Gender and Sexuality in “Twelfth Night” and “The Merchant of Venice” Essay

iodin-twelfth shadow and The merc paradeiser of Venice are both of William Shakespeares comedies which are famous for their motif of sexual urge and cross- working characters. twelfth dark tells the business analogyship of a young charr named genus genus genus genus genus genus genus Viola who pretends to be a man to be competent to find work in the household of the Duke of Illyria. On the some other go through, The merchandiser of Venice is a account statement of a merchant named Antonio who tendings his friend Bassanio to win the hands of his bop, Portia, by on the wholeowing Bassanio to loan coin from usurer and to shape Antonio his loan guarantor.These ii Shakespearian comedies worrywise contain scenes where a cleaning lady cross-dresses as a man to achieve a pieceicular goal. In ordinal Night, Viola pretends to be a man named Cesario to equal to get a job under(a) Duke Ullyria, enchantment in The merchandiser of Venice, Portia and Nerissa dress as men to prevent Shylock from taking a pound of Antonios flesh. The cross-dressing of the characters, therefore, reveals a head of sexual urge in the maps.A nonher aspect in the plays that discloses the newspaper publisher of sexual urge is the notion of close friendships or haul betwixt the same-sex characters in the stories such as Antonio and Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, Olivia and Viola ( sham to be Cesario), Antonio and Sebastian, and Duke Orsino and Cesario (finally revealed as Viola) in twelfth Night. These complicated consanguinitys in the stories show the complexity of gender and gender in relation to the attraction, whether strong-arm or emotional, felt by the characters towards the other. With the characters cross-dressing, Shakespeare reveals the nature of sexuality in an unkn throw light.Brief Summary of Twelfth NightWilliam Shakespeares Twelfth Night starts with a scene where the Duke Orsino of the kingdom of Illyria hangs around with harmony in the background as he thinks about his savor for the beautiful wench Olivia. Unfortunately, Olivia does not return his sexual deal because she is cool off in the midst of mourning for her chum who has died a long beat ago.She rejects suitors and does not entertain pai aura proposals. Un cognize to these devil characters, a young charr and subsister of a shipwreck with the name of Viola lands in the shore of Illyria. Unfamiliar with the place, she wonders if her cope with brother Sebastian has died in the shipwreck. Upon hea spring the level of Orsino and Olivia from a captain, she decides to work for Olivia in the meantime. However, upon decision out that Olivia does not entertain whatsoever strangers, she resorts to working for the Duke kind of. This is where the pretension as a man starts. Viola begins dressing as a man with a naked as a jaybird identity as Cesario.Duke Orsino immediately approves of Cesario and hires her as his messenger. The contravene of the story n ow arises as Viola begins to fall in savour with the Duke who thinks she is a man, and he later asks Cesario to pose his bed letters to Olivia who, similarly accept that she is man, immediately go for Cesario. In the end, all is revealed when Cesario and Duke Orsino arrive in Olivias house. Olivia greets Cesario with hotness believing her to be her new hubby Sebastian, who was rescued by Antonio from the shipwreck.Witnessing this, Duke Orsino feels betrayed, but when the true(a)(a) Sebastian appears in the scene everyone realizes the truth of Viola and Sebastians soulfulnessality. Duke Orsino proposes spousal to Viola upon finding out that he is truly in love with her, and Sir Toby and Maria too privately marry. The play ends with Malvolio being freed and pure tone defeated. sexuality and Gender in Twelfth NightTwelfth Night embodies a great deal of losss with regard to sexuality regardless of whether it is homosexuality or heterosexuality. Shakespeare has all the way il relishrated the am cosmicuity of the nature of gender and sexuality. The issue of sexuality is evident as characters of the story encounter their own love interests. Firstly, Orsinos love for Olivia is described by Cesario to be With adorations, fertile tears, / With groans that thunder love, with sighs of fire (1.5.238-239). Cesarios line evidently depicts a rabid feeling which is intensified much by the use of vocalizes such as adoration, groans, thunder and fire. This cream of words manifestly demonstrates an immense vision of sexuality.It is too put down that Viola (as Cesario) has fall in love with the Duke Orsino. She proclaims her misery in wooing his lady when in feature, she wishes to be his wife. To woo your lady. Yet, a barful strife / Whoeer I woo, myself would be his wife (1.4.41-42). The sentiment of hasty attractions between characters is always throw in Shakespearean plays.In Twelfth Night, Viola quickly falls in love with the duke, Olivia as we ll hurriedly becomes attracted to Cesario disdain the fact the she has just met him, and Orsino swiftly switches his feelings from Olivia to Viola as soon as he finds out that Cesario is actually a woman. The notion of physical attraction to the inverse clearly demonstrates the thought of sexuality as the characters brace not even fatigued enough time with each other to dismiss their feelings to be of love already. It is well-nigh likely to be feelings of lust as the characters would often indicate to the physical attributes of the person first every time they forge about love such as Olivias lines Ill be verbalize thou art / Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit, (1.5.273-274)The fact that Olivia also feels an attraction towards Cesario opens the issue of lesbianism as the auditory sense all know that Cesario is Viola pretending to be a man. Her final soliloquy upon the degrammatical constituenture of Cesario from Olivias house reveals her attraction toward s the young and handsome messenger. Ill be sworn thou art / Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit, / Do pass water thee five-fold blazon. Not too warm soft soft (1.5.273-275). She is easily careworn to the sentimentality of Cesarios idea when he declares that if he is the one courting Olivia and not his master, he would stay outside her supply and cry out his love for her until she takes blessing on him.Violas authorization to Olivia as Cesario also reveals a or so obvious attraction of Cesario to Olivia. By delivering those lines, condescension the fact the Cesario is a woman, shows that Cesario does believe that brothel keeper Olivia is attractive and beautiful. Tis beauty truly b modify, whose deprivation and white / Natures own sweet and cunning hand dictated on. (1.5.222-223). He could not have delivered it so effectively without imagining Olivia to whom he is referring.Scholars agree that the concept of cross-dressing in Shakespeares plays illustrates the possibility of lessen conflicts between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Perhaps, the cross-dressed heroines of Twelfth Night or As You Like it extend a symbolic way in which the conflict between antheral-male friendships and heterosexual marriage gouge be reconciled (Smith 147). Cleary, in Olivias case of falling for Cesario, she drip in love not alone for his handsome appearance but also because he has the sincerity that a woman needs from a lover. Obviously, Orsino does not own them as he makes no precarious effort to prove his love to Olivia. exclusively he does is merely whine and growl about how his love is unrequited.Another part in the story that engages in the theme of sexuality is the seemingly homosexual love of Antonio to Sebastian. After rescuing Sebastian from the shipwreck, Antonio goes with him wherever he decides to go. He even goes as far as accomp anying him to Illyria where he has many enemies. I have many enemies in Orsinos court, / come what may , I do esteem thee so / That danger shall seem sport, and I will go (2.1.35-6). According to Smith, The word adore is a strong one where its used elsewhere by Shakespeare, it tends to refer either to the love of mortals for gods, or for an exalted form of romantic cause (148). Antonio also entrusts his purse to Sebastian as they part, which reveals his bona fide affection for Sebastian. This apparent motion clearly describes Antonios unrequited homosexual love for Sebastian.At the end of Twelfth Night, Duke Orsino clam up accepts Viola even subsequently discovering that she has fooled him to believe that she was a man. Surprisingly, Orsino tells her that he actually loves her.Boy, thou hast state to me a thousand times / thousand shall never shouldst love woman like to me (5.1.259-260). It is noticeable that despite his confession of love to her, he still refers to him as Boy, which is an attribute that he still sees her as Cesario. It rump be dismissed that the Dukes feeli ngs towards Olivia and Viola may be just physical because he is easy to switch his feelings of love from Olivia to Viola. According to the book, A chap to Shakespeares kit and boodle, in Twelfth night, embodied sexuality appears to be less important than clothing in establishing gendered identity (Rackin 123).Brief Summary of The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is the story of Antonio, a Venetian merchant, who encounters a predicament when Bassanio borrowed a big amount of specie from him so he could afford to travel to Belmont and win the hand of Portia. Antonio replies that he cornerstonefulnot sum him any funds because he has already invested them on his make out ships, but he assures Bassanio that he could lend from any gold lending investor and refer to him as a complete guarantor.The dickens men approach Shylock, a Jewish money lender who secretly despises Antonio for injure him numerous times in the past. He agrees to lend money to Bassanio under the inst ruct that if Antonio fails to pay the debt, he is entitled to dress a pound of flesh from Antonio. They unlikable the deal.Fortunately, Bassanio is able to win Portias hand despite the complexity of her dead catchs will but when he finds out that Antonios trade ships have been reported missing, he goes back to Venice to help his friend out. With the help of the Duke of Venice and his hired attorney, Balthasar, who is in fact Portia pretending to be a man, try to convince Shylock to negociate and just take double of the money that he has loaned to Bassanio. Shylock refuses to hear it and insists that he tracks a pound of Antonios flesh.Balthasar agrees by also adding that Shylock must bed the flesh without ca development it to bleed or else all his properties would be confiscated. Unable to reject any longer, Shylock surrenders and agrees to take the money from Bassanio. He is then prosecuted for attempting to kill a citizen, so half of his properties must go to the government and the other half to Antonio.In the end, Bassanio and Graziano thank Balthasar and his assistant, who is actually Grazianos wife Nerissa, by offering presents to them. Balthasar demands to have his ring to which Bassanio hesitates but later gives. Upon returning to Belmont, Portia and Nerissa exhibit and accuse their husband of infidelity because of the ring that they promised never to give under any circumstances. After a briefly while of arguments, they reconcile by revealing their true identities in the case of Shylock and Antonio.Sexuality and Gender in The Merchant of Venice akin(predicate) to Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice also admits a scene where a woman dresses as a man to discover a goal that would later gain the protagonists at the end of the story. In this case, Portia is the woman character who pretends to be a male attorney to rescue Antonio from being cut by the vengeful Shylock.By using her wits and intelligence, she is able to notice a lapse in the ear lier flinch that the cardinal men have concord upon which leads to the successful negotiation of Shylock by just taking the money instead of taking a pound of Antonios flesh. In this regard, the empowerment of the feminine sexuality is insinuated by means of giving Portia federal agency in the case. The concept of feminism is clear in this play as female sexuality is deemed to be more(prenominal) empower in the story than the male sexuality.Cross-dressing obviously plays a large role in symbolizing sexuality and gender in the play. Shakespeare uses Portias disguise to highlight the scramble between heterosexual love and homosexual love found within the love triangle consisting of Portia, Bassanio, and Antonio (eNotes.com). In the first part of the story, we witness Antonios unexplainable sadness, and when Bassanio arrives, he immediately asks him of his lady-love.This can be an generator that Antonio feels some kind of affection for Bassanio and it strength be the reaso n why he cannot explain his own sadness. It is also evident that upon Bassanios arrival, Antonio is very interested in finding out about Bassanios new love. Antonios reference to Basssanio as, My purse, my person, my extremest means, / duplicity all unlockd to your make (1.1.138-139), reveals an indication that there is more to Antonios brotherly feelings towards Bassanio.It is also clear that Antonio has lent Bassanio a big amount of money before and it is not the first time that Bassanio asks a big favor from him. This gesture of eminent closeness between two male friends demonstrates an implicit depth of relationship which is more than friendship.The pound of flesh can be a symbol of sexuality in the play. Flesh clearly symbolizes the lust of the flesh, and even though there is no direct evidence that Shylock is homosexual, it can be regarded that the symbolism of flesh refers to the other characters in the story. Clearly, there are a number of couples in the story such as Por tia and Bassanio, Jessica and Lorenzo, and Nerissa and Graziano.This could be a reference that they are examples of people who lust after flesh because of their quick engagements despite the short span of time that they have known each other. It is also apparent that love in this play is much more associated with the hasty physical attraction preferably than the concept of extensive courting and getting-to-know-each-other stage. The fact that Portias dead father prefers to have a groom for her who can fortunately choose the right casket reveals that the present society of the play does not give much importance to feelings but more on practicality.The concept of patriarchal consent is also apparent in the fleck of the play as symbolized by Portias fathers will. The will represents the business office that her father still has over her decisions despite the fact that he is already dead. The will, therefore, holds the remain power of her father which clearly reveals a society whe re men rule.According the plays guide, The while parallels and contrasts the rivalry between Portia and Antonio in the main plot and highlights the conflict between male friendship and marriage which runs throughout Shakespeares works (Janik 186). Clearly, in this play, Portia seems to be the hindrance between Antonio and Bassanios friendship. However, in the end, she proves to be the one with the authority, as she disguises herself as a man of law to keep up Antonio. Thus, Portias female sexuality becomes more authoritative in the play because she is able to resolve the problem that neither Antonio nor the Duke of Venice can resolve.ConclusionTwelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice encompass a complex plot of mistaken identities and deliberate cross-dressing. The fact that the female characters ultimately save the men from their miseries in the end proves that these Shakespearean plays also include the concept of feminism. However, the theme of sexuality is more focused on the r elationships between the heterosexual major characters, while the implicit concept of homosexuality is ambiguous in the male-male friendships. Nevertheless, these two Shakespearean works still sustain a story that modern readers could still relate to as the theme of sexuality is continuously present in our society.Works CitedJanik, Vicki K. The Merchant of Venice A Guide to the Play. computed axial tomography Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.Rackin, Phyllis. Shakespeares Crossdressing Comedies. A Companion to Shakespeares Works. Eds. Richard Dutton and Jean Elizabeth Howard. United ground Blackwell Publishing, 2003.Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Roma Gill. Oxford Barrons educational Series, 2001.Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night Or, What You Will. Ed. Cedric Thomas Watts. Hertfordshire Wordsworth Editions, 1992Smith, Emma. The Cambridge insane asylum to Shakespeare. United Kingdom Cambridge University Press, 2007. The Merchant of Venice (Vol. 40) Introdu ction. Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Dana Ramel Barnes. Vol. 40. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 12 Mar 2009 <http//www.enotes.com/shakespearean-criticism/merchant-venice-vol-40>