The population of Elizabethan England experienced an unprecedented increase in social mobility during the period in which Shakespeare composed his plays. Twelfth Night reflects this fluidity between classes as Shakespeare reduces knights to fools and elevates supposed servants to the status of worthy suitors. In Act 3, Scene 1, Shakespeare inverts the social statuses of the Countess Olivia and the servant Cesario in order to explore the theme of deception. From the outset of the play, Shakespeare depicts Countess Olivia as a serious and withdrawn woman who vows to veil her face for seven years in mourning. Olivia’s behavior in this excerpt, however repudiates that initial perception. Shakespeare characterizes her as impulsive and irrational once she falls in love with Cesario. In the beginning of the excerpt, Olivia asks Cesario “what is your name?” (Shakespeare 3.1.98). Considering that Olivia has already begun actively pursuing Cesario, the fact that she does not know a detail as basic as his name portrays her behavior as highly illogical. Olivia is unabashedly hopeful through the end of the excerpt. Even when Cesario tells her: “I pity you” (Shakespeare 3.1.129), she proposes that pity is “a degree to love” (Shakespeare 3.1.130). In contrast to Olivia, Shakespeare depicts Cesario as rational and composed. Despite all of Olivia’s interjections, Cesario remains focused on his mission: to communicate his master’s love to Olivia. Furthermore, throughout the scene Cesario actively separates himself from the situation and, therefore, Olivia’s advances--succumbing to her pursuit of him would require that he waver from his objective. While Olivia refers to herself in the first person throughout the scene, Cesario uses the third person. After Olivia requests his name, he introduces himself by saying “Cesario is your servant’s name, fair princess” (3.1.99). This introduction both distances Cesario from the situation because he refers to himself by name rather than using the more personal first person and reminds the audience of the characters’ reversed classes. Cesario is the “servant” and Olivia the “fair princess,” but Olivia’s irrational behavior clashes with her noble status while Cesario remains contrastingly composed, contradicting his own status a servant. This juxtaposition in behavior represents the inversion of social status that has occurred in their relationship. Shakespeare continues to portray this inverted relationship through Olivia’s treatment of Cesario. She refers to Cesario as “sir” (Shakespeare 3.1.100), affording him a status not normally given to a servant boy. Later
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The Oxford English Dictionary reveals that during Shakespeare’s time, the verb to abuse could mean “to deceive” ("abuse, v"). Olivia and Cesario’s relationship is brimming with deception. Olivia misleads Cesario by sending him the ring while Cesario misleads Olivia by disguising his true nature: that of the gentlewoman Viola. This theme of deception is evident throughout the play as characters lie profusely and disguise themselves routinely. By connecting it to the idea of social class, Shakespeare prompts his audience to treat characters with suspicion. Social class is not always evident and straightforward and characters often behave themselves in contradiction to the rules and perceptions of their class. There is a constant ambiguity between appearance versus reality in Twelfth Night, supported by characters’ penchants for deception. Shakespeare reverses Olivia and Cesario’s classes to clarify this deception to his audience and, thereby, encourage them to more carefully consider what is true and what is not in the
The Oxford English Dictionary reveals that during Shakespeare’s time, the verb to abuse could mean “to deceive” ("abuse, v"). Olivia and Cesario’s relationship is brimming with deception. Olivia misleads Cesario by sending him the ring while Cesario misleads Olivia by disguising his true nature: that of the gentlewoman Viola. This theme of deception is evident throughout the play as characters lie profusely and disguise themselves routinely. By connecting it to the idea of social class, Shakespeare prompts his audience to treat characters with suspicion. Social class is not always evident and straightforward and characters often behave themselves in contradiction to the rules and perceptions of their class. There is a constant ambiguity between appearance versus reality in Twelfth Night, supported by characters’ penchants for deception. Shakespeare reverses Olivia and Cesario’s classes to clarify this deception to his audience and, thereby, encourage them to more carefully consider what is true and what is not in the