Point of View

Twelfth Knight is told from the altering first points of view of Vi and Jack. This first person point of view is helpful for the reader because the book, like the Shakespeare play it is based on, centers around deception and false identities. The reader knows more than both Vi and Jack because the reader hears not just what one character knows and observes but rather both. This is similar to the play in which the characters are shown together and apart.

When the narration follows Vi, she frequently finds fault in those around her, at least at the beginning of the novel. She both thinks and speaks about the injustices directed toward women in the world as well as about injustices committed against others, such as cultural appropriation. She never uses the phrase "toxic masculinity," but this is what she generally fights against: men...