“There are remarkable correlations between the sexual multivalence of Shakespeare’s heroines and an important strain in the political rhetoric of Queen Elizabeth I.” -Leah Marcus quoted in Carole Levin’s “The Heart and Stomach of a King”, page 192

Politics influence art, and Queen Elizabeth I worked to ensure that she influenced her subjects, not just in her policy or decisions but in her very being: her identity, appearance, and what she sought to represent. By asserting herself as a queen who was also a king, a woman who possessed both feminine and masculine qualities, she had an impact on the way in which the culture saw gender. This created room for experimentation with the ideas of gender, something the Shakespeare likely found fascinating and chose to highlight within his female heroines, like Viola in Twelfth Night. Art often begins a controversial conversation, and Shakespeare instigated new thought about the role of men and women within the world and their relationships- one that is still carried on today. Society at the time was still stringent in regards to gender binaries, and the idea of transgender was likely unheard of. However, the characteristics defining masculine and feminine were being explored and Elizabeth’s queenship surely had an impact on that.