In Twelfth Night, there is a constant theme of things not being what they seem. At the very start of the play, Viola seeks to find information about her brother’s whereabouts by disguising herself as a man: “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid/For such disguise as haply shall become/The form of my intent” (1.2 49-51). Her disguise fits her very well (or vice versa) and quite soon Olivia falls in love with her male alter-ego, Cesario.
Further, Olivia’s jester Feste has more intelligence than what others give him credit for. He is the only character in the play to point out that he doesn’t trust Viola/Cesario: “…but in my conscience, sir, I do not care for you./If that be to care for nothing, sir, I would it would make you invisible” (3.1 24-26). Viola has been able to deceive everyone except Feste, a type of trickster in his own right.
The title Twelfth Night alludes to the feasting during Christmas time. Perhaps Shakespeare utilized the blurring of genders and identity to allude to the blending of classes during that time. Being a celebration, the twelfth night of Christmas may have brought people together in a way they normally wouldn’t have been.
There is an element of that blending when Malvolio tries to intermix himself with Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria. In his own terrible way, Malvolio disguises himself as something he is not, especially after finding “Olivia’s” love-letter: “I will be proud, I will read politic authors, I will baffle Sir Toby, I will wash off gross acquaintance, I will be point-device the very man” (2.5 141-144). As strange as he is, I felt pretty sorry for Malvolio as he never gets redemption in the play. His last words are “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you” (5.1 365) which leads me to believe that things really are not all they seem by the end of this comedy.
Getting back to Viola, her disguise as Cesario makes the whole play more of a “dramedy” than comedy, in my opinion. When Viola becomes Cesario, she gains a man’s perspective. When Olivia falls in love with Cesario, Viola reasons: “How easy is it for the proper false/In women’s waxen hearts to set their forms!/Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we,/For such as we are made of, such we be” (2.2 29-30). By having access to both a male and female identity, she sees the imbalances of societal gender roles.
Yet, gender roles are almost the undoing of Viola’s disguise. It’s interesting that Viola never unveils her true self when she’s with Olivia, even if she makes her uncomfortable. The only time she thinks to break character is when she’s being challenged to a duel by Sir Toby and Sir Andrew: “Pray God defend me. A little thing would make me tell them how much I lack of a man” (3.4 268-269). In addition to Feste, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew come very close to unmasking her by the end of the play. Shakespeare leaves me questioning, what we’d call in modern times, “fake it until you make it.” Can Viola truly be happy with Orsino since he has always known her as a man? Are Sebastian and Viola so alike that Olivia’s marriage to Sebastian is one and the same? Finally, what would Malvolio’s revenge be?
I think you pose some really interesting questions and ideas here about the similarities and differences between when one is disguised and when one is in their “normal” attire. The question as to whether Orsino can be happy with Viola is interesting because it not only involves gender but also just her/his personality. Viola of course has to act differently when she is posing as a man because men (as we saw in the clip from She’s the Man) have different stereotypical behaviors than women. We also do not get to hear much from her when she is acting as Viola rather than Cesario, so it is difficult to tell if they are even similar. This also relates to your second question, because the entire play makes it seem as if Viola, Sebastian, and Cesario are all the exact same person. They are totally interchangeable in every single way, even though they each act completely differently. I want to say no to both of your first questions, because it makes way more sense, but the play seems to say otherwise. I wonder if Shakespeare is trying to send a message about how we cherish appearance significantly over personality. Who knows?