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In Act 2 Scene 2, we witness Viola’s only soliloquy that she expresses after watching Malvolio’s frustration at her and realising that Olivia has feelings for her. This extract highlights Viola’s confusion and emotions regarding her disguise. This may have been intended to be her only soliloquy to illustrate how Viola did not have another person to talk to about her disguise, only having the audience as bystanders. Shakespeare could potentially be questioning the purpose of gender in this extract through the disguise of Viola, and the lengths she has to go through to be Cesario.
Immediately, Viola, in despair, has realised that Olivia has fallen for Cesario.
The typical Shakespearian comedic convention of disguise is introduced here, along with mistaken identity. The fact that Viola is alone on stage is extremely significant. This makes it easier for Viola to cast blame and also to ponder the emotions of others while they are not present. Considering Viola is under the guise of Cesario, it would be impossible otherwise for Viola to express the emotions she does.
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As soon as Malvolio leaves the scene, Viola states that “I have left no ring with her.” This short sentence could possibly be reflecting Viola’s pure intentions as she is confident that she doesn’t want Olivia to fall in love with her, and would never try to. Moreover, Viola also states “Fortune forbid my outside have not charmed her.” The phrase “fortune forbid” could imply how Viola had turned to fate itself to ensure that Olivia didn’t fall in love with her.
Ultimately in the role of Cesario she finds she has just as many unbearable problems as she had in the beginning. However, now her situation is worse, because she cannot solve any of them unless she returns to her former identity and accepts the loss of her brother and station. Since the beginning of the play her troubles have increased despite her actions. She must leave her troubles for fate to decide. Moreover, Viola has used the word “outside” here, referring to Cesario. Shakespeare may have intended to do this to demonstrate how gender doesn’t really serve a purpose, as although it appears that Olivia has fallen for Cesario, she in reality has fallen for Viola’s personality and attitude. However, it could also be interpreted that Olivia has only fallen for Cesario’s “outside”, illustrating how shallow Olivia’s love for him was, as she didn’t really know his personality. This could be seen as dramatic irony, Shakespeare has made Olivia detest Orsino’s love for her as she believes it isn’t ‘real’, but falls for someone she just met. Shakespeare could possibly be mocking the idea of love here, and how easily people can fall in ‘love’. Viola is aware of her disguise, and Shakespeare may have written this soliloquy to voice the audience’s currents thoughts, as only her and the audience understand that Cesario is Viola. Viola being the only character who’s aware of her own disguise is significant as it could make the audience feel a stronger connection and personal liking to Viola, as they share knowledge in common. Shakespeare may have intended to make the audience feel a stronger connection to Viola in order for them to feel more involved in the play, thus leading them to possibly laugh at how Olivia is head over heels for Cesario, though she is actually Viola. Therefore, Shakespeare may have intended to write this soliloquy to outline how gender has no purpose regarding love as despite Viola being so desperate for Olivia to fall in love with her, she has done so anyway. Moreover, it could even be argued that Olivia’s love is shallow, as she has only fallen for her ‘outside’, possibly to remind the audience how similar Olivia truly is to Orsino, despite her hate for Olivia.
Moreover, Viola’s soliloquy could be interpreted as how Viola is constantly reminding herself that she needs to remain a man even though it goes against her morale. This is reflected in her strong, declarative, sentence, stating that “I am the man.” Although Viola doesn’t agree with her disguise, she has to be a male in order for her power as a person to be increased. Moreover, the confidence in the word ‘am’ could be interpreted as Viola trying to reassure herself that she needs to continue being a man. However, it could also be interpreted as Viola may be getting confused with her own identity, and not knowing which one is her “true self”. However, despite Viola potentially not knowing which identity is real, she is aware that her disguise her deceptive and unintentionally hurting people. She states “Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness.” The word “wickedness” highlights how almost disgusted Viola is with her own disguise, as she’s already made Olivia feel feelings for Cesario. Shakespeare may have intended to this and use the theme of disguise to illustrate how hard it was for women to be in a position of power, and have to rely on deceit in order to have more freedom. Despite this, Viola still has good intentions. Viola’s frustration is also emphasised through her apostrophising her disguise. She apostrophises her disguise, humanising Cesario as if it were a real person. She calls herself a ‘monster’, reflecting how reluctant she is to be in disguise, but has to be in order to have more rights. Moreover, she says “As I am a man, my state is desperate for my master’s love, As I am woman” Viola’s dilemma is emphasised here, since she’s pretending to be a man, her love for Orsino is hopeless. Since she’s a woman, Olivia’s love for her is hopeless. Shakespeare may intend to introduce this struggle for Viola to emphasise how beneath everything, love has no gender. The audience may react to this with laughter as they witness the love triangle slowly unfold, with the trope of mistaken identity being prevalent.
Moreover, Viola’s soliloquy could also be interpreted as her voicing out the thoughts in her mind. Her speech is very broken up with a slow pace. There are a lot of pauses which interrupts the flow of her soliloquy. For example, she says “Indeed so much/That me thought” and “If it be so, as tis.” This could imply Viola’s thoughts and feelings which are constantly racing round in her head, and could be reflecting her wondering if she’s doing the correct thing. Additionally, her confusion is also highlighted through her use of rhetorical questions, “What means this lady?” and “What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe?”. The rhetorical questions here could connote Viola’s doubt and uncertainty of her actions. Her empathy for Olivia is shown in the word ‘poor’. This reminds to the readers that Viola does not want to intentionally trick Olivia, make her fall in love with Cesario and take advantage of her. However, Twelfth Night is a comedy, that has a happy ending, the rhyming couplets used throughout the soliloquy could be used to foreshadow this. It could imply how in the end, everything will be connected and reassures the reader that everything that’s happening now happens for a reason. In Shakespeare, characters often conclude with a rhyming couplet to distance themselves from their situation. In this instance, Viola removes herself from her own situation in an attempt to alleviate blame and put the pressure on a force greater than herself to solve her problems. This is an escape mechanism providing a distressed character with hope and also stressing their innocence.
In conclusion, Viola’s soliloquy presents to the reader her confusion and brings light to the tropes of mistaken identity and disguise. Shakespeare could possibly be questioning the purpose of gender here, as Olivia has fallen for someone who in reality is a woman. Overall, Viola’s speech is important to the line of action of Twelfth Night. This speech occurs a few scenes before the climax of the play. It contributes to the rising action by foreshadowing the climax when no one is aware of the identity of any one else and confusion breaks loose in Illyria. Viola’s confused state in Act 2, Scene 2, as well as her implied realization that taking on a disguise was not the best solution, presents a turning point in the play. During this speech Viola is the only person on stage. This easily allows for Viola to overcome her obstacle and achieve her objective. The language she uses reflects her main action of blaming others for her own mistakes. And finally, this speech represents a revelation in Viola’s through -line when she realizes her main action for the play is problematic.
The Tropes Of Mistaken Identity and Disguise. (2024, Feb 27). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-tropes-of-mistaken-identity-and-disguise-essay
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