What Are Gender Roles In Twelfth Night

William Shakespeare did not become arguably the most famous playwright in the history of the world for coloring inside the lines. In each one of his complex plays, he pushes against the boundaries of social norms. Shakespeare incorporates bold discussions of fleeting love, gender uncertainty, mistaken identity, and ironic comedy into his creative plots during the 1600’s when public discussion on such progressive ideas were rare. In his comedy Twelfth Night, Shakespeare uses dialogue between his three main characters, Viola, Orsino, and Olivia, to express his critique on the strict nature of gender roles during his time. Through his manipulation of his characters’ identities, his placement of women in leadership positions, and his questioning of traditional gender roles, Shakespeare reveals his theme that strict definitions of gender reinforce false stereotypes of both men and women.
One way that Shakespeare criticizes …show more content…
He depicts homosexual love in Twelfth Night as the strongest and truest love, by comparing it to the fleeting love based on beauty that Orsino feels for Olivia and Olivia feels for Olivia’s brother Sebastian. In doing so, Shakespeare attacks popular beliefs against homosexuality at that time. A paradigm of such love occurs between Antonio, a sailor, and Viola’s brother, Sebastian. Antonio rescued Sebastian from the shipwreck and, while he was nursing him back to good health, fell deeply in love with him. Antonio confesses his love after bravely following Sebastian to Orsino’s court, despite having many enemies there. “I could not stay behind you. My desire, / More sharp than filèd steel, did spur me forth” (III.iii.4-5). Shakespeare displays this homosexual love as a beautiful thing between two likeable characters, and as a result demonstrates his belief that society's negative views of homosexuality are