Love in Twelfth Night
Several of the characters in the play are greatly bound up in love;
Orsino is consumed by his love for Olivia
Olivia is torn by her love for her dead brother and her feelings for Cesario
Viola is conflicted by her love for Orsino
Malvolio is humiliated due to his love for himself
Familial Love: Viola and Olivia are both mourning a brother, but they each mourn in their own way.
Olivia immerses herself in grief, dressing and acting the part to ensure this mourning period will last. Her grief is
real, but it is also self-indulgent and affected. In fact, in describing her, Valentine uses the comparison of tears to
“brine” which is used to preserve foods, much in the same way Olivia wishes to preserve her brother’s memory.
Unlike Olivia, Viola fears her brother may be lost to her forever, yet she hopes he is still alive and struggles not to
succumb to grief. When Olivia speaks of her grief, the language she uses is dramatic and poetic but Viola’s is plain
and straightforward. She conveys both grief and sensibility, vowing to make the best of things by remaining
realistic and getting employment. Viola is optimistic by nature.
Romantic Love:
Orsino is love-struck by Olivia. From the outset, his language is rich, poetic, and full of
extravagant imagery despite Olivia’s constant rejections. Orsino is in love with the idea of being in love. He is the
courtly lover who suffers and is bewildered, helpless, and tortured because he worships his love from afar. The
courtly lover often agonizes over his condition and indulges in endless self-questioning and reflection on the nature
of love and his own wretched state. Ironically, it is through Orsino’s efforts to woo and win Olivia that she meets
and falls for his rival, Cesario/ Viola.
Friendship and Genuine Love (Viola): A major development in the play is the way that both Olivia
and Orsino are changed by their relationship with Viola, and how her simplicity and directness helps rid them of
their falseness. Before meeting Viola, Orsino speaks poetically and artificially about his love for Olivia; after he
meets Viola, he gets right to the point, telling her exactly how he plans to woo Olivia.
In fact, he becomes more practical. He still heaves heavy sighs and blurts out romantic sentiment, but it is less
flowery. It seems that Orsino is first focused on the outward expression and appearance of being in love just
as Olivia was in regard to the loss of her brother and her expressions of grief. Viola has a similar effect on
Olivia. Her shows of mourning are dropped, as Olivia must use her wit and plain speech in order to deal directly
with Viola. In contrast to both Orsino and Olivia, Viola is not affected in her behavior or manner, although she is
an aristocrat. Through their dealings and contact with her, both Orsino and Olivia become less self-absorbed and
more direct and honest with themselves and with those around them.
Eventually, Orsino becomes despairing and cynical about women, but Viola tries to persuade him that his views of
women are not fair. The irony of Orsino’s negative statements about women’s low capacity for love is that Viola
loves him at least as constantly as he does Olivia, and with more devotion. However, as he listens to Cesario/
Viola, he moves from his previous self-absorbed state, in which only his grief mattered, into someone who is
sympathetic and cares about Viola’s story at least as much as his own. His relationship with Viola has matured
into a very deep friendship and from this point on, though he still woos Olivia, his emotional connection to Viola is
strong.
Contrasts:
Orsino’s elegant court vs. Oliva’s relaxed household
Malvolio’s uptight self-righteousness vs Sir Toby’s carefree ways
Olivia’s resistance vs. Orsino’s persistence
Viola’s duty to Orsino (to woo on his behalf) vs her own feelings of love for him
Outward show vs. inward reality