Viola and the Wife of Bath enter the public sphere, in other words, into the male world and presents a different perspective of the society. This act of venturing into the male word, can be seen as transgression, given that women are not meant to be part of the public sphere. Arguably, The Wife of Bath, seems to be of a lower class despite marrying for money. Her act of participating in a bet among other contenders, the majority being male, adds to her notoriety as differing from the female stereotype. Moreover, she uses her prologue to criticize the men who uphold the tradition of virtuousness in women and specifically female virginity. By entering the public sphere, or being part of the storytellers, it enables her to voice out her frustrations
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Her attempt to disguise herself as a man to ensure her survival and safety in an unknown territory showcases the simple understanding that it is best to live as man during her time. Even if she doesn’t consider the fact that being a twin to Sebastian implies that her male look-a-like would look exactly like Sebastian, it illustrates to the reader that it is through clothes that gender is defined. The intention of making Sebastian and Viola twins further hints at the idea of gender fluidity. Furthermore, at Olivia’s first meeting with Cesario, she asks Malvolio how Orsino’s new love messenger looks like and Malvolio replies “of mankind” indicating that ‘Cesario’ looks like the average man (Shakespeare 1200, Act 1 Scene 5 line 144). Viola, by simply changing her exterior appearance is able to fool others into believing she is a man. This realization that she genuinely appears like a man and is treated as such doesn’t hit her until she understands that Oliva has fallen in love with her when she states, “I am the man” (1206, Act 2 Scene 3 line 25). In other words, her soliloquy advocates the idea of her being in control or part of the social sphere by being a ‘man’. It is through her clothes, that are designated for males, that she is defined as one. There is never a moment in “Twelfth Night” that someone suspects her to actually be female. In fact, even her own
Her attempt to disguise herself as a man to ensure her survival and safety in an unknown territory showcases the simple understanding that it is best to live as man during her time. Even if she doesn’t consider the fact that being a twin to Sebastian implies that her male look-a-like would look exactly like Sebastian, it illustrates to the reader that it is through clothes that gender is defined. The intention of making Sebastian and Viola twins further hints at the idea of gender fluidity. Furthermore, at Olivia’s first meeting with Cesario, she asks Malvolio how Orsino’s new love messenger looks like and Malvolio replies “of mankind” indicating that ‘Cesario’ looks like the average man (Shakespeare 1200, Act 1 Scene 5 line 144). Viola, by simply changing her exterior appearance is able to fool others into believing she is a man. This realization that she genuinely appears like a man and is treated as such doesn’t hit her until she understands that Oliva has fallen in love with her when she states, “I am the man” (1206, Act 2 Scene 3 line 25). In other words, her soliloquy advocates the idea of her being in control or part of the social sphere by being a ‘man’. It is through her clothes, that are designated for males, that she is defined as one. There is never a moment in “Twelfth Night” that someone suspects her to actually be female. In fact, even her own