Gender and Performativity: Shakespeare’s Cross-dressing Women.docx (original) (raw)

The idea of cross-dressing is quite popular in contemporary culture, with both male and female characters adopting the guise of the opposite gender. The idea of donning a disguise to change one's assigned gender role and the ensuing character hijinks that occur are used quite frequently to develop characters and plots. We see the technique littered through literature in varying degrees of effectiveness with Shakespeare using the idea of cross-dressing to great effect in his comedies. Whether male or female, Shakespearean characters have always undergone a lot of scrutiny and analysis, and the idea of cross-dressing by characters blurs the lines between what can be considered inherently a male or female characteristic. Characters such as Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Viola in Twelfth Night or Rosalind in As You Like It donned the garbs of their male counterparts. This decision to switch genders by these characters and the consequent follow-through are what determines and moves the plot forward for all three plays. This paper explores that decision to subvert the gender boundary and seek agency. It does not look at patriarchy but rather tries to explore the idea of assigned gender roles and performativity in Shakespeare's arguably strongest female characters.