The Element of Disguise Causes Confusion Amongst Characters

(From 4.1.5-10.)

Feste – Well held out, I’faith! No, I do not know you, nor I am not sent to you by my lady to    bid you come speak with her, nor your name s not Mar Cersario, nor this is not my nose, neither. Nothing that is so is so.

Sebastian – I prithee, vent thy folly somewhere else. Thou know’st not me.

In this act of Twelfth Night characters use the element of disguise as implemented earlier in the play.  Viola disguised herself and was known by the name of Cesario. In this act Feste confuses Sebastion to be Cesario (Viola), which is understandable because Sebastian is Violas twin brother.  The element of disguise has caused confusion because Feste is getting Cesario confused with Sebastian. Another character that uses the element of disguise in this act is Feste himself, when in scene II he pretends to be Sir Topas. He puts on the robe of a clergyman and pretends to be the priest. He approaches a locked up Malvolio and begins to mess with his mind. Malvolio tries to stay strong and not get things mixed up but Sir Topas (Feste) does whatever he can to mix up Malvolios responses in order to create confusion. This demonstrates another instance where disguise is implemented and causes confusion amongst the characters. This goes back to the idea that nothing is really what it seems because the person they may be talking to may be who they think it is or maybe it may be someone in disguise. This concept also relates to theatricality where the characters in a play are playing the role of another character.  They are characters but they are also taking on the role to be someone else and are putting on disguises to fit the part that they are trying to portray.