by Kyrstin Gallagher (Circle 3)
Masking in this play is very interesting to me. We have already seen it several times and have only read the first two acts. The first time we see it is with Viola, she disguises herself as a young man, Cesario. This was intriguing because it is not entirely clear why she wants to be disguised as a man. She is of high status and could do well if others knew who she was, but instead she chooses to live as a man: “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid,/ For such a disguise as happy shall become/ the form of my intent” (1.2.49-51). It could be so that she has the freedom to move about as a man does, which makes since, but a woman of her time would usually want to be provided for, which would have been done had she revealed her true identity. It makes for a comical addition to the play; A woman dressed as a man, who would have ironically already been played by a man in a show. It is one of the aspects that helps to make this comedy a comedy.
We see masking again when Olivia hides her face and will not reveal who she is to Cesario. She is hiding her true identity because she is intrigued by this persistent young man, but she is not yet sure if she can trust him. So she plays with him. Some of it seems to be for her benefit. She wants to play with him and dangle herself right in front of him without really showing herself. She also wants him gone at the beginning. She doesn’t want company. She is in morning. She hides her face and says, “Speak to me, I shall answer for her” (1.5.150). She pretends to be a lady in waiting, but once she hears him out she wants o know more about him. She reveals herself and asks about him and why he has come. She is far more interested in him than in Orsino, whom he came to woo her for: ” …Let him send no more,/ Unless, perchance, you come to me again” (1.5.251-252). Her mask is uncovered once she feels she has something to chase. In this case it is Cesario, whom she will never be with. The masking causes much interest but a lot of confusion.
Even Orsino wears a bit of a mask. Yes, he wears his heart in his sleeve and is quite in love with Olivia, but he doesn’t go to woo her himself. He knows that she will not allow him to see her, so to trick her he sends Cesario. He is someone she can relate to, according to Orsino: “Diana’s lip/ Is not more smooth and dubious, thy small pipe/ is as the maiden’s organ” (1.5.30-32). He is very much like a woman, which readers find funny and ironic, and that makes him more likely to be admitted to see Olivia. He is not being entirely honest he uses Cesario as a sort of mask so that someone is able to profess his love for her.
The last form of masking we have seen so far is Maria and Sir Toby writing the letter to Malvolio as Olivia. They want to play with his mind so they disguise themselves in a letter and play with his mind: “…Observe him for the/ love of mockery, for I know this letter will make a contempla-/ tive idiot of him” (2.5.15-17). They use his vanity and narcissism to fool him into believing that Olivia loves him. They trick him into doing things that Olivia will hate, and that will be completely inappropriate in a house of mourning.
Masking is very prominent in this play and I see it causing a lot more conflicts in the rest of the play. I can see how this element would help to creat a fantastic comedy with all of the costumes and deceit. It seems to be leading towards a much bigger and very ironic conflict in the end.
Hi Kyrstin!
I also agree that a huge part in the play and also an important part in the play is when Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario. This also seems strange to me because she is at a higher class so therefor she should have no problem living comfortably. I think it’s ironic that Olivia at one point in the play decides to not let Cesario see her face meanwhile Cesario is also disguised as a man but really is a girl! I think Maria writing to Malvolio as Olivia is also another type of masking which is crucial in the play because then Maria, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew wouldn’t of seen revenge. I also agree that masking creates a great affect to the play and how it creates an interesting amount of comedy throughout the play. These masks help create interesting parts throughout the play and give the play more intruding scenes that make the reader want to keep reading to see what will happen next. Great Job!
Kyrstin,
I still don’t understand why Viola disguised herself, it bugs me! I understand she is vulnerable but I don’t know if I’d want work for a Duke as a lady of class so I give her credit. Masking in this play happens in so many different ways in physical, emotional, and verbal/ language. I like how you noted all these different means of masking. I never really considered Maria writing the letter as a mask but I see your point. No one knows she is responsible because of how efficient she is. The play wouldn’t be as interesting or as funny without this crucial aspect, I feel.
Thank you for bringing masking to light!
Kyrstin,
I think that the comedic and sometimes ironic situations in this work are based on the fact that the reader always knows more than the characters. It is interesting to think about Orsino wearing a mask and I never really thought about it that way, but it makes complete sense. He takes on the persona of a middle school boy who has a crush on a girl, sending one of his men to try to win over Olivia instead of doing it himself. It makes sense why he could not win her over himself, since he knew from the beginning that she would not let him see her. The scene in which Orsino basically says that Cesario has feminine qualities is comedic to the reader because we know that Cesario is really Viola. Knowing more than the characters do provides a sense of comedy because the readers know what is coming, especially in the case of Maria’s letter to Malvolio.
Kyrstin,
I think the idea of the characters wearing masks is really interesting and I hadn’t thought of it like that before. I really like how you mentioned that even though Orsino is very straight forward and is very clear about his feelings all the time, he still sends Cesario to profess his love to Olivia for him; wearing a mask, essentially. Viola is definitely the most obvious example of masking but Orsino too uses another identity to do his bidding. I think this masking is very human, especially in situations of love, and the characters in Twelfth Night are no different. They have intense feelings but those are often the most difficult to express to someone else…it’s easier to pretend they’re not coming from you.
Kyrstin,
I find it interesting that you describe Cesario as a mask that Orsino uses to “woo” Olivia. I had not at all thought of the play in these terms and because you have introduced it as such I believe there is a good amount of mask-wearing in this play. Going back to Orsino and Cesario, I think it is extremely important to mention that Orsino chooses Cesario because he (she) is the goodlooking character that he (she) is. Orsino simply uses Cesario to send as a respresentative of himself because he knows that he will not appear as attractive or be able to win Olivia over with his own looks and words.
It is great that you describe Twelfth Night in this way, it gives an entirely new scope to the play through which I was not viewing it before.
Kyrstin,
I do think you made a great point about how important the masking theme is in this play. I didn’t notice it at first, but when you explained all these different ideas that break from the one them, I can appreciate this idea more now.
However, I think that you can take from Viola when she says, “For such a disguise as happy shall become” (1.2.50) as she is not happy about this, but she can make the best out of the situation she is dealt. If you consider it she doesn’t have much of a choice, one for the plot of the play, and two because she in a new place, with no male to guide her, so she needs to make a name for herself.
The idea of masking is such a great example of how this play is fun, and has great comedy to it.
Kyrstin,
I like how you addressed this topic of “masks” because it is so relevant to the theme of the plot and occurs with several different characters. Before reading what you wrote, I automatically associated Viola/Cesario to the idea of masking but did not make the connections like you did with Olivia and Orsino. I think that it is true Orsino is not being true to himself in that he is blind to who he actually loves. While he believes his heart is telling him Olivia, it is clear that he is drawn toward Viola as we see the play go on. I did not see Olivia as much as wearing a “mask” until you brought up how she pretends to be something that she is not, distancing herself from what her heart truly desires (much like Orsino). Lastly, I agree with the letters acting as trickery because they deceived so many and are a huge element to the play. Another mask we see in result from these letters is Sir Topas with Malvolio! Looking at all of these “masks” throughout the play it makes me wonder who does not wear one at some point throughout the entire play? Masking is definitely an underlying theme that is stretched out to so many characters, it is almost as if pretending to be someone else is easier than being true to yourself!
Krystin,
I thought your post was very interesting. I like your use of the word masking. In the beginning of the play I was also confused as to why Viola decided to disguise herself as a man, Cesario. But then after discussing it in class I was able to understand her decision to become a man. I also agree with the fact that an actor dressed as a woman who disguises herself as a man is very comical and it’s not something you see often. At first I was confused why you wouldn’t just say disguises but after reading your post it became clear. I hadn’t thought of the fact that Olivia was hiding her face as being significant when I first read the play, but as you have mentioned she hid her face to hid her identity just as Viola is hiding her true identity by becoming a man. I also thought it was very interesting that you refer to Cesario as Orsino’s mask because he sends him to talk with Olivia. Lastly I liked that you refer to the letter written to Malvolio as a mask. These were all things I would have never thought to compare
Hi Krystin,
I was also really intrigued by the inclusion of masks and disguises in Twelfth Night. I really like your examples of this–especially the consideration of Orsino wearing a mask. Even though he is blatantly and outwardly in love with Olivia, he must still wear some sort of disguise in sending Cesario to Olivia, masking himself in a way— as we all must.
Beyond providing comedy and irony, I thought Shakespeare might have been commenting on the illusory nature of love (“high fantastical”). However exaggerated the use of disguise is during the play, it is also something that humanity deals with in subtler ways every day.
Krystin,
I agree with your analysis and interpretation of the masks in this play. Obviously the Viola and Cesario mask is prevalent throughout the play, but I liked your interpretation of Orsino and how he wears his mask and how he is not entirely honest when he is speaking to Cesario about his love. My interpretation was that there was some homoeroticism that came from Orsino’s part when he is speaking to Cesario. The masking that Maria creates is also a very key and crucial aspect to the play and it’s important to recognize Maria’s efforts in trying to mess with Malvolio.
Wow what a cool connection. I did not think of Olivia hiding her face this way at all. I did realize she is thinking in that scene that she may not be able to trust him (Cesario). But, I more so left the whole hiding her face thing to the mourning and depression. Your elaboration of that specific short scene makes more sense an I like it better. Thank you. Also it’s very interesting to view Orsino as wearing a mask. Because orsino is a powerful and kind of selfish character it is easy to vaguley look at his choices as just normal for the time and a little self beneficial. What I didn’t realize (until now) is part of that is so manipulative and self beneficial it is only for self preservation ; he used her like a mask. He used her to hide any uglyness or mess up he could have accidentally let show during their meeting.
Kyrstin, I found your paragraph about Orsino quite interesting. I never thought that he was masking himself in order to draw Olivia closer. I just thought that he didn’t quite understand the concept of love or that he was just intirgued with the idea of being in love with someone of his social stature. Your post makes me think that may be Orsino was masking his feelings for Cesario, he started to have feelings for him, not knowing that he was truly a woman. He withheld these feelings even though they were clearly there. I like your idea about Olivia masking herself in order to feel out her trust with Cesario, like in most cases in that time period wearing a black veil or mask is common in mourning situations, but your analysis of the mask being a symbol is really interesting!