Dr. Vicente Forés López

Curso monográfico de literatura inglesa: “Shakespeare through performance”

January , 2007

HOMOEROTICISM IN TWELFTH NIGHT AND THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

1. Introduction and Historical Background

 

2. Homoeroticism in Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice

 

3. Conclusion

 

4. Bibliography

 

 

 

1 Introduction and Historical Background

 

According to Wikipedia, homosexuality refers to sexual and romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. The first recorded use of the word was in 1869. As such, the current use for the term has its roots in the 19^th century[i]. During the Renaissance, theologians used another term to those "sinning against nature", namely sodomites. The term referred to sexual relations with a person of the same sex or with animals.[ii]  The church condemned such sinful behaviour, and sodomites were persecuted and killed. So, talking about Shakespeare’s comedies it is better to employ the term homoeroticism, referring to same-sex love and desire.

 

Shakespeare never explicitly exhibits homosexual relations in his works because of reasons mentioned above, but many of them possess homoerotic views and conceptions, for example, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, The Midsummer Night’s Dream, As you Like It etc.

 

Very often Shakespeare offers the audience homoerotic possibilities through the medium of disguise – he describes women disguised as men. This pattern is repeated throughout many of his comedies.

 

In this paper I would like to comment on the recurrence of the homoerotic theme analysing Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice. They share many things in common: similar characters (for example: Antonio in Twelfth Night and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice), similar situations (Portia, Nerissa and Viola disguised as men) and the same theme: homoeroticism.

 

I would like also to emphasize the romantic element of the same-sex attraction in the above mentioned plays which includes one-sided love (because of the impossibility of flourishment of such relations in Elizabethan society), ecstasy and melancholy.

 

As I have already mentioned, same-sex relations were considered to be “abominable filthiness”[iii] by many people living during the Renaissance period. But despite all that William Shakespeare endows his homosexual characters with very positive traits: self-sacrifice, intelligence, good nature and generosity thus putting emphasis on his sympathetic attitude towards them.

 

2. Homoeroticism in Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice

 

Antonio (Twelfth Night)-Antonio (The Merchant of Venice)

Both Antonio in Twelfth Night and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice have many traits in common. We can find striking similarities between their feelings, sexual-orientation, social position and destinies. I think it is no coincidence that William Shakespeare gives them the same name: Antonio.

 

They are both romantic persons: melancholic, imaginative and impractical.

 

They are rich (Antonio in The Merchant of Venice boasts of his possessions in the following way:

I thank my fortune for it,
My ventures are not in one bottom trusted,
Nor to one place; nor is my whole estate
Upon the fortune of this present year: (I,1, 43-46)[iv]

Antonio in Twelfth Night is rich enough not only to spend his money on himself but to furnish Sebastian with his purse.)

And what is more important, they display romantic (or sexual) interest in persons of the same gender. So Antonio in Twelfth Night and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice both have homosexual inclinations, capable of feeling romantic attraction for the individuals of the same sex. But it is true that the same-sex attraction focuses on idealistic appeal and not necessarily on sex.

 

Each of them explicitly admits his love for a person of the same gender (in Twelfth Night for Sebastian and in The Merchant of Venice for Bassanio). Both of them employ the word love which, as it is well-known, embraces lots of meanings:

1) deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness;

2) a feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance;

3) sexual passion, a love affair,

4) An intense emotional attachment[v] etc.

 

It is impossible to know for certain if Shakespeare only implies a strong romantic attraction or a more intimate relation. Antonio in Twelfth Night is talking about “his willing love” (III, 3, 1499)[vi] that urges him to travel with Sebastian to Illyria despite the danger of being discovered and killed. Later, while telling the story of how he saved Sebastian, he underlines the fact of relieving him with “sanctity of love” (III, 4, 15)⁶. As Antonio loves Sebastian without retention or restraint, we can conclude that he lives for Sebastian’s sake offering him his house, time, love and money. In The Merchant of Venice, Antonio’s case is even more exaggerated: he offers his friend no less than a pound of his own flesh (to which Shylock will be entitled). It is clear that in both cases we are talking about strong feelings towards persons of the same sex. And although Shakespeare’s plays never openly exhibit homosexual relationships between Antonio and Sebastian in Twelfth Night and Antonio and Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, they do everything else to idealize the romantic relations between these men. Both plays suggest strong affection:

 

Antonio  (Twelfth Night)

If you will not murder me for my love, let me be
your servant. (II, I, 642-643)[vii]

I could not stay behind you: my desire,
More sharp than filed steel, did spur me forth;...(III, 3, 1492-1493)

Antonio: (The Merchant of Venice)

You know me well, and herein spend but time
To wind about my love with circumstance;
And out of doubt you do me now more wrong
In making question of my uttermost
Than if you had made waste of all I have:
Then do but say to me what I should do
That in your knowledge may by me be done,
And I am prest unto it: therefore, speak. (I, 1, 160-167)[viii]

Analyzing these two characters we see that William Shakespeare describes one-sided love. Antonio (in Twelfth Night), despite risking his life for Sebastian’s sake, accompanying him to Illyria, the land inhabited by his enemies, permitting the other to stay  in his house after the wreckage, lending him money and caring for him, will never be corresponded: Sebastian will marry Olivia. The same can be said about Antonio in the Merchant of Venice. There is a clear parallel between these two characters. As a consequence of his love for Bassanio, Antonio signs Shylock’s contract according to which he will have to sacrifice a pound of his own flesh if Bassanio does not repay the loan in due time, thus putting his life at stake. And he makes a sacrifice knowing that Bassanio’s intention is to win Portia’s love (Bassanio needs money in order to marry her). But Bassanio, unlike Sebastian, in his speech before the court does show that Antonio is the most important person for him, even more important than his wife:

Antonio, I am married to a wife
Which is as dear to me as life itself;
But life itself, my wife, and all the world,
Are not with me esteem'd above thy life:
I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all
Here to this devil, to deliver you. (IV, 1, 2227-2232)

It is well-known fact that romantic persons tend to be melancholic. And both Antonios prove that fact. Shakespeare depicts their sadness in a most romantic way. For example, The Merchant of Venice is opened with Antonio’s lines:

 

In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself (I, 1, 2 )[ix]

 

And it is not surprising for they live during the epoch when same-sex love is considered sinful and is condemned by God. During the Renaissance it was considered sodomy and was cruelly punished. That is why both Antonio in Twelfth Night and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice know that their love has no future, because being together implies a violation of the norms established by the society and norms, laws and order during the Renaissance were sacred.

 

But maybe William Shakespeare’s intention is to emphasize that they do not want the “traditional happy ending” which is the synonym for “marriage”. They even encourage their friends (Sebastian and Bassanio) to marry Olivia and Portia. Maybe it happens because romantic relations are incompatible with marriage. For both Antonios affection is a romantic fancy –trip which has nothing to do with marriage, for marriage (normally) is a sensible and planned act involving compatibility of interests and purposes. In Elizabethan society people married for convenience: to multiply their riches and influence. Thus marriage is a rational affair: Bassanio wants to marry Portia basically because she is rich:

 

Bassanio:

In Belmont is a lady richly left; (I, 1, 68)[x]

 

Sebastian, when Olivia asks him to marry her, is perplexed. He sees this woman for the first time but still he accepts her proposal because she is wealthy.

 

So we see how the sexual orientation and romantic love of Antonio in Twelfth Night and Antonio in the Merchant of Venice are similar. Both of them are capable of self sacrifice for practically nothing in exchange because their love is a romantic one.

 

The generosity of both Antonio in the Merchant of Venice and Antonio in Twelfth Night is limitless: they share everything they have to protect their male friends:

 

Antonio (Twelfth Night)

It doth not fit me. Hold, sir, here's my purse. (III, 3, 1529 )[xi]
Put up your sword. If this young gentleman
Have done offence, I take the fault on me:
If you offend him, I for him defy you. (III, 4, 1860-1862) etc.

Antonio (The Merchant of Venice)

My purse, my person, my extremest means,
Lie all unlock'd to your occasions.(I,1,145-146)[xii] etc.

 

Olivia-Viola and Orsino-Viola (Twelfth Night) -  Portia –Nerissa( The Merchant of Venice)

Another example of homoeroticism, in this case concerning women, can also be found in both plays. It is the case of Olivia and Viola in Twelfth Night and Portia and Nerissa in the Merchant of Venice. I will also comment on the relationship between Orsino and Viola (in Twelfth Night).

 

Olivia falls in love with Viola (disguised as a man) most probably because Viola is a feminised man, and precisely this feminised masculinity attracts Olivia’s attention. The best description of Olivia is the one offered by Orsino:

 

For they shall yet belie thy happy years,
That say thou art a man: Diana's lip
Is not more smooth and rubious; thy small pipe
Is as the maiden's organ, shrill and sound,
And all is semblative a woman's part. (I, 4, 278)[xiii]

 

Obviously, this striking resemblance to a woman, is what Olivia likes, if even subconsciously. Maybe the disguise is the device employed by Shakespeare to talk about same-sex attraction. And once again he puts special emphasis on the romantic side of Olivia’s feelings: she falls in love at first sight ( it is a one-sided love, just like in the case of both Antonios) and feels ecstatic. Of course in Elizabethan society this form of love was unthinkable and to solve this problem of prohibited homosexual relations, Shakespeare makes Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother appear on the stage. He is a man, so Olivia can marry him and the problem is solved.

 

Portia and Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice also have something special between them. Listening to their conversations and analysing their acts we can not avoid homoerotic connotations. Here we deal with young, beautiful and noble ladies. Portia has lots of suitors willing to marry her, but she rejects them all. They are too ridiculous, too stupid or too vain. The only person that can be her match seems to be Nerissa, who is intelligent, beautiful and reasonable. They spend all their time together, share secrets and adore each other. It is possible that Portia laughs at her suitors in Nerissa’s presence in order to ridiculize men and praise Nerissa.

 

But as the norms of Elizabethan society impose marriage, Portia has to find a suitable husband. She is unhappy:

 

O me, the word 'choose!' I may
neither choose whom I would nor refuse whom I
dislike; (I, 2, 216-218)[xiv]

 

These lines can be interpreted in different ways and one possible interpretation could be her romantic or sexual affection towards Nerissa and the impossibility to live together as a couple. When Portia makes a decision to disguise herself as a man, she does it in order to save Antonio’s life, but at the same time it offers her opportunity to feel and act like a man.:

 

Portia

When we are both accoutred like young men,
I'll prove the prettier fellow of the two,
And wear my dagger with the braver grace,
And speak between the change of man and boy
With a reed voice, and turn two mincing steps
Into a manly stride, and speak of frays (III, 4, 16-21)

 

Nerissa and Portia are closer together than both of them to their respective husbands: they discuss and riduculize Portia’s suitors, disguise themselves secretly and teach their husbands lessons of conjugal fidelity. So, the homoerotic connotations are obvious here.

I would also like to mention briefly the relation between Orsino and Viola in Twelfth Night, which is one more case of homoeroticism. On the surface, Orsino is in love with Olivia. But from the very moment he sees Viola dressed as a man, he feels something special towards her. We learn from Valentine, one of Orsino’s servants, that he has known her only for three days but has already bestowed special favours on Viola. It is obvious that one can do similar things only under the influence of a special feeling of tenderness. This mixture of masculinity and femininity in Viola which Orsino describes using comparisons and metaphors makes the audience or the readers discern his attraction to this feminised man. Viola in disguise inspires him to reveal her the secrets of his soul. Once again we deal with romantic feelings of affection of one man towards another through the medium of disguise.

 

3. Conclusion

 

So we have seen that the theme of homoeroticism, being the synonym for same-sex attraction, is repeated throughout many of Shakespeare’s plays and in particular in Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice. It is necessary to underline that Shakespeare never explicitly exhibits homosexual relationships. Instead, he creates situations, and makes his characters behave in a particular way that strongly suggest such relationships.

 

Especially it refers to disguise. Disguise, for example in the case of Viola, helps inflame the desires of both a man (Orsino) and a woman (Olivia).This device helps Shakespeare convey the idea of same-sex attraction (Portia-Nerissa, Olivia-Viola, Orsino-Viola), for it was unthinkable to display homoeroticism explicitly and in plain terms in Elizabethan England, where persons with same-sex orientation were persecuted as sodomites Persecutions were attended by religious and philosophical justifications: sodomites defied the will of God, and, as a consequence, they were blamed for natural disasters, threats of invasion etc[xv].

Same-sex attraction is described by William Shakespeare in these two plays as a romantic feeling: it is one-sided, ecstatic, melancholic and idealized. Both Antonio in The Merchant of Venice and Antonio in Twelfth Night as well as Orsino are melancholic because they are aware of the impossibility of such relationships: they will never bear fruits in Elizabethan society. But despite all that, the characters analysed in this paper manage to preserve their identities and do not suppress their feelings.

 

It is obvious that Shakespeare sympathizes with the characters mentioned in this paper, for all of them are endowed with positive traits: they are intelligent, capable of self-sacrifice, resourceful and have truly romantic nature yearning for same-sex love.