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"Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife." Viola is frail as she suddenly is besotted by Orsino despite knowing him for, "but three days". This links to love, romance and marriage and how this is one of the few time references we get in the Green World.

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"Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife." Viola is frail as she suddenly is besotted by Orsino despite knowing him for, "but three days". This links to love, romance and marriage and how this is one of the few time references we get in the Green World.

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"Make that good". This is said by Maria after Feste suggests he is 'well hung' in Act 1 scene 5. This is an example of female empowerment not only because she has a back a forth with Feste (Stichomythia?) but that her words mean 'show me then', meaning she is challenging Feste about what he said. 

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"Make that good". This is said by Maria after Feste suggests he is 'well hung' in Act 1 scene 5. This is an example of female empowerment not only because she has a back a forth with Feste (Stichomythia?) but that her words mean 'show me then', meaning she is challenging Feste about what he said. 

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“I will not open my lips so wide as a bristle” reinforcing that Maria will not help Feste in any aspect and that she is taking command of the situation and not any of the men.
Again with “That if one break the other will hold; or if both break your gaskins fall” showing Maria interrupts Feste’s joke and finishes the joke off aswell presenting him as predictable and that a woman can be as comedic as a fool.

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“Conceal me what I am” - The imperative verb ‘conceal’ is commanding, demonstrating her ability to influence and lead others, therefore empowering her by highlighting her personal strength and power.

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“You must confine yourself” An imperative sentence used by Maria which reverses stereotypical gender roles that a woman is meant to obey the man. This reinforces the comedic aspect of female empowerment as it sets Maria to be above Sir Toby as she is the one commanding him to follow her instructions.

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When Olivia tells Viola her beauty will be "inventoried... as, item, two lips indifferent red" in response to Viola saying it's a shame for her to die and "leave no copy" meaning have no children. This is empowering to women as she suggests she has no want for children, something expected for women at the time.

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When Olivia tells Viola her beauty will be "inventoried... as, item, two lips indifferent red" in response to Viola saying it's a shame for her to die and "leave no copy" meaning have no children. This is empowering to women as she suggests she has no want for children, something expected for women at the time.

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Olivia hides behind a veil of potential disguise which could perhaps symbolise her frailty. If this women was so empowered she wouldn’t have the need to hide behind a disguise. This could be seen as a sign of Olivia being frail as she does not appear to show much confidence in how she perceives herself.

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“He’s in the third degree of drink- he’s drowned” states Olivia is powerful and influential in her household to make jokes and comment on the behaviour of men, like Sir Toby, of the same or higher status than her. This reinforces that she does not feel threatened by the overall power of men and that Olivia is aware that she is the woman of the house and is in command and her uncle is there on her orders not because he chose to be able to be there.

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So far she is presented as a strong woman who is capable of rejecting a man but as soon as a man is introduced who she has taken an interest in we see her as a weaker character who has lost her strong mindset and made herself vulnerable.

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Maria is quick to admire Sir Toby’s praise whether it’s in various actions or a prank, showing her in almost a frail light as she is not confident in her own self reassurance so she must receive from a man higher in society for her actions to feel worthy of her time. 

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Maria is quick to admire Sir Toby’s praise whether it’s in various actions or a prank, showing her in almost a frail light as she is not confident in her own self reassurance so she must receive from a man higher in society for her actions to feel worthy of her time. 

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“Fate show thy force”. This is said by Olivia, it displays her lack of power and control that she once had in the past, when not marrying Orsino. It can be inferred that she has turned to fate as a last resort due to her now lack of empowerment as she has fallen in love.

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“Fate show thy force”. This is said by Olivia, it displays her lack of power and control that she once had in the past, when not marrying Orsino. It can be inferred that she has turned to fate as a last resort due to her now lack of empowerment as she has fallen in love.

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“i cannot love him” this shows Olivia is empowered, as she is going against the social normality of the time in order to make her own decisions regarding who she loves, or in contrast does not love. This defies the ideology of the time, as women were expected to marry any man who attempted to court her, however Olivia consistently rejects any advances made by Orsino and chooses to love Cesario instead. This continues further into the play, where Olivia marries Sebastian by her own decision

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Upon her first introduction in Act 1 Scene 2, Viola immediately shows a subversion of gender roles as her responses and questions after the shipwreck are not what the audience would have expected. She asks the sea captain to ‘conceal me what I am’ to help her get into Orsino’s court, this response shows how quick thinking Viola is in comparison to her brother Sebastian in Act 2 Scene 1 who was grieving for what the audience assumes to be a few days. A subversion of gender roles is clear as Viola does not react as stereotypically as a woman of Elizabethan times, as she is not emotional or over dramatic, and instead asks questions about where she is to help her figure out a plan.

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Contrasting to her previous refusal to marry, as Sir Toby describes how "She'll none of the count", Olivia is quick to fall in love giving up her previous power she has had over her love life as soon as Viola enters her life, "fate show thy force, showing her as easily open to frailty and submissive to the forces of fate and love despite her previous swearing that she could never love.

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Maria is sexualised by Sir Toby when he encourages Sir Andrew to ‘board her, woo her, assail her,’ using a semantic field of sailing to essentially diminish her to an object purely for a man’s gain, possibly used by Sir Toby as a way of mocking her lower social status. Sir Andrew’s naivety leads him to follow this idea, saying to her ‘I might never draw sword again’ as she attempts to leave, further placing Maria in a compromising position where she is cornered by Sir Toby and Sir Andrew’s bawdy and inappropriate humour. Though the audience would humour in the innuendo and bawdiness, it is impossible to not feel empathy for Maria while she is victim to this objectification, therefore disempowering her and making her appear frail through the suggestions made by Sir Toby and Sir Andrew that she can be harassed like this purely because she is a woman of lower class.

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“She’ll none o’ the count; She’ll not match above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor wit”. Said by Sir Toby, this emphasises female empowerment through the context that a woman must marry a man. However what Sir Toby says here contradicts these societal norms, Olivia does not wish to marry anyone and instead wants to pro king her grieving so she can keep her wealth and status to herself. This ultimately expresses independence and demonstrates empowerment in one of the most strong female characters in the play.

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“For saying so there’s gold” makes herself seem like a vulnerable character. She is currently going through her ideas of her plan of becoming a strong man who will help Orsino, to a woman who will give a man some money just for helping her because she can.

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“For saying so there’s gold” makes herself seem like a vulnerable character. She is currently going through her ideas of her plan of becoming a strong man who will help Orsino, to a woman who will give a man some money just for helping her because she can.

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This stage direction is significant as it highlights viola’s confidence in her status. It is made evident that Viola comes from a high class family and so almost asks for respect through her offering of money. Not only this but Shakespeare wants us to see this as Viola making a sensible decision as the Captain is a person who she can trust. It also shows her good choice and judge of character through this offering.

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Viola utilises imperatives in her language which empowers her as a women in the Elizabethan society subverting gender roles and perhaps subtly defying the strict constraints on women condemning them to the patriarchal society that was implemented during shakespeares life

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“I see you what you are, you are too proud;” allowing the interpretation that even in disguise Viola feels worthy enough within society and as socially high in ranking as Olivia to make a comment about her in such a manner, showing a strong level of pride also as Viola still feels this way whilst in disguise as a servant male not a wealthy upper class woman. 

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“I see you what you are, you are too proud;” allowing the interpretation that even in disguise Viola feels worthy enough within society and as socially high in ranking as Olivia to make a comment about her in such a manner, showing a strong level of pride also as Viola still feels this way whilst in disguise as a servant male not a wealthy upper class woman. 

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Maria says "Peace, you rogue, no more o' that" when Feste brings up Sir Toby's drinking in Act 1 Scene 5.  Whilst this hints at the supposed happy ending for the two, it also shows Maria's weakness as even she will succumb to love. This links to love, romance and marriage and to the idea that for most of the female characters in the play love leads to there loss of power/ strength.

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Maria says "Peace, you rogue, no more o' that" when Feste brings up Sir Toby's drinking in Act 1 Scene 5.  Whilst this hints at the supposed happy ending for the two, it also shows Maria's weakness as even she will succumb to love. This links to love, romance and marriage and to the idea that for most of the female characters in the play love leads to there loss of power/ strength.

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“Even so quickly may one catch the plauge”

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“Even so quickly may one catch the plauge”

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Olivia comes across as frail as after trying to protect her power and rejecting Orsino multiple times so that she did not have to give her power up for a man she so quickly falls in love with viola after meeting her disguise ‘Cesario’ once perhaps making the audience believe she is weaker than we thought.  if she was so empowered she would not be so willing to marry Cesario after only a couple of days

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‘So there’s gold’ viola is blatantly setting herself up for target as she is effectively exposing herself as vulnerable to a man, owning up that she has money present. This is significant as she perhaps exploits herself through wealth, despite being a higher class citizen than the captain, she feels the need to emphasise her ‘loyalty’ in order to gain her status as a typical traditional woman at the time

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This could be seen as a sign on frailty as Viola is setting herself up for potential robbery. This being as she offers her money around to anyone and automatically trusts the Captain after only knowing him for a short amount of time. Therefore could be seen as a naïve thing to do since she makes herself potentially vulnerable for anyone who would take advantage of her money.

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All through the play Viola shows strength of character, being quick witted and strong minded. Being disguised as a boy leads to an impossible position but in spite of that she maintains self-control and a dignity that contrasts with the excessive emotions of the other main characters.

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“my poor brother! and so perchance may he be” Upon her arrival to the shore or Illyria, Viola doesn’t hesitate to protect herself and make something of herself in this foreign place. It is only for a very small moment she thinks about her brother. Even though she thinks he is dead she dismisses her grief very easily and continues to set up her new life. This emphasises female empowerment and the strength it takes Viola to move on.

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“for saying so, there’s gold”
this shows that she is empowered, as she takes control of her situation upon washing up in Illyria, and gathers the help she requires easily, by getting herself the assistance she needs in order to survive. When she forms her disguise as Cesario, it further shows her empowerment as she makes herself a disguise, in order to get herself into Orsino’s court- in order to try to develop a relationship with him

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“i cannot love him, let him send no more”

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“i cannot love him, let him send no more”

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Olivia is presented as empowered here as she stands up for her self by not marrying the first male that asks to marry her, instead she turns down orsino because she does not like him in a romantic sense and waits for someone to come along that she infact does loves. Even though Olivia does love Cesario which makes her empowered as she is deciding who she marries herself which was quite unusual in the Elizabethan times. The audience may think of her to still be frail as she is so easily deceived by Viola’s poor disguise

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‘I pray you bring your hand to th’ buttery bar and let it drink.’

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‘I pray you bring your hand to th’ buttery bar and let it drink.’

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This demonstrates Maria’s empowerment because she takes control of Sir Toby’s sexualisation of her and uses it to ridicule and embarrass Sir Andrew, who is of a higher class than her and male, therefore we would not expect the lower class, female Maria to behave in this way around Sir Andrew. She is not afraid of the potential consequences of her actions.

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'The Count himself here hard by woos her' -

This suggests Olivia is empowered as she is unwilling to marry and give up her powerful position. In addition, Olivia does not want to be controlled by someone, so she even refuses Orsino, who is both wealthy and powerful.

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Maria says ‘fare you well gentleman’ indicating to the audience that there is an expectation of her exiting the stage. It is interesting to consider that she does not do this, instead she is ‘forced’ to stay, establishing her lack of resistance to men- indicating that because it could be argued that Maria is the most powerful woman present in the play due to her holding much wisdom, even she is portrayed as the epitome of a weak female who obeys masculine gender and she refuses to transgress gender roles because she does not always possess her dominating side where she is able to express her feelings regardless who she is talking to.

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‘I know I can do it’ - 2.3

Empowering phrase - may be delivered on stage with a sense of determination and decisiveness

Taking it into her own hands to plan the plot against Malvolio - the act of getting revenge on him is empowering for her, women were expected to be subservient to men, but she is actively standing up to him. Even more empowering when considering how (it is perceived) he has almost bullied her for a long time beforehand ‘She shall know of it, by this hand!’ - in Tim Carroll production Maria cries after he says this

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“Fate show thy force”
Olivia is now leaving her destiny up to date and has relinquished her control which she held at the beginning of the play. When she vowed to live “like a cloistress” for seven years. However now that she has fallen in love with Cesario her previous empowerment has been stripped from her leaving her a shadow of the woman who was described for the majority of act one. Also the fact that she has fallen so deeply in love that she is committed to doing this echoes the new found frailty in her character as this is a result of a arguably brief encounter with Cesario which further implies she is just a servant to her emotions and possess no control over them. This trend of weakness carries on into the resolution when she is married as Shakespeare could not allow for a woman to be empowered for the duration of the play as it would take away from the comedy of be able to take power from a woman.

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‘Disguise I see thou art a wickedness’ 2.2

Throughout the soliloquy Viola acknowledges that disguise is bad, but doesn’t acknowledge the flaws of her doing it. It may suggest that she doesn’t view what she is doing as a disguise, highlighting that she is frail in her femininity, which would’ve been criticised in the Elizabethan era due to strict gender roles

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‘She returns this ring to you sir’. Olivia chases the man which is the exact opposite of the stereotypical Elizabethan women who were expected to be weak and their only purpose to have men select them for marriage. Furthered through comparison to Orsino’s refusal to go on a hunt and his comparison of love making him feel hunted - ‘like fell and cruel hounds e’er since pursue me’

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Act 2 scene 2
This shows Viola is empowered as she understands quickly what Olivia is attempting to do and she lies in order to protect Olivia. This shows Viola’s female solidarity and makes her a likeable character

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Viola understand what Olivia is aiming to do quickly and she lies in order to protect her. Shows not only her intelligence but also her female solidarity

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“Sir, Shall I to this lady” Even though she has just hinted at how lost she is with her identity to him, it takes great strength for her to continue in this disguise and to help Orsino with his love for Olivia.

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“Women’s waxen hearts” comparing women’s hearts to something that is unstable and melts whenever it receives some of heat, which is love in this case which could make them seem frail.

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“Sir Shall I to this lady” Even though she has just hinted at how lost she is with her identity, and how it’s affecting her love life, it takes great strength for Viola to continue helping the man she loves, gain some one else love. This emphasises how much of a resilient character Viola is.

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Act 2 scene 4
Viola is hinting towards her feelings for Orsino and letting her emotions get in the way of her plan to stay in disguise, a very stereotypical Elizabethan woman thing to do. Here, she is becoming sick of her disguise and willing to reveal herself to Orsino for the chance of romance showing she is not very decisive and willing to alter her plan simply due to her changing emotions

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Viola’s frailty is displayed through her lack to withhold her disguise not only showing how frail she is but also showing how disguise can cause pain. Due to Viola falling in love with Orsino, it’s clear in Act 2 Scene 4 she is making her true identity more known instead of keeping her prominent disguise. Lying to the Duke in saying she has a sister that is “sat like patience on a monument”. This implies a lack of empowerment to display resilience to her romantic feelings which therefore cause the downfall to her disguise.

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“What does thou know” - Orsino.
Viola becomes an advocate for women’s voices. Her disguise as a man is almost a power because even though she has lost her personal identity this new one gives her more power than she ever did have as a woman. She represents women and how they love, correcting Orsino’s misogynist views on how men are better a loving.

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"Since the youth of the count's was today with thy lady she is much out of quiet" Maria discussing Olivia's sudden change of behaviour. Hints at frailty of Olivia upon Viola's visit, easily succumbed to love despite previously appearing empowered and headstrong refusing to marry. Links to act 1 scene 5 "fate show thy force" allowing love/fate to take over

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‘But let concealment’ - deep down viola knows that she must continue to put up with her suffering because if she reveals that she is a woman, all power will be lost. This is significant because Shakespeare was writing in a patriarchal society, it meant that Viola will be frail and weak as she is left with nothing, therefore vulnerable as she is left in Illyria on her own, indicating her empowerment has somewhat been abolished

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Through her disguise, Viola is not only able to empower herself but also empower other women by using her woman’s insight to indicate to Orsino that women are resilient and constant in love (unlike him). However, she is only able to do this because she is dressed as a man - in the Elizabethan era, a woman would not be permitted to challenge a man’s opinion or criticise him.

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“sweet sir toby”
it suggests frailty in Maria as we can see the development in a relationship between Maria and Sir Toby. This shows her frailty due to Sir Toby’s tendency to be nasty or passive aggressive to those around him, suggesting the relationship that is building between the two of them is built on sir toby giving her some form of attention, demonstrating how she is frail, as her romantic attraction is not formed on anything important

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'O time, thou must untangle this, not I.
It is too hard a knot for me to untie!'
- Suggests Viola has given up hope and she does not want to sort this out herself, as it appears to be too confusing for her.
- Typical for Elizabethan women to give in to 'fate'.

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“the devil a puritan that he is, or anything constantly, but a time pleaser”

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“the devil a puritan that he is, or anything constantly, but a time pleaser”

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Maria is presented as empowered in this scene as she is taking part in getting revenge over someone that has treat her with disrespect. Not only is she taking part but she is infact in charge of the plan and ordering many members of the male gender their roles and how they should act. This shows she is not frail as she is ordering men who are stereotypically meant to be ordering the women. As well as this Sir toby and andrew are also of a higher class than her which again shows her stregnth as she still has the power to be in charge. Maria wants to get revenge on Malvolio who is also a higher class male which implies that Maria is very brave as she is daring enough to insult and trick someone of a higher class which shows she infact is not frail. She appears very proud of this plan in the scene when being complimented by sir toby and andrew. This suggests empowerment of women as she is insulting someone of the opposite gender who are knowingly meant to be more dominant. Malvolios costuming in this scene is different as he is in his nightwear which could make him appear more frail than anyone on stage which could encourage Maria to feel empowered. However, some may suggest she is frail as she still appeared to cry to the audience after being shouted at by malvolio which could mean she is frail when confronted. She still manages to pick herself up and come up with an excellent plan to get revenge so i believe she is extremely empowered rather than frail

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Shows her strength, despite her feelings she is willing to do the task Orsino wants of her, even if she is aware that is could result in her losing him to Olivia as she attempts to woo Olivia for Orsino

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Maria shows clear evidence of women being empowered as she is able to withstand Malvolio’s verbal abuse towards her. She quickly thinks of a plan to embarrass Malvolio which is impressive enough that Sir Toby comments on Maria being “a beagle”. Maria herself shows confidence in her abilities to be able to confront Malvolio saying that “I know I can do it.”

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“like a worm i’ the bus, feed on her damask cheek:”

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“like a worm i’ the bus, feed on her damask cheek:”

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Viola’s similie here comments on her inner turmoil (dark undercurrents) caused by her male disguise, creating pathos for her from the audience. her strength/empowerment is highlighted here through the emphasis made on her patience despite her clear frustration for her disguise and pining for Orsino since she knows she cannot fully confess her love for him while she is disguised in this way.

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“She never told her love” viola, implying she was never brave enough to confess her own love to Orsino so she has created an entire false scenario about her feelings rather than being truthful to Orsino in the first place.

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Viola's frailty at her realisation that Olivia has in fact fell in love with her instead of Orsino "O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot to untie" unable to fix the dangerous situation she has got herself involved in, turns to apostrophe of "time" to fix it, similar to Olivia's claim to leave "fate" to fix her issues.

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Maria shows clear empowerment here by how she is imperative and decisive in her language. she is assertive and confident in her strengths and shows determination to get revenge on Malvolio, showing further empowerment given how women were expected to be submissive to men so her defiance/subversion of gender roles conveys clear inner strength. Additionally, the way Malvolio made Maria cry in the Tim Carrol production of the play, she further reveals strength by how she quickly devises a plan to get her revenge despite her clear upset.

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“Let me alone with him”, “I know I can do it”, both definitive statements said by Maria when planning the downfall of Malvolio. This is after Sir Toby suggests he help with the plan. Maria is extremely empowered in this scene as she dismisses a man’s help and is so confident in her ability to destroy Malvolio. In the context of reception an Elizabethan audience would have had great admiration for Maria, as Malvolio throughout the play was constantly seen to overstep his boundaries, which would have irrated a rather social hierarchy focused society.