Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Essay

In all Shakespeare plays women have been used to portray the crucial roles that they play in the society. There different associations with men in their community show how they are different or how they are similar to men. Shakespeare also seeks to show how a patriarch society can determine the roles and the duties of women and their view of themselves. Regardless of the position of women in the society, there are always a few who will prove that women are a core part of the society. In this paper, we shall look at Viola as a character that illuminates the roles of women in both the modern and the traditional society by portraying characteristics that define women.

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Viola is a character that has been used to portray woman as loving creatures that will sacrifice their happiness for other's sake. In the text we see Viola mourning the death of his twin brother Sebastian after she has been shipwrecked. This shows that women can love sincerely and truthfully. We also see Viola being in love with Orsino who is greatly infatuated with Lady Olivia. Though Viola loves him, she is willing to sacrifice her love so that he can have Olivia. This shows that women can sacrifice their needs for the sake of the ones they love be it there blood-related family or friends all for the sake of love.

Viola also portrays women to be sacrificial and loyal to their course. They sacrifice a lot regarding what they have for the sake of attaining a balance of what they need. In the text, Viola helps Orsino to Woo Olivia though she is in love with him. She, therefore, sacrifices her happiness's for the sake of her loyalty to Orsino.

Viola shows that women can also be said to be pretentious. In most community women can be said to always carry themselves in different ways and hence different people give different characters of who they are. In the play, Viola is one of this lady. She pretends to be a man when in real sense she is a woman. She works with Duke Orsino and even woos Olivia for him without the Duke noticing that she is a woman. Olivia also does not notice Viola is a woman. As the story progresses, we see confusion arising since people confuse Sebastian and Viola. This pretentious nature of women might cause social confusion since people may not have a clear idea of which part a person should play.

The following are some reason why women pick the pretentious nature and wear it around the society. First is that they seek to have social recognition as that of men or seek social equality with men and that is why Viola changes herself to become Cesario so that she can enjoy the social benefits that the men in her community enjoy. Second, the women pick up the pretentious nature as a protective mechanism. When they want to shield themselves from the trouble, they will always seek to take up roles of people who are readily acceptable in the society.

For any society to thrive women should be acknowledged members of the society who play vital roles in ensuring that the family as a unit remains firm to enhance the unity of the society. The women should be appreciated for the roles they played and discouraged to avoid behaviors that might threaten the stability of a community.