In the play, Twelfth Night, Viola, a woman, disguises herself as a man with the intent of sheltering herself off from the world. She changes her name to Cesario and begins to work for Duke Orsino. Cesario/Viola falls in love with Orsino, but Orsino is in love with Olivia, a wealthy Lady. Olivia is also a complicated character because although she has no male to dominate over her, she decides to shelter herself off from the world, instead of taking command of her life (Shakespeare & Bevington, 2014). This shows her lack of independence, and perhaps, a longing for a male to make these decisions for her. Meanwhile, the Duke orders Cesario to take his love letters to Olivia. When Cesario argues, the Duke responds in a very delicate language that could be considered romantic. He flatters Cesario’s physical features, and comments that Olivia will most likely accept him because of his softer, feminine characteristics. Olivia actually ends up falling in love with Cesario because of his feminine characteristics. While reading the play, the audience becomes continuously confused as to who is really male or female, and who is just pretending to be. For instance, although Viola’s sentiments and physical features are very feminine, her boldness, daring to disguise herself as a man, and her initiative to create a plan, are typical male characteristics. Olivia’s sexual orientation is also questioned because she expresses her love for Cesario’s female qualities, rather than his masculinity. The Duke, too, expresses the same love for Cesario’s female characteristics (Shakespeare & Bevington, 2014). In the end, however, Shakespeare brings all the chaos back to order by making sure that in the end, all the marriages are heterosexual, rather than homosexual.
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