“I am not what I am”: identity crisis in Twelfth Night and She’s the Man. The comic treatment

“I am not what I am”: in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night it is Viola, the main character, who uses the same words as Iago’s in Othello. Here, apparently, with reason: to save her life after being shipwrecked in Illyria, she dresses up as a man. She thus assumes an identity twice not her own: physically and psychologically. Assuming another identity proves difficult for Viola not just for obvious practical reasons: she falls in love with Duke Orsino but cannot reveal her true identity. Twelfth Night being a comedy, a happy ending is ingeniously contrived by Shakespeare. The teen Shakespeare film She’s the Man (2006) updates Shakespeare’s comedy setting it in an American boarding school, Illyria Prep. As compared to Twelfth Night, She’s the Man not only keeps the “identity crisis” (as defined by psychologist Erik Erikson) experienced by the modern Viola but also greatly enhances it by adding gender discrimination: Viola is an excellent soccer player who is refused admission to the boy’s soccer team because she is a woman – to be admitted, she has to pass herself off as a boy. As in Shakespeare, the girl’s identity crisis is complicated by her falling in love with Duke Orsino, the attractive soccer team captain. The film’s happy ending faithfully mirrors Shakespeare’s comic solution, while also showing how Viola successfully comes to terms with her own identity.

 

Relatore

Arturo Cattaneo è Professore Ordinario di Letteratura Inglese presso l'Università Cattolica di Milano. Ha pubblicato libri e saggi in italiano e in inglese. Tra i libri, un lungo saggio creativo, Shakespeare e l'amore (Einaudi, Torino 2019). È autore di A Short History of English Literature (Mondadori, Milano 2019), e di una serie di storie antologiche della letteratura inglese per le scuole superiori (Literary Journeys - Connecting ideas l’ultima, edita da Signorelli, Milano). Ha pubblicato due romanzi: Ci vediamo a settembre (2010, Sedizioni) e La notte inglese (2012, Mondadori).

 

Moderatrice

Laura Cavaleri - Responsabile Area Lingue Mondadori Education