This is apparent when she says "Fortune forbid my outside have not charmed her!…What thriftless sighs poor Olivia breathe! O time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is to hard a not for me t’ untie." Another instance when viola’s disguise is believed and therefore causes confusion surrounding her identity is when she is mistaken for her brother Sebastian.
G Antonio who is looking after Sebastian, and when Viola got into a fight with Andrew and Toby, Antonio came to the rescue. He is arrested and begs Viola to explain to the officers that he has been protecting him all along. When Viola claims that she has never seen him. He says "Will you deny me now?…Do not tempt my misery, Lest that it make me so unsound a man As to upbraid you with those kindness That I have done for you." Viola’s disguise is so believable that a man who has spent an extended period of time with her brother mistakes her for him. Immense bewilderment and severe consequences result from this deception.
The final scene, which Sir Andrew is being exploited in, is the last scene of the play. This is the scene in which Toby finally tells Andrew his true opinion of him. He offers Toby his assistance in having his wounds dressed from the fight with Sebastian, Belch responds,
“Will you help? An ass-head, and a coxcomb, and a knave, a thin-faced knave, a gull!”
G There may be a reason for Toby being unreasonable as he has been wounded badly and is in pain so maybe he is being impatient and irritable because of this. Even if Sir Toby is being particularly irritable at this point it definitely shows his true opinions of Andrew and the fact that he consciously exploited him, using his money and treating him as a wallet for his own desires, for example getting drunk every night having all night parties and so on. In the Nunn film at this point when Toby tells Andrew how he feels Aguecheek looks as though he might cry, as if he believed that they were both actually true friends to one another.
In Act 3 Scene 4 this mistake causes considerable anguish as Antonio attempts to retrieve a purse lent to Sebastian from Viola. He cries, ‘None can be call’d deform’d but the unkind’. Meanwhile Viola says ‘What money sir…for the fair kindness you have show’d me here..ther’s half my coffer.’ In the scene again the audience know the truth but on stage the actors are suffering terribly. Antonio’s poetic outbursts against Olivia’s morals may show Shakespeare’s own feelings on the dishonest. Meanwhile Viola cannot understand what Antonio is going on about and makes a social blunder by offering him a few pennies as though he is a beggar.
The final major result of Viola disguise is that Sebastian ends up marrying Olivia. It is of course completely ludicrous that he would agree to marry someone he has never set eyes on before yet he appears completely overwhelmed. ‘This is the air, that is the glorious sun.’ The first line of his speech sums up his supposed feelings for Olivia. She is of course deliriously happy saying, ‘Then lead the way…and heavens so shine.’ Sebastian appears to be only vaguely aware of what is taking place and even goes so far as to question his sanity. ‘To any other trust but that I am mad.’ This scene is very typical of Olivia’s switching affections from Viola to Sebastian with seemingly no founding for the love. The fact that Sebastian has never met her before adds to the ridiculousness of the scene. Shakespeare relies heavily on the audience’s suspension of disbelief in order to create a marriage of questionable morals.
G Overall, Viola’s disguise is used for a vast number of comic devices and is probably the singularly important device in the plot. Shakespeare uses it to create a comedy that however has a number of moral references as well as some questionable ethics. The audience is constantly reminded that they are watching a play and a lot of staging opportunity are provided by the cross-dressing Viola. Finally, it goes to provide the happy ending required by a comedy and is a constant source of amusement throughout the play.
Twin of Viola, Sebastian has a high noble status but appears on stage very little until the final Act. The purpose of Sebastian is to foil the misunderstandings in the plot.
“Provident in peril,” Sebastian shares many of his qualities in addition to their physical similarities.
Like Orsino, Sebastian is quick to respond to a beautiful woman. He develops affection for Olivia without reservation although he knows something is odd in the way she was rushing things to claim him before he changes his mind.
He is of course secured with knowledge Viola loves him, but his way of proposing to her: “Give me thy hand/And let me see thy women’s weeds.”
G This is not exactly a romantic gesture it also seems more like a demand than a request. Again an unromantic analogy was used when he said Olivia “purg’d the air of pestilence”- basically, he is saying she got rid of the plague. This reveals his lack of experience with love.
Orsino is a man with strong, clear views about what makes a successful partnership- the women should be younger than the man, women cannot love as deeply as men, and men rate physical attractiveness more highly than women. This reveals that he is quite shallow.
Maria is a giggly, gossiping, good- time girl who may well be jealous of Malvolio; a valid motive for concocting the evil prank. She is mischievously clever, imitating Olivia’s handwriting which makes her a good match for Sir Toby. Regardless the fact that they are both very different in terms of status, there has been evidence of flirting between the play. Sir Toby addresses Maria as “my metal of India,” implying she is as precious as gold. They both eventually get married and go away. On Sir Toby behalf a lot of eyebrows will be raised for running of with a maid, as he is a knight. It shows that he doesn’t care what others think of him, he does what he wants to.