Layers of Disguise

A few weeks ago, an eclectic baker named Duff Goldman visited Loyola for an event entitled, “The Sweet Life of Baltimore”. Goldman has a television show on the Food Network, Ace of Cakes, which is becoming more popular with every season that airs. Goldman’s bakery, Charm City Cakes, is located in downtown Baltimore. Goldman, along with his staff of close friends, use very unconventional means to create masterpieces with pastry. Goldman has made extravagant replicas of baseball stadiums to everyday dogs for his clients.

When Goldman appeared here at school for this event, his task was to create replica of our very own Humanities Center. Before the event, I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive of the cake. I didn’t know how the cake was going to be constructed or if the imitation Humanities Center would resemble the real building.

To my surprise, Goldman’s cake did, on the outside, look like the Humanities Center. The colors on the cake were a little brighter than the colors of the actual building. Also, more obviously, the cake replication was not to scale as the real Humanities Center. The similarities were pretty impressive. Goldman nailed the pointed roofs, decorative tears, and windows. After the audience watched the construction of the cake, we were obviously allowed to have a piece. The cake had vanilla frosting and vanilla pastry. Overall, I thought the outside of the cake was better than the inside. Even though Goldman’s replication was plausible, seeing another model made me appreciate and respect this definite piece of our campus.

Goldman’s act of replicating a building on our campus can be compared to William Shakespeare’s, Twelfth Night. The act of disguise and producing an imitation of a person surrounds a majority of the characters in the play. One of the main characters, Viola, uses the disguise to try and entice her one true love. She dresses up as a man in order to gain a closer relationship to the Duke. “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid / For such disguise as haply shall become / The form of my intent. I’ll serve this Duke” (Shakespeare 4). Viola also dresses up as a remembrance for her brother which she assumes to the dead after a shipwreck. “Disguise, I see, thou are a wickedness,” (Shakespeare 19). The disguise that Viola was putting up aided in her in getting closer with the Duke, but it also tore her up inside. She was a witness to the love of her life being in love with another woman. Also, the façade was a painful reminder of her fallen twin. Viola wanted to make herself into someone else so that she could pursue her true love. Her disguise also served as a temporary vigil to remember her “fallen” brother.

The Duke is another character who puts up a disguise for others to see. The Duke, also known as Orsino, stood by his word that he is in love with Olivia. However, his love was purely an idea and not a heart-felt sentiment. The Duke only expresses his love through other people. “If the Duke continue those favours towards you, Cesario, you are like to be much advanced…” (Shakespeare 8). The Duke wanted others to tell Olivia how he felt. In the end, the front that the Duke put up allowed him to truly experience real love with Viola. When Viola and the Duke realize that they are in love with each other, they are able to put down their disguises and love one another.

An imitation or a disguise hinders real life experiences. If Viola did not put up a disguise, she may have never found her true love. If the Duke truly expressed his love, then he may have fallen into a bad relationship. Viola’s disguise also brought her to her brother, who she assumed passed away. The construction of the cake gave me a personal appreciation for a central part of our campus. A disguise might be a temporary solution for some, but overall, the real object, person, or feeling needs to be expressed in order for a profound impact to occur.