Patriarchal cons: Feminine flirtation in "Twelfth Night"

There is a linguistic homoerotic flirtation between the characters of Viola and Olivia in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Through Jane Gallop's analysis of Jacques Lacan, readers can view the eroticized exchange between these female characters by observing the manner in which each character utilizes both words containing feminine roots or metaphors that are feminine in nature. While Viola and Olivia express female-female desire, they search for their own identities in the patriarchal system that they must exist. They challenge the idea that women need to be both sexually and verbally passive. Viola represents a woman's removal from and re-emergence into the patriarchal system through her disguise. She is able to use the idea of the phallus in her interaction with Olivia, allowing both characters to experience phallic power---both by wielding power and by affirming their feminine characteristics through specific language.