Women’s
Power and Crossdressing in “Twelfth Night” and "As you like it" by Shakespeare
Female crossdressing
in “Twelfth Night” and “As you Like it” symbolizes a yearning for power from
women. In “As you Like it,” the symbol
of crossdressing is a reaction against the unfairness of society because
Rosalind has been exiled by her uncle from her father’s rightful kingdom,
whereas, in “Twelfth Night,” cross dressing is done as a reaction against a dismal
situation: the lack of income for Viola (or a desire of working among men). In “As you like it,” Rosalind decides to
cross-dress because of her lack of a stable relationship with Duke Ferdinand. In both plays, not only does cross-dressing represent
the lack of power the heroines have for acquiring a male-dominated position—as
a servant of Orsino’s for Viola and as a conversationalist for Rosalind—but it
also symbolizes a desire of being with the opposite sex for them both. For instance, Orsino, who does not recognize
the situational irony (until the end of “Twelfth Night”) of perceived reality
from the fact that Cesario was a woman, Orsino would have appreciated the
symbology of cross-dressing as not only an art, but as a means of seduction. In “As you Like it,” Rosalind’s search for her
father began as a consequence of Duke Ferdinand’s decree of banishment and her
desire to also be among men, like Orlando.
She does this so that she can gleam information from Orlando, whom she
loves.
In both
plays, the act of cross-dressing challenges Shakespeare’s audience at the time
about the notion of the merits of the sexes: are women in fact more varied in
personality than they seem? It would
appear so. In Shakespeare’s time, a huge
rift between the perceived abilities of men and women manifested itself as a
reproduction of the so-called separation of spheres. In Shakespeare’s time, women, who were
typically viewed as lower, mainly sexual beings, rarely entered the domains of
masculine power, because of their perceived merit. And most men believed in their own natural
right to dominate over women. The motif
of cross dressing, in the plays, challenges that notion; the plays seem to
suggest that women are the ones who dominate over men. Also, the matriarch, Queen Elizabeth I, presumably
would have been someone who could appreciate the concept of crossdressing in a
male-dominated political environment.
In “Twelfth
Night,” the fact that Orsino cannot see past Cesario’s guise implies one of two
possibilities: either he is too dumb to realize that there might be foul play
involved, or, her guise is so well done by the Captain that even the keenest of
human beings cannot decipher her true identity.
Does Shakespeare expand on the former possibility in the play? No. In
this fictitious situation, Viola does not point out that Orsino seems less intelligent
and daring than her, even though Viola goes unnoticed as a man, right under his
nose. But, Orsino, recognizing the
importance of there being a man with him of whom he can confide in when talking
about Olivia, states: “There is no woman’s sides / Can bide the beating of so
strong a passion / As love doth give my heart; no woman’s heart / So big, to
hold so much. They lack retention” (1813;
lines 91-94).
The motif
of crossdressing in “As you Like it” is also used in a way to reveal a deep,
inner loathing for certain individuals such as Duke Ferdinand. Rosalind crossdresses because she does not
want to be found by “thieves”: “Beauty provoketh theives sooner than gold” (1636;
line 104). Also, she implies that Duke
Ferdinand is a coward, which is why she wants to become a man:
“Were it not
better,
Because that I
am more than common tall,
That I did suit
me all points like a man,
A gallant
curtal-axe upon my thigh,
A boar-spear in
my hand, and in my heart,
Lie there what
hidden woman’s fear there will.
We’ll have a
swashing and a martial outside,
As many other
mannish cowards have,
That do outface
it with their semblances.” (1636; 108-114)
In
contrast, Viola crossdresses mainly so that she can receive work, and she knew
beforehand whom she was going to work for: “Orsino. I have heard my father name him / He was a
bachelor then” (1795; lines 24-25). She was
either not overly impressed with Orsino’s intelligence or was overly confident
with the Captain’s ability to hide her identity.
The symbol
of crossdressing also implies it has, as a prop, the power of connecting people
like a dating service between people of the opposite gender, which is not a bad
thing. In “Twelfth Night,” Orsino, who
is consumed, in terms of time, by the homosocial bonds of his friends, Sir Toby
and Sir Andrew, would not have fallen in love with Viola at the very end if she
presented herself as herself because he was preoccupied with his male fantasies
of being with Olivia. Later, in the end
of the play, Viola’s and his marriage actually falling through symbolized hope
exists for cross-dressers. Moreover, Viola’s
search for power through the symbol of cross-dressing and her eventual marriage
to Orsino implies that Orsino may have even recognized Cesario’s guise from the
beginning and was secretly planning on marrying him/her: “Dear lad, believe it;
/ For they shall yet belie thy happy years / That say thou art a man” (1799;
lines 28-31).
The act of
cross-dressing as a motif in both plays avoids the discussion of women’s
inequality during Shakespeare’s time period, yet the motif is a step in the
right direction. In “Twelfth Night,” were
Viola a woman and she were allowed to work for Orsino as a woman, would not
that have been a more radical and less crowd-pleasing choice on the part of
Shakespeare? Although the play would lose some of its comedic high-points,
Viola as herself—a woman—would have allowed, perhaps, for a more realistic
treatment of the struggles of women in Elizabethan England.
In terms of
the heteronormative, cross-dressing in both plays breaks the norm. Towards the middle of “Twelfth Night”,”
Orsino, feels homoerotically in love with Cesario because of his feminine
qualities: “Diana’s lip is not more smooth and rubious; thy small pipe / Is as
the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound, / And all is semblative a woman’s part” (1799;
lines 30-33). Orsino’s statements, to
me, seemed typical of a heterosexual man who might be questioning another man’s
or his own masculinity especially in a situation like that (where a woman is
actually playing the part of a man).
Orsino’s predicament of finding a mate seems momentarily clouded by Cesario’s
femininity. The act of cross-dressing in both plays represents
a challenge to straight-men’s comfort zones.
Cross-dressing
is inherently unethical because of its misleading qualities. The very fact that Viola must “conceal”
herself on line fifty as a “eunuch” so that she can work with Orsino is a
challenge for Viola to pull of (pg. 1795)?
But, at least, Viola’s cross-dressing at least brings Orsino into an
uncomfortable position. And furthermore,
how would Orsino meet other women if he’s constantly preoccupied thinking about
a single woman—Olivia? Viola breaks
social norms by cross-dressing yet it was for the better, becsause Orsino and
Cesario (Viola) marry. But before then, Orsino
wastes too much time contemplating a perfect world in which his fantasies come
true:
“Tell her my
love, more noble than the world
Prizes not
quantity of dirty lands.
The parts that
fortune hath bestowed upon her
Tell her I hold
as giddily as fortune;
But ‘tis that
miracle and queen of gems
That nature
pranks her in attracts my soul” (1813; lines 79-84).
But, even
if Olivia did consent to Orsino’s wishes, cross-dressing would have seemed even
more unethical. The only woman who meets
the requirements of Orsino is in fact Viola, who’s in disguise. The events that unfold in the play do not
lead to Orsino’s original fantasies; he does not have extra obstacles that he
climbs so that he can be noticed. Orsino
also has a right to choose whom he wants to marry and has set the ground
rules/laws it would seem (even without his knowing) so that no woman can approach
him.
The symbol
of cross-dressing as a yearning for power, in both plays, exposes character
weaknesses from those in the vicinity of a cross-dresser. For instance, in “Twelfth Night”, Viola faces
Olivia, (who can be arguably said to have a crush on Cesario because of their
immediate connection with one another), and exposes her disdain for Orsino’s
ears. In “Twelfth Night,” furthermore, Orsino
is confronted by Olivia in a manner that is quite cold, which goes against his
fantasies of bedding and marrying her; only a cross-dresser who is audacious
enough who can seduce him would merit his hand in marriage. And whenever Olivia speaks with Orsino in
the play, she has a much colder tone than Viola’s, suggesting Viola and Orsino,
although not what Orsino originally intended, seems like the right choice. Olivia also implies that Orsino is fat: “If
it be aught to hears the jab and retorts sardonically, “Still so cruel?” (1840;
line 106). Further examples exist in the
play where Olivia omits the “my” from “my lord”: “Still so constant, lord” on
line 107 on the same page; and Orsino seems more preoccupied with Cesario than
with Orsino, “Whither, my lord? Cesario,
husband, stay” (1840; line 138). The
play’s ending in act V, suggests male power over women’s sexual choices are
really limited. However, men had the
power of wealth and a steady income whereas women simply did not. In “As you Like it,” Rosalind expresses her
knowledge of men in her act as Ganymede in a fashion that is quite insulting,
yet humorous. Her lines seem to imply
there’s much more to her character, which may have been hurt by past experiences
than what meets the eye. When conversing
with Touchstone, Ganymede states about the love engravings/letters he has found
in the forest: “Peace, you dull fool, I found them on a tree” (1651; line 103).
The cross-dressing
symbol that is throughout the play indicates a failure of society, and perhaps
of the play, in terms of rectifying gender inequality. To that end, Viola’s and
Rosalind’s initial decisions of crossdressing indicates that they are
intelligent, strong-willed, and non-traditionalist women Shakespeare is writing
about. And although Shakespeare fails at mentioning any allusions to
Queen Elizabeth I, in that time period, having a female matriarch as a country’s
leader would have been enlightening and revolutionary. Viola’s and Rosalind’s characters might be allusions
to Queen Elizabeth I, who surpassed all expectations of what a Queen could do.
Bibliography
Greenblatt, Stephen, Walter Cohen, Jean Howard, Katherine Maus, eds. “The Norton Shakespeare”. 2nd
ed.
New York; W.W Norton, 2008. Print.
