UW THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE
Performing Honour - Who Gets to Be a Gentleman in Twelfth Night, or What You Will?
“I swear I am not that I play.”
Hari Lal
Through Viola, Lady Andrea, and Antonia, Twelfth Night, or What You Will shows that being a gentleman is less about someone’s identity and more about how well they perform status, courage, loyalty, and control.
What actually makes someone a gentleman? In early modern England, the word could describe social rank, but it also came with expectations about behaviour and reputation (French, 269-89). A gentleman was expected to be educated, well-spoken, loyal, brave, and willing to defend their honour (Tylka). Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier describes the ideal courtier as someone who serves a ruler, earns the approval of others, and carefully controls how they act (Castiglione). This means status was not always enough. A person also had to look and act like they deserved it.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will turns this idea into a performance. The play asks us to notice the difference between appearing honourable and actually behaving honourably. Tim Welham’s production makes that question more interesting by changing Sir Andrew and Antonio into Lady Andrea and Antonia (Welham). Women are not only observing the code of honour from the outside. They are participating in it, struggling with it, and sometimes redefining it.
Viola gives us the clearest example. While disguised as Cesario, she tells Olivia, “Above my fortunes, yet my state is well. / I am a gentleman” (Shakespeare, 1.5.282-83). Olivia accepts this almost immediately, looking at Cesario’s “tongue,” “face,” “limbs, actions, and spirit” as proof of his status (Shakespeare, 1.5.297-98). Viola cannot safely reveal her real identity or family background, but she understands the expected language, posture, confidence, and style. Her success shows that being a gentleman is partly something a person can learn and perform.
However, Viola cannot control every expectation that comes with this performance. When Toby arranges a duel between Cesario and Lady Andrea, Viola admits, “I am no fighter” (Shakespeare, 3.4.251). Once the people around her see Cesario as a gentleman, they expect “him” to defend his honour with a sword. Her disguise gives her access to Orsino’s court, but it also traps her inside a code where avoiding violence can be viewed as cowardly. Even at the end, Orsino continues to call her Cesario “while you are a man” (Shakespeare, 5.1.408-09). Her position still depends on how other people understand her clothing and appearance.
Lady Andrea shows how shallow this code can become. She has the title, money, and education connected to social status. Toby points out her “three thousand ducats a year” (Shakespeare, 1.3.22), yet she still depends on him to explain how a knight should behave. Her challenge to Cesario is supposed to prove that she is brave and worthy of Olivia, but both Andrea and Viola are terrified to fight.
Toby keeps the performance going by telling Andrea to “make a good show on it” (Shakespeare, 3.4.299-300) and telling Viola that “she will fight with you for honour’s sake” (Welham, unit 81.A). The second quotation is specific to this adaptation, which changes Shakespeare’s male pronoun and reference to an oath into a direct claim about a woman defending her honour.
Cesario is supposed to prove that she is brave and worthy of Olivia, but both Andrea and Viola are terrified to fight. Toby keeps the performance going by telling Andrea to “make a good show on it” (Shakespeare, 3.4.299-300) and telling Viola that “she will fight with you for honour’s sake” (Welham, unit 81.A). The second quotation is specific to this adaptation, which changes Shakespeare’s male pronoun and reference to an oath into a direct claim about a woman defending her honour.
Changing Andrea’s gender makes her more than a joke about a man failing to appear masculine. She is a woman who holds the title of knight and participates in courtship, duelling, and traditions normally connected to men. At the same time, she still feels pressure to follow a code based on aggression. Her fear is understandable, but because she wants to appear brave without facing the actual danger, she becomes easy for Toby to manipulate. The production makes us question whether honour belongs to men, to people with titles, or simply to whoever gives the most convincing performance.
Antonia gives us a different version of honour. Unlike Andrea, she does not fight only to protect her image. She knowingly follows Sebastian into dangerous territory, explaining that “danger shall seem sport, and I will go” (Shakespeare, 2.1.47). Later, when she mistakes Viola for Sebastian during the duel, she immediately steps in: “If you offend him, I for him defy you” (Shakespeare, 3.4.326-28).
Antonia demonstrates the loyalty, bravery, service, and sacrifice that the code of honour claims to reward without needing to call herself a gentleman. Her actions also show the limits of this code. Orsino calls her a “pirate” and a “thief,” while Antonia tries to defend the honour of her name and actions (Shakespeare, 5.1.65). People in power can decide whose courage is considered honourable and whose is treated as criminal. Antonia behaves honourably, but she does not have enough social power to control how others understand her.
Her actions also show the limits of this code. Orsino calls her a “pirate” and a “thief,” while Antonia tries to defend the honour of her name and actions (Shakespeare, 5.1.65). People in power can decide whose courage is considered honourable and whose is treated as criminal. Antonia behaves honourably, but she does not have enough social power to control how others understand her.
As you watch the play, consider who gets called a gentleman, who actually behaves honourably, and who has the power to decide the difference. The duel is funny because two nervous people pretend to be brave, but there is a serious point underneath the comedy. Honour becomes dangerous when protecting an image matters more than treating people with care. Lady Andrea performs the appearance of honour, Viola shows how the role can be learned, and Antonia demonstrates its strongest values. The play ultimately separates being recognized as a gentleman from actually being an honourable person.
Castiglione, Baldassare. The Book of the Courtier. Translated by Leonard Eckstein Opdycke, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1902. Project Gutenberg, 2022, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67799.
French, Henry. “‘Gentlemen’: Remaking the English Ruling Class.” A Social History of England, 1500–1750, edited by Keith Wrightson, Cambridge UP, 2017, pp. 269–89. Cambridge Core, https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/a-social-history-of-england-15001750/gentlemen-remaking-the-english-ruling class/273BF1ECDF478404C795C6203A8B839E.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night from The Folger Shakespeare. Edited by Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles, Folger Shakespeare Library, 14 Oct. 2026, https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/.
Tylka, Kelsie. “Code of Honor.” Early Modern England Encyclopedia, edited by Kate McPherson, University of Victoria, Linked Early Modern Drama Online, https://lemdo.uvic.ca/emee_editions/1.0a/CodeOfHonor.html.
Welham, Tim, adapter. Twelfth Night, or What You Will. By William Shakespeare, production draft, University of Waterloo Theatre and Performance, 12 Sept. 2026.