Gender is a doing rather than a being
Essay outline
- Introduction
Introduce the literary works as well as their authors. Give a brief overview of the “twelfth night” and “the world’s wife”. Briefly state what the essay will discuss. Write the thesis statement at the end of the introduction.
- Viola dresses up as a man to survive in Illyria.
This paragraph describes how Viola opted to disguise as a man to survive in Illyria. This paragraph shows how women are denied a voice since Viola has to disguise as a man. Therefore this paragraph fulfils the thesis since Viola disguises as a man and people believe her.
- Olivia falls in love with “Cesario”.
A gender is an act because Viola acts like a man until Olivia falls for her. Before Olivia falls for Cesario, she is objectified by men who want to marry her because of her wealth. Men like Aguecheek and Toby only see Olivia as a ticket to wealth.
- Viola falls in love with Orsino.
Viola is not a man. Since gender is just an act, Viola falls for Orsino despite disguising as a man. Again, women are denied a voice because Viola cannot declare her love for Orsino because she is disguised as a man.
- Aguecheek and Cesario decline the duel.
The duel is meant to prove that Aguecheek loves Olivia. However, since Cesario is not a man, he is not interested in Olivia. Therefore, Cesario withdraws from the duel since he cannot fight for his fellow woman.
References
Butler, J. (2006). Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. In The RoutledgeFalmer reader in gender & education (pp. 73-83). Routledge.
Lindheim, N. (2007). Rethinking sexuality and class in twelfth night. university of toronto quarterly, 76(2), 679-713.
Rowland, A. (2001). Love and masculinity in the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy. English, 50(198), 199-218.
Salih, S. (2007). On Judith Butler and Performativity. Sexualities and communication in everyday life: A reader, 55-68.