# data[].attributes.body
“And though that nature with a beauteous wall doth oft close in pollution” -metaphor with idea of corruption- Viola recognises that not everything is as it seems- quite perceptive, aware, intelligent, not naive

# data[].attributes.body
Choosing to abandon usual conventions of gender, Olivia rejects Orsino’s offer of love, and marriage, with the description of her paying ‘the debt of love but to a brother’- whom she had recently lost.

# data[].attributes.headline
“That if one break, the other will hold.”

# data[].attributes.subject
“That if one break, the other will hold.”

# data[].attributes.body
Shows Maria can keep up with other people/men and play with words (such as Feste and Sir Toby). Also, implies she is witty for her class.

# data[].attributes.headline
“who governs here?” “what country friends is this?” “and what should i do in Illyria?”

# data[].attributes.subject
“who governs here?” “what country friends is this?” “and what should i do in Illyria?”

# data[].attributes.body
when she arrives in Illyria she asks questions that are straight to the point which shows her empowering characteristics
she asks resourceful questions with a direct tone

# data[].attributes.body
“the element itself, till seven years heat, shall not behold her face at smoke view”
Olivia makes dramatic decision following the death of her brother, she appears to be grieving excessively as she promises to still be in mourning for seven years, showing her lack of resilience

# data[].attributes.body
Feste hints her beauty is fleeting so she is a fool for not marrying orsino, “beauty’s a flower” This suggests Olivia is powerless unless she is married.

# data[].attributes.body
Viola has to be empowered in order to survive. The audience does not get an impression that she is grieving for the loss of her brother, instead she must be resourceful and intelligent.
"Oh that I served that lady"
"I thank thee: lead me on"

# data[].attributes.body
“Conceal me what I am”. She forms a plan and instructs him to help her, presenting her as powerful. Viola is decisive when she is in danger.

# data[].attributes.body
"the element itself, till seven years heat, shall not behold her face in ample view"
This interprets Olivia as frail as it tells us that she will be in mourning for 7 years which could be interpreted as her being frail as 7 years is a very excessive amount of time to mourn a loss.

# data[].attributes.body
“abjured the company and sight of men”

# data[].attributes.body
“Good night, Penthesilea” - classical allusion, likening Maria to the queen of the amazons, shows adoration from Sir Toby (high praise from someone who mocks everyone, so she must be impressive), proves strength

# data[].attributes.body
Maria appears partially subservient to her counterpart, Sir Toby, as she becomes a servant to whom he chooses to marry, quite sadly at the second to Olivia. She also appears to look after and almost baby Sir Toby, as he is appearing not quite a ‘drowned man’ yet, but very drunk still.

# data[].attributes.body
“tell him he shall not speak with me”
Olivia asserts herself as powerful and in charge by showing authority through telling Malvolio what to do and making decisions without feeling the need to consult anyone

# data[].attributes.body
Maria can be seen as empowered as she clearly has wit/wordplay within her dialogue, she is a character who can follow on with the mens words and create a pun with it. Some of her words have quite sexual undertones that no other female maid would be able to get away with. Also, she seems to be respected a lot more than Malvolio

# data[].attributes.headline
“Oh, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio”

# data[].attributes.subject
“Oh, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio”

# data[].attributes.body
Emphasises she is the head of the household and has complete power over her servants and even the men (who were usually seen as the most powerful gender). She is free to criticise others.

# data[].attributes.body
“for the love o’God peace!”
Maria attempts to quiet the drunk men however they take no notice of her and continue to sing, disrupting the house

# data[].attributes.body
Act 1 Scene 3, Maria is standing up to Sir Toby and establishing him to the audience as a fool - speaking to a man of a higher class in such a way would be frowned upon for women so this shows that she is empowered as she is not afraid to call people out.

# data[].attributes.body
'Alas, our frailty is the cause'
She admits that women are frail and that it is just how they are

# data[].attributes.body
Olivia is the head of her own house and is able to keep everyone in check despite being a woman in a patrichrical society. "There is no slander in an allowed fool" she puts Malvolio in his place after he insults her and Feste. She says that Feste is allowed to say what he wants as he is a fool and is meant to be taken light heartedly but say that Malvolio isn't since he is a servant and is meant to serve her.

# data[].attributes.body
Olivia is frail in her grieving. Shakespeare could be suggesting that the loss of men in her life has caused her weakness.
"In the protection of his son, her brother"
"Of what personage and years is he?"

# data[].attributes.body
Maria asserts her dominance as she becomes part of the upper class, marrying Sir Toby. The fact that she chooses to immerse herself in this culture, as a woman of lesser background, is admirable. ‘And you too, Sir’- not afraid to engage in conversation with the upper class.

# data[].attributes.body
“ he thinks, with excellencies, that it is his grounds of faith that all that look on him love him - and on that vice in him will my revenge find notable cause to work”
After Malvolio disrespects her for no reason she is not afraid to stand up for herself and develops a plan to get him back for the way he treated her

# data[].attributes.body
Malvolio has power over Maria as she is a woman and a servant. This leads him to blame her responsible for the drunken men despite her trying to silence the men already. “she shall know of it, by this hand.” This could result in her being dismissed by olivia

# data[].attributes.body
Olivia’s veil could be a symbol of her power and love. When she wears the veil, she acts empowered and independent. Once “Olivia removes her veil” she is madly in love with ‘Cesario’ and acts quite crazy around ‘him’. This insinuates that she is revealing her true identity and in fact she is not as empowered as we may think. This could be Shakespeare mocking the empowerment of women and how women in love is a bad thing.

# data[].attributes.body
“what country, friends, is this?”
Viola enters the play naive and lost, she is immediately trusting even though she is clueless as to her surroundings

# data[].attributes.body
"But if she cannot love you sir?" shows Viola questioning Orsino. Shows her empowerment because no other servant would question him since he is in a higher class than then and can make them lose their jobs, etc. Also allows her to stand up for Olivia by suggesting that she doesn't have to love him or just might not love him in general.

# data[].attributes.body
“conceal me what i am, and be my aid for such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent”
Viola immediately comes up with a plan that will help her survive in this new place, even though she thinks her brother dead she is still level-headed and thinking sensibly about her future and survival

# data[].attributes.body
"And so they are: alas that they are so"
Viola has to agree with Orsino, even when she is in disguise. Suggests it is Viola herself, and not society that makes her frail.

# data[].attributes.body
“Will my revenge find notable cause to work” “I can write very like my lady”. She doesn’t just take Malvilio’s poor treatment of her, she plots to get back at him. The plan is entirely hers to begin with, she then gets Sir Toby and Sir Andrew involved.

# data[].attributes.body
"My brother, he is in Elysium"
Her weakness, similarly to Olivia's, is caused by the loss of the men in her life.
"He was a bachelor then"
Mockery of Viola for only thinking about love? Or showing that society has caused her to be this way?

# data[].attributes.body
Maria seems to be respected by characters of a higher class than herself, primarily Sir Toby. He refers to her once as “Penthesilea”, the queen of the Amazons, showing that he sees her as strong and empowered. He also refers to her as “a beagle true bred”, while this may seem insulting to a modern audience, a beagle is a hunting dog, showing again that Sir Toby has respect for Maria.

# data[].attributes.body
Viola fell in love with Duke Orsino at a rapid rate, approximately 3 days, which could be perceived as pathetic and embarrassing for herself. She then proceeded to claim that she "sat like patience on a monument", using personification to describe her feelings for Orsino, when in reality she had not shown to be patiently waiting.

# data[].attributes.body
Implying both her and other women are indeed frail.

# data[].attributes.body
Maria is resourceful in a way that she has several times proven. She has been able to come up with quick-witted plans in several situations throughout the Twelfth night play e.g. Act 2, Scene 3

# data[].attributes.body
Olivia denies the request of love and marriage to Duke Orsino, which in the Elizabethan era would be seen as a foolish mistake, since she would have access to grand amounts of money and because marriage was seen as a 'necessity'; otherwise women were labelled derogatory terms such as "witches"