If all the world is a stage, then many a woman is a player. Jane Muir uses her mask to gain social status, Elizabeth I to reign in dignity and authority, Suyuri to enjoy life with the man she loves, and Viola to prove females are equally capable to males. Masks are vehicles to women’s success.  Jean Muir proves a rather dangerous actor who uses stereotypes regarding women to her advantage. Muir performs “...the feminine part that her society allows her” which includes “‘well-timed and careful staged swoons raptures, tears, and songs...’” thus acting out the perceived fragile female trope that wins the Coventry men’s hearts (qtd. “Blood and Gore”; Schewe). It is a sport in which Muir carries out revenge unto whosoever tries to resist her charms as well as win the patriarchal protection afforded in her society (Alcott). Feminist Luce Irigaray observes that Muir transforms her “‘subordination into an affirmation’” which kindles its dethroning in favor of a fairytale ending (qtd. “Blood and Gore”; Butterworth-McDermott). Alcott uses Muir to challenge perceived norms for females regarding their behavior and treatment (Butterworth-McDermott).
            Historically, women threw off patriarchal shackles similarly. In Elizabeth I’s speech, she provokes sympathy for her womanhood, but assumes the authority usually associated with manhood. Queen Elizabeth I admitted “I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king...” (“Speech to the Troops”). Elizabeth I declares herself capable of ensuring her people’s safety from shame, slavery, and death through her God-given authority equal to any king (“The Golden Speech”). Elizabeth I defied the patriarchal norm that insisted that women wed to be valued, a citizen, or exert influence.             Muir and Elizabeth I both object to restriction upon women; therefore, they made a new pathway to expression which breaks prior taboos (Butterworth-McDermott). Keyser points out that unmasking females exposes “‘the ugly features of patriarchy and [women’s] [skills] in confronting it” (qtd. Butterworth-McDermott). She performs like a high-class woman, revealing that “virtue and class distinction are not natural but learned” which may obscure rather than expose “personal and family history” (Shewe). In her performances, Muir challenges classism which initially places her below the Coventry family– she moves from pitiable servant to respected friend to head lady of the family (Alcott; Schewe). Likewise, the Coventry family’s self-made superior status is dethroned when they are fooled by Muir and they are forced to accept her.            Muir is not the only one to change her fate or social station through mask-wearing. In Memoirs of a Geisha, Sayuri uses the mask and role of a geisha to move from orphaned servant to maiko to geisha. “She paints her face to hide her face... Geisha is an artist of the floating world... The rest is shadows, the rest is secret” (“Memoirs of a Geisha”). Sayuri hides behind the mask of the geisha and uses it as a vehicle to find kindness, happiness, and love from the Chairman. Contrarily, Hastumomo who hid behind a similar gorgeous geisha face, but behind the paint lied a jealous monster that unleashed into ruin (“Memoirs of a Geisha”). Unlike Muir, Hastumomo’s anger and beastlike quality is exposed before she can benefit from its reaping.            A light-heartedly masked character was Viola from She’s the Man which was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Viola pretends to be her twin brother, Sebastian, after her soccer team is cut so she can have a chance to play. The boys’ team thought she wasn’t up to playing at their level, and she wanted to prove otherwise. Her friend, Paul, is the only who sees that males and females are equally capable. Which ultimately gets proved by Duke as he exposes his ability to feel and want something deeper than a pretty face (“She’s the Man”). In this movie, gender roles get turned upside down as Viola proves a better soccer player than her brother and characters break norms exposing that gender itself is a mask.           The mask of what society dictates as gender constructs have been use for a long time in literature, history, and continue into modern media. Women can use the mask to show how ridiculous the gender constructs are as well as gain status in society.

Works CitedAlcott, Louisa May. Behind the Mask or a Woman’s Power.Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2012. Kindle AZW file.“Blood and Gore versus Hearth and Home.” American Public University System, n.d. Web. 25 Jul 2016.Butterworth- McDermott, Christine. “Behind a Mask of Beauty: Alcott’s Beast in Disguise.” American Transcendental Quarterly 18.1 (Mar 2004): 25-48).Memoirs of a Geisha. Dir. Rob Marshall. Perf. Ziyi Zhan, Ken Watanabe, Li Gong, and Yuki Kudo. Columbia Pictures, 2005. DVD.Queen Elizabeth I. “Elizabeth I’s Speech to her Last Parliament (The Golden Speech).” Luminarium, n.d. Web. 27 Jul 2016.Queen Elizabeth I. “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury.” Luminarium, 1 Apr 2012. Web. 27 Jul 2016.Schewe, Elizabeth. “Domestic Conspiracy: Class Conflict and Performance in Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Behind a Mask.’” American Transcendental Quarterly22,4 (Dec 2008): 577- 592, 609.She’s the Man. Dir. Andy Fickman. Perf. Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, and James Kirk. British Columbia, 2006. DVD.