GENDER & IDENTITY
Janasia Gray
Identity
In the play Twelfth Night, most of the charaters are confused with each other identities. Mulitply charaters in the play identity is mistaken. One of being is Viola, due to her change in identity she embodies confusion when people mistaken for her twin brother Sebastain on many different occasions. Viola herself is even confused when she falls in love with Duke Orsino, who is in love with the beautiful Lady Olvia. Viola also tries to understand the lot of her dead brother.
Gender
Viola is a female that decides to dress up as a boy and take a job at Duke Orsino's Count. As Cesario, Viola quickly becomes liked and is giving the task of wooing Lady Olivia on Orsino's behalf. Orsino tells Cesario to "act my woes" when he goes to see Olivia to behave as if he shares Orsino's adoration for the noblewoman (I.iv.25). Viola soon found herself in a messy love triangle when Olivia falls in love with her and she falls for Orsino. Viola shows that boundies between identity and gender can easily become blurred, and gender can be impersonated or even acted upon like anyother role.
Perception
I believe that other charaters in Twelfth Night view Viola as an likeable character. She is the character whose love seems to be the purest. Others love doesn't seem as jenuine; Orsino jumps from Olivia to Viola, and Olivia jumps from Cesario (Viola) to Sebastain. Viola is the only passionate and love sick person. As she decieds her love for him; She pined in thought, And with a green and yellow melancholy. She sat like patience on a monument, Smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed? (II.iv.111–114). Viola's main problem throughout the play is her identity, she must be herself and also Cesario causing muliply problems. She is surrounded by people who is unaware of her actually identity.
Similarities + Differences
Similarities: Viola and I are similar in many ways. We've molded oursleves into this person we didn't actually wanted to become. We also embodied oursleves and other with confusion of our personalities and identity. Viola and I are both unsure of what we want. We're just taking it one day at a time.
Differences: Unlike Viola I was never stuck in an messy love triangle. I also don't have to disguise to be something I'm not. The biggest of all is that, I don't have to disguise myself into a man in order to get a job.