Sex
Viola is not alone among Shakespeare's cross-dressing heroines; in Shakespeare's theatre, convention dictated that adolescent boys play the roles of female characters, creating humour in the multiplicity of disguise found in a female character who for a while pretended at masculinity.[10] Her cross dressing enables Viola to fulfil usually male roles, such as acting as a messenger between Orsino and Olivia or serving as Orsino's confidant. She does not, however, use her disguise to enable her to intervene directly in the plot (unlike other Shakespearean heroines such as Rosalind in As You Like It and Portia in The Merchant of Venice), remaining someone who allows "Time" to untangle the plot.[12] Viola's persistence in transvestism through her betrothal in the final scene of the play often engenders a discussion of the possibly homoerotic relationship between Viola and Orsino.
The Duel Scene from 'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare, William Powell Frith (1842)As the very nature of Twelfth Night explores gender identity and sexual attraction, having a male actor play Viola enhanced the impression of androgyny and sexual ambiguity.[13] Some modern scholars believe that Twelfth Night, with the added confusion of male actors and Viola's deception, addresses gender issues "with particular immediacy".[14] They also accept that the depiction of gender in Twelfth Night stems from the era's prevalent scientific theory that females are simply imperfect males.[13] This belief explains the almost indistinguishable differences between the sexes reflected in the casting and characters of Twelfth Night.
Metatheatre
At Olivia's first meeting with "Cesario" (Viola) in Act I, Scene v she asks her "Are you a comedian?" (an Elizabethan term for "actor").[15] Viola's reply, "I am not that I play", epitomising her adoption of the role of "Cesario" (Viola), is regarded as one of several references to theatricality and "playing" within the play.[16] The plot against Malvolio revolves around these ideas, and Fabian remarks in Act III, Scene iv: "If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction".[17] In Act IV, Scene ii, Feste (The Fool) plays both parts in the "play" for Malvolio's benefit, alternating between adopting the voice of the local curate, Sir Topas, and his own voice. He finishes by likening himself to "the old Vice" of English Morality plays.[18] Other influences of the English folk tradition can be seen in Feste's songs and dialogue, such as his final song in Act V.[19] The last line of this song, "And we'll strive to please you every day", is a direct echo of similar lines from several English folk plays.[20]
