Besides, cross-dressing threatened the social order and the gendered hierarchies of power. The principles of subordination were challenged by the subversive potential of such practices which transgressed norms (Howard, 1988:418).
Regarding the motivation of disguise in Shakespearean plays, it assumes a wide variety of functions. In Viola's case, the circumstances are that she is shipwrecked in an unknown land, where she must protect herself. Viola must cross-dress in order to serve the duke. Such situational disguise exposes the constrictiveness of social gender roles by implying the danger and weakness a woman is subdued by (Windholz, 2004).
Consequently, Windholz asserts that Shakespeare's intend is to represent women's use of cross-dressing in response to the patriarchal constraints of Elizabethan society. Disguise may be interpreted as the only means for women to attain empowerment.
However, disguise deforms identities, as characters perceive it as a constraint, a burden or a 'knot': 'Time, thou must untangle this, not I; / it is too hard a knot for me t' untie' (II.2; I-III). Up to the closing scene, Viola remains a man, as her garments are not in her possession. This fact only further emphasizes our dependence upon clothing and their prearranged significance. Orsino addresses her as 'Cesario... / for so you shall be while you are a man' (V.I.348-377). The play's ending casts some light over the whole conundrum, but Viola still confusingly remains dressed as a male. To go back to the question which started the present essay, one may speculate whether it was Shakespeare's intention precisely to leave such an open ending that suggests androgyny.
Latter-day feminists like Susan Bordo have claimed that gender lines are too short-cut for human identity. Bordo urges us to move 'beyond the number two', as she deconstructs dual grids of reading gender identity (in Nicholson, 1990: 134-135). The possible solution - the notion of androgyny - is inspired by many of Shakespeare's characters, in this case by Viola. She is identical to Sebastian and she easily transforms into a man. Clear distinctions are often subverted in Shakespearean characters, reminding us of postmodern androgyny rather than Platonic myths.
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