Twelfth Night Gender

What Shakespeare does in his comedic play Twelfth Night is that he deconstructs notions of gender and social class; however, he also stresses the futility of going against said social norms especially in Elizabethan society. Throughout the play, clothing is shown as a prime marker for, among other things, identity and social class. Some characters use clothing as a means of climbing up the social ladder; whereas others happen to flip the gender script by using clothing to highlight that gender is performed. By deconstructing gender, Shakespeare in turn violates Elizabethan heteronormativity. This is depicted with the attraction of Olivia to Viola’s male alter ego Cesario; as well as with the homoerotic feelings expressed between Antonio and Sebastian. Although gender and social class norms are deconstructed, desires never truly get granted, and often times said social norms are often reinstated and reinforced. The title of the …show more content…
Often times the roles of female characters are played by members of acting companies. The female roles are usually given to prepubescent boys between the ages of 10-21. The reasoning is that they are still feminine enough in their features and uncracked voices that they can more effectively pass as a female character. When cross-dressing actors perform gender onstage, gender specific features are often highlighted such as when Orsino speaks to Cesario about his feminine features when saying, “Diana’s lip is not more smooth and rubious...thy small pipe is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound and all is a semblative a woman’s part” (Act 1, Scene 4). Cross-dressing further serves to highlight the ambiguity of gender both with the characters in the play, and the actors performing it on stage. In other words, it stresses that gender itself can be performed. Viola and her male alter ego Cesario are a prime example of what it means to perform