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       Angela - Act 1 Post
   DIR By: aweber18
       Date: February 15, 2016, 1:41 pm
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       In Act 1 of Twelfth Night, Viola and Olivia both lose their
       brothers. While "[Olivia herself], till seven years' heat, shall
       not behold her face at ample view" (1.1.25-6), Viola chooses to
       "conceal what [she is], and...serve this duke" (1.2.50-2). I
       feel like Olivia serves as a foil to Viola not only to show the
       theme that "care's an enemy to life" (1.3.2), but also to
       emphasize Viola as a strong female character, who makes the most
       out of tough situations.
       Viola and Olivia remind me a lot of Beatrice and Hero; while
       Olivia and Hero are more or a stereotyped weak, feminine
       character, Viola and Beatrice promote feminism with strong,
       independent, wills. These gender roles are especially shown
       through Viola playing a man--is Shakespeare saying that there
       isn't really a difference between genders beside physical
       characteristics?
       Another common trait I see in many of Shakespeare plays is the
       irrational, sudden love by an overly dramatic and romantic
       character. The Duke Orsino bears a strong resemblance to Romeo
       from Romeo and Juliet and Claudio from Much Ado About Nothing.
       At the very beginning of the play, he states that "when [his]
       eyes did see Olivia first, [he]thought she purged the air of
       pestilence" (1.1.18-9). The way he talks about Olivia is in a
       lovesick, ranting manner much like Romeo and Claudio, about
       girls they haven't really even met or talked to. I don't really
       understand Shakespeare's definition of love--how do you love
       someone you haven't even talked to? This just further emphasizes
       the pronounced gender roles in his time--men easily fell in love
       with women strictly for their looks, barely giving a thought to
       the person they were beneath that.
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