Homosexuality In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

After all the inadvertent gayness, cases of mistaken identity, and awkward sexual tension present in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, our protagonist, Viola, finds herself preparing for the marriage festivities at the end the final act. Heteronormativity has been reinstated with the correcting of the vaguely gendered parings: Viola finally gets to be with her darling Duke Orsino, and Olivia seems pleased with her replacement Cesario, Sebastian. A deeper analysis of the play, however, proposes that the significance of these romantic couples is not to institute heterosexuality as the societal norm, but rather challenge the idea that gender and sexuality are social constructs. Over the course of the play, the characters demonstrate how gender is not a firm role given at birth according to our genitalia and that sexuality is not as black and white as this time period made it seem. In the play, Viola does not just dress in boys clothes and present herself in that way. Instead, …show more content…
Upon closer analysis, several pieces of the communication between Viola and Orsino remain unclear. The Duke continues to refer to Viola as “boy” (5.1.265) even after she reveals herself as a woman. Although his tone towards her is loving and it is now socially acceptable for him to reveal his feelings, Orsino does not aid in the resolving of gender identity crisis present. Instead, the Duke is in love with Viola’s personality, but Cesario’s appearance. This leaves the sexuality of Orsino unresolved and adds to the assertion that sexuality, like gender, is not necessarily black and white. Observed in the context of the subtleness of gendered love and sexual attraction presented in this play, the marriages of the characters only reiterate the idea that gender and sexual identities are fluid characteristics that the self creates based on societal norms and individual