Analyze_Viola's_Disguise_as_a_Boy

Analyze Viola’s Disguise as A Boy Viola is the main character in Twelfth Night, who disguises herself as a boy in order to protect herself when she failed to find her twin brother when they were shipwrecked, then becomes Orsino’s servant to try to win his love. The aim of disguise is to avoid being recognized by others and become something or someone contrary to who they actually were. So disguising allows people to be someone different from what they really are. And disguise is also regarded as a way to protect the person. Therefore, after Viola believed that her twin brother Sebastian to be dead in the shipwreck, she finds a way to protect herself, that is to disguise herself. Because she has no other family or relatives to care for her except her twin brother who she believed to be dead. At that time, women were not educated unless they were rich. So disguising herself as a boy could be a way of avoiding others’ attention. It was a convenience for Viola to become a servant in order to get close to Orsino, the Duke of Illyria to somehow win his love. For example, in one situation when Viola is going to talk to Olivia for the Duke, her disguise is awkward because she is trying to fill a role that she has no idea how to play. She is just a young adult around the age of seventeen. Because of her disguise, she has to be both herself and Cesario. She is still confusing with the man and woman roles. On the one hand, she has to learn how to be a man from Orsino through his behaviors and his talks with other people. On the other hand, because of the disguise she is confused of being a woman. She is confused of being a young woman who is falling in love with Orsino. But through her disguise, we can see her strength and intellect. It helps her in her pursuit of love. First, she chooses her words skillfully when she wants to tell Orsino that she loves him. Her passion drives her to tell him how she feels. At the same time, she must not let him guess that she is a girl. Thus, we can see her statements should be sounded plausible coming from Cesario. And her passion is revealed in the way she expresses herself. Since she cannot simply turn to Orsino and say “I love you” to him, the intensity of her feelings is reflected in the poetry of her speech, which can be reflected in Act II, Scene IV where she tells Orsino about the love her sister had to conceal. We can see that Viola is actually talking about her own feelings to Orsino. It helps her gain Orsino’s affection. However, in my opinion, I think disguise brings her a little danger. If Orsino found out who she really is, she would be a woman alone in the world with no protector. If her true identity was found in the play, she not only lost her chances of survival, but also lost the trust of Orsino and Olivia, even the love of Orsino. In the end, she would get nothing but the hatred by others, especially Orsino. Though disguising as a boy can protect herself, once she was found out who she really is, she would be tragedy in the play. Therefore, it takes risk for her to disguise herself.