In William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, there is an obvious homosexual theme. For example, Viola, after hearing of the Duke and then becoming attracted to him, decides to dress as a man and serve the Duke as his eunuch. This decision presents at least three different homosexual preponderances. First, in Shakespeare’s time, women were not allowed to act in plays, which means that Viola’s character was being acted by a young boy. So the young boy crossed dressed as a woman, who then dressed as a man (and pretended to be Cesario). The first homosexual tendency is presented by the specific context of the play, whereas the second homosexual tendency can be found in Viola’s intentions. When she learns of the Duke, why is it that the first thing that comes to mind is to cross dress and serve him as a eunuch? Every time Viola is with the Duke, she is completely smitten with him, yet presents herself as a man. The decision to present herself as a man, is then honored in the end of the play. When the Duke discovers that Viola is actually a woman, he may as well have said, “oh thank God, now it’s ok for me to be in love with you!” Viola and the Duke barely say anything before deciding that they are in love. It is obvious that this romance was brewing well before the Duke knew that Viola was a woman.
Finally, the third homosexual tendency is presented in the relationship between Viola and Olivia. For example, Viola is sent by the Duke to Olivia to profess his love. While Viola, being dressed as a man, is visiting with Olivia, Olivia decides she is in love with Viola and she tells her she is in love with her. Even though Olivia does not know Viola is not a man, the audience knows. Therefore, it is obvious that Shakespeare intends to produce a lesbian love affair, yet justifies it to his sixteenth century English audience by having Viola dress as a man. Evidence for Shakespeare’s intentions lies in the fact that, after Olivia professes her love to Viola, Viola continues to visit her.
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