The male-dominated society that Emma lives in caught my attention in “Emma”. Not only do the men believe themselves to be superior to women, but the women are submissive as well. On page 15, Mr. Knightley declares, “a man of six or seven-and-twenty can take care of himself”. Mr. Knightley believes that every man can take care of himself, and needs no help from a woman. Following this air of male dominance is when Mr. Knightley refers to how Emma has taught Mrs. Weston well, “on the very material matrimonial point of submitting your own will, and doing so as you were bid”(37). In other words, the point of marriage for a women is to do what her husband tells her to do. Along with the male-dominated society, I found Emma’s infatuation with Harriet Smith intriguing.

Harriet Smith is a gorgeous girl that Emma wants to introduce into a good society. Lately, Harriet has been living with another family, and is fond of a man named Mr. Martin. Because Mr. Martin is a farmer, Emma looks down upon him, as she does all others of the lower class. Emma is very proper and believes a man should make a fortune before marrying, and this would not be until around age 30. Emma is trying to match Harriet up with Mr. Elton, who is a wealthy man. Harriet looks up to Emma as a knowledgeable elder and we shall soon see if she follows what Emma tells her or goes with her own heart.

Throughout the play, Shakespeare explores the idea of self-love and being egotistic. Both Olivia and Malvolio are perfect examples of characters that display self-love.

Olivia is completely aware of her beauty and when she is talking to Viola in Act 1 scene 5 she expresses how she would not leave the world without passing down her beauty for the rest of the world to see. Viola tells Olivia she is “too proud”. Olivia’s large ego is also represented in the manner that she will not settle for Duke Orsino because she believes she is better than him in some way.

Malvolio’s self-love on the other hand is expressed in the way he treats others. Malvolio is merely a servant yet he is constantly talking down to those of a higher class than himself, such as Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew. By speaking to them with authority, Malvolio proves that he has a large ego himself and believes he can say what he wishes to these men because he thinks he is smarter than them.

Self-love and each character’s ego is evidently conveyed in Shakespeare’s play and is something that we as readers should draw our attention to.

In the first two acts of “Twelfth Night”, we are introduced to the characters in the play as well as the soon-to-be love triangle. Sir Toby Belch is the uncle of Olivia and is accustomed to late night partying and acting foolishly. Viola, disguised as a man, works for Duke Orsino. Her first job is to woo Olivia and get her to fall in love with Orsino. However, there is a twist. Viola has fallen in love with Duke Orsino herself and is now wooing Olivia on his behalf. While speaking to Olivia, Viola deviates away from the lines she has rehearsed and starts to speak from her heart. She states how if she were the one wooing Olivia, she would be standing right there in front of her face to face. After hearing such genuine words from Viola, Olivia falls in love with Cesario.

As we all know, when there is a love triangle, someone is doomed to get hurt. When the truth comes out about Viola being a woman, the tides will turn and either chaos or a miracle will happen. Will Olivia still love Viola? Will Orsino love the woman he believed was a eunuch? We will soon find out…..

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