I think often we can forget the state that Viola finds
herself in at the start of the play as we move on to the comedy of Illyria and the love
sick nature of so many characters. However, many critics argue that successful comedies
can often be separated only by the finest of lines from being a tragedy, and Viola in
Act I scene 2 finds herself in a desperate situation, swept up on a foreign shore where
she is friendless, unknown and may have potentially lost her brother in the shipwreck
that exiled her to these shores. It is always dangerous for a woman to be by herself and
without connections, so it is probably a very shrewd move on her part to disguise
herself as a man. Note Viola's own words:
readability="8">...And might not be delivered to the
worldTill I had made mine own occasion
mellow,What my estate
is!In this speech, Viola
expresses her desire to not be revealed to the world until it is convenient for her to
reveal her position into society until she knows what that position is. Given the
uncertainty of her position, this is a definite advantage. However, as we find out,
living as a man in man's company brings its distinct disadvantages, especially when
women fall in love with you and you are unable to express the love you have for your
Lord because of your supposed gender.
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