Identity In Twelfth Night

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Throughout the comedic play Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, we see how a case of mistaken identity can change a whole perspective. In this play, the characters are exposed to a plot involving disguises, trickery, and misunderstood love/infatuation. Each character is forced to take on a specific role given by society and are not defined by their true identity nor gender. The characters’ true personalities are determined through their dialogue, relationships, and other characters’ reactions to them. Through Shakespeare’s development of Orsino’s and Viola’s personality and other character’s reactions to them, we can understand the message being conveyed is that suffering comes as a result of love no matter the gender because love is blind.
Orsino …show more content…
In a similar manner to Orsino’s pain, Viola emotionally explains how she would, “Make me a willow cabin at your gate and call upon my soul within the house; write loyal cantons of contemned love...You should not rest...but you should pity me!” (Shakespeare 31). It is clear that it does not matter whether the character be a man or woman, they both experience love as a cause of pain and suffering. Afterwards, Viola illustrates how hopeless her love for her Lord Orsino is. She explains how it’s truly senseless to love somebody who loves another woman, that coincidentally loves her. Shakespeare writes, “My state is desperate for my master’s love; as I am a woman--now alas the day!” (Shakespeare 41). Because the person that Viola loves has feelings for someone else, Viola believes that she has no chance at love and that all odds seem against her. Clearly, Viola has been exposed to the more painful side of love just as Orsino has. Finally, Viola continues to describe how a man and woman’s love is similar and that it is simply genderless. She asserts, “Too well what love women to men may owe. In faith, they are as true of heart as we” (Shakespeare 57). Viola’s comparaison concludes the theme that it does not matter whether you are male or female, love is blind and it will most likely bring suffering. Overall, Orsino’s and Viola’s personality and identity as lovesick …show more content…
Their relationships with people or lack of relationships was not necessarily affected by their identity but more by their personality. In Viola’s case, her disguise is a work of art in demonstrating that love is blind because Olivia falls for her. Olivia’s love for Viola (Cesario) is so intensely passionate that she compares it to a murderer hiding his guilt. She states, “A murderous guilt shows not itself more soon than love that would seem hid: love’s might is noon” (Shakespeare 79). Clearly, her claim of true love towards Viola (Cesario) is too strong to hide any longer. Throughout this whole ordeal, Olivia has the slightest of clue that Cesario is in reality Viola. Her love for Cesario is purely based on his personality and way of expressing himself. Moreover, the reader is shown Olivia’s blind love for Viola (Cesario) when she professes, “I love thee so, that, maugre all thy pride, nor wit nor reason can my passion hide. Do not extort thy reasons from this clause...” (Shakespeare 79). Her claims state that she swears she loves Cesario so much that she can’t hide her passion as clever as she is and just because she is pursuing him does not mean that he shouldn’t. In both these instances, Cesario’s personality is what has intrigued Olivia and his actual gender is not taken into account. Viola’s appearance had very
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