. “To the delight of Sir Toby, Olivia’s uncle, and his friend Sir Andrew, Maria comes up with a plot to drop love letters supposedly written by Olivia in Malvolio’s path. When she does, they observe him, along with Fabian, another servant, as Malvolio falls for the bait. Believing that Olivia loves him, he makes a fool of himself” (Napierkowski 3).
her dilemma due to her disguise, and also her devotion towards her task and towards Orsino. On the other hand, the message is brought. forth that perhaps, women aren’t always the ones waiting to be wooed. Olivia tries hard to achieve her goals (even when she fails). gives a sense of stubbornness towards her ‘love’ for Viola (Cesario).
Although Viola might be able to relate to Olivia's grief at first, her love for Orsino is so great that she cannot understand why Olivia would deny him. When Olivia expresses affectio...
As prescient and insightful as this evaluation may seem after considering the outcome of Twelfth Night’s romantic pairings, it reads as a very shallow perspective rather than any sort of wisdom – to the Duke, love is never permanent, lasting, or constant (just like the nature of the tides, it always changes). Duke Orsino has no concern whatsoever for Olivia’s feelings of grief after the loss of her brother – she is merely an object of his desires at the moment, and as his eventual courtship with Viola proves, he is extremely fickle in his affections. (Even before Viola’s disguise became apparent, Orsino showed some signs of attraction to the male Cesario – this raises a few questions about exactly how far his romantic indecisiveness
Viola, as Cesario, manages to win the favour of Orsino He truly believes that she is a he. Orsino, still convinced of my majesty, believes that he can win the love of a woman, via a proxy. By having Viola merely read the words he has prepared, he thinks that Olivia will fall immediately in love with him. But while Orsino had his head in the clouds about his love, Viola is attempting to conceal from him, her love for him.
In a romantic forest setting, rich with the songs of birds, the fragrance of fresh spring flowers, and the leafy hum of trees whistling in the wind, one young man courts another. A lady clings to her childhood friend with a desperate and erotic passion, and a girl is instantly captivated by a youth whose physical features are uncannily feminine. Oddly enough, the object of desire in each of these instances is the same person. In As You Like It, William Shakespeare explores the homoerotic possibilities of his many characters. At the resolution he establishes a tenuous re-affirmation of their heterosexuality. In this essay I will show how individual characters flirt with their homoerotic inclinations, and finally reject these impulses in favor of the traditional and socially accepted heterosexual lifestyle. I will explore male to male eroticism through the all-male court in the forest and through Orlando's attraction to Ganymede. I will inspect female to female attraction through Celia's attachment to Rosalind and through Phebe's instant attraction to the effeminate boy, Ganymede.
Orsino sends Cesario expresses his affection for Olivia, which Cesario/Viola is not thrilled about. with.
Even today, research concerning female sexuality is disappointingly lacking when compared with research done on male sexuality, and the same was true in the Elizabethan era as well. Though laws prohibited homosexual acts – they were primarily concerned with sodomy and nothing was said or discussed when it came to same sex relationships between women. Shakespeare too, is lacking in instances of homoeroticism between women, but one can glimpse a lesbian homoeroticism between Viola and Olivia in Twelfth Night. In the play, Olivia falls in love with Viola who she thinks is Cesario, but it is mentioned many times that it is Viola’s androgyny which first holds the attraction for her. As Viola attempts to woo Olivia on behalf of Orsino, she ends up abandoning Orsino’s practiced script to come up with her own words and own methods of wooing Olivia. This creates a space of intimacy between the two women and allows them to speak of their desires with an understanding that could not happen between a man and a woman. In her article Glimpsing a “Lesbian Poetics” in Twelfth Night, Jami Ake argues that the language Viola uses in wooing Olivia speaks intimate understanding of female desire and creates a dialogue between the two women that cannot exist in any other space within the play. In talking about language, Ake talks extensively about the Petrarchan sonnet form – a form used frequently in the Elizabethan era by poets such as Wyatt and Surrey. These Petrarchan sonnets, as well as following a specific form, also follow a specific theme or plotline. They are always from the point of view of a lover – often a poet – and always have to do with a woman who is unattainable either because she is already married or because she will not be wooed by the speaker. This is precisely the form that Orsino uses to attempt to woo Olivia in
While Cesario is originally there to pursue Olivia on behalf of the Duke, he does not say exactly what he is directed to. Instead, Cesario, who is really Viola, says to Olivia what she would want to hear from Orsino. This has a great affect on Olivia — she is impressed and very quickly falls in love with Viola as Cesario and does not understand how it could have happened “so quickly may one catch the plague” and how “thy tongue, the face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit do give thee fivefold blazon” which shows her attraction to Cesario's physical qualities (1.5.293-296). She also compares her love for Viola to the Bubonic plague, saying it grew and came on to take over Olivia as quick as the plague did throughout
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...