Twelfth Night’s Performances: An Analysis of Gender Presentations and Sexuality in Shakespearean Drama

Abstract

[Abstract] Literary works are quite relevant in the study of a certain period’s social attitudes and concepts such as gender and sexuality. This is especially true for drama as it provides a way to observe the characters as they construct an identity through their performances. This essay intends to analyse the ways in which gender, sexuality and overall masculinity and femininity were developed as social constructs in Shakespeare’s time. Using the theory of performativity (the belief that gender and sexuality are social performances characterized by their similarity to a given standard that is considered canonical) as a framework along with a comprehensive description of the history of gender and sex, an interpretation of the characters from Twelfth Night has been crafted that presents their acts of speech within a narrative context as a direct modifier of their material conditions. For this purpose, a materialist approach to history and politics has been assumed to assess the intents and purposes of the play’s narrative both in its form and from a pragmatic point of view. Additionally, Shakespeare’s historical context has been thoroughly explored in terms of gender—its conceptualization and power dynamics—and sexuality (due to its potential socio-political impact in the society of the 17th century). The results of this study support—in general—the subversive nature of Shakespearean drama as well as the fact that his characters construct their identities through performative acts that allow them to effectively achieve social mobility between different social classes thanks to the establishment of homosocial relationships.