Viola's Cross-Dressing In The Play 'Twelfth Night'

Twelfth Night Essay

In the play Twelfth Night, or What You Will written by William Shakespeare, the character Duke Orsino receives love advice from Cesario, secretly Viola, who happens to be played by a boy in the original play. The question is, however, does Viola’s cross-dressing serve only as a plot device, or does it serve a more important purpose? I believe that the answer to this question is the latter, Viola’s cross-dressing serves not only one, but several very important purposes to the story, such as contributing to Orsino’s character development, helping Viola develop a stronger relationship with Orsino, and helping the actor and audience to better understand Viola’s struggle.

Orsino needs the advice of a woman, not a man, in order to try and win over Olivia. Part of Orsino’s problem when trying to gain Olivia’s attention is that he doesn’t understand women and thinks that they’re incapable of feeling love in the same way that men do. This is indicated when he 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.”(pg.28). The other part of Orsino’s problem may be that

Viola being played by a boy was less of a personal choice and more of a legal matter, as women weren’t allowed to act, but this factors into the play quite nicely. For instance, it allows the actor to sympathize with Viola’s struggle to be perceived by others as a gender that she isn’t. It also adds a more comedic tone to the play, as Olivia asks if Cesario is a comedian, an actor, to which Cesario replies, “No, my profound heart: and yet, by the very fangs of malice I swear, I am not that I play.”(pg.14). While within context of the play, Viola is stating that she’s not really Cesario, a man, however, it could also be considered a joke concerning the gender of Viola’s