A great piece on William Shakespeare's play 'Twelfth Night'. Takes an in-depth look into the theme of love in 'Twelfth Night' and the role of the character Viola.
Viola, who spends much of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night masquerading as the male character ‘Cesario’ is the main character of Twelfth Night. Viola follows a turbulent romantic path over the course of Twelfth Night, expressing and representing selfless, forbidden, sibling and romantic love. Selfless love is shown by Viola, as she puts the happiness of her beloved, Orsino above her own. Forbidden love is shown when a relationship builds between Cesario, who is supposedly a page boy, and Orsino, the lord of Illyria. Romantic love is shown when a conventional romantic relationship builds between Orsino and Cesario.
Viola is a selfless lover; her love for Orsino is so great that she values his happiness above her own. Viola telling Olivia that she would be ‘the cruellest she alive,’ if she did ‘leave the world no copy,’ is an example of this selfless love. When she says this, Viola is trying to persuade Olivia to love Orsino, an act which is selfless because Viola is in fact in love with Orsino herself, and persuading Olivia to love the person that she herself loves is very difficult. Viola says ‘myself would be his wife,’ a quotation showing that even though Viola ‘woos’ for Orsino she is in fact in love with him herself. Her love creates a difficult situation; Viola must try to persuade Olivia to love Orsino, whom she loves herself, which shows that she truly cares for his happiness. Viola acknowledges that Orsino would probably be happier with Olivia as a lover, and is prepared to sacrifice her own happiness for the happiness of Orsino. This is how Viola expresses selfless love in Twelfth Night.
Twelfth Night was written in the 16th century, a time when homosexuality was looked down upon, despised and even forbidden in many societies. Considering this aspect of historical context, the next type of love that is expressed by Viola, or rather Cesario, is forbidden love. As has already been explained, Viola is in love with Orsino, and this is apparent from very early in the play. Viola cannot express her love however, because she is disguised as the male page boy, Cesario. At the end of the play, when Viola has revealed her true identity, Orsino appears to love her in return. It seems apparent however, that the love that Orsino has for Viola in fact begins long before this, that Orsino actually begins to fall in love with Cesario, his page boy. Orsino more than once complements Cesario's 'feminine beauty', and it is soon apparent that Cesario is Orsino's favourite page boy, as he employs Cesario above his other servants to bring his messages to Olivia. The two become very close, and seem to spend much time talking about very philosophical subjects like the true nature of love, much in the way that lovers would. Orsino treats Cesario with much respect and admiration, hinting that he may have romantic feelings for Cesario. This relationship is very ambiguous, especially considering the anti-homosexual attitude of Elizabethan England. It is a love that would have been strictly forbidden, especially for Orsino, who is the Duke of Illyria, and thus a very public figure, who would probably have been deposed by furious noblemen if he had pursued any form of homosexual relationship. Because of this, both Orsino and Cesario, who understands the position of Orsino, basically refuse to acknowledge this relationship, both knowing very well that it would be a forbidden love.
The final way in which love is represented by Viola is through the most conventional and common way for love to be expressed, through romantic love. Viola is in love with Orsino throughout the play, but can only express her love at the end of the play, when she has revealed that she is a woman. Viola hints at the nature of her love for Orsino when she tells the story of 'her sister' who was so desperately in love with another man that she often 'Smil(ed) at grief'. Viola is in fact talking about herself, and how in love she herself is with Orsino. Viola can only express this love at the end of the play when she declares her love for Orsino, who replies with enthusiasm saying that when 'in other habits (she is) seen,' she will become 'Orsino’s mistress, and his fancy’s queen.' This quote shows very clearly the conventional romantic relationship that develops between Orsino and Viola, Orsino declaring basically that as long as she is a woman, he will love Viola with passion.
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