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Lady Olivia claims at the beginning of Twelfth Night to be mourning her brother's death and that she will mourn for seven years, but refuses to fall in love during that time. Olivia is dishonest as she uses her brother's death to avoid Orsino's romantic advances but ignores her promise when she falls in love with Cesario.
When she meets Viola (disguised as a man), she throws her vow away and sends a ring after Cesario to secretly show her affection. Olivia chooses to pine after Cesario despite her original intentions. She refuses Duke Orsino as she doesn't reciprocate any of his feelings. She tries to woo Cesario but is unsuccessful as it's Viola in disguise.
Olivia Inspires Respect
Olivia produces the impression that she has lived a life of noble self-restraint which has given her an honorable name with persons of all classes. She is described as "a virtuous maid" by the captain. She can lead her people and "take and give back affairs and their despatch with such a smooth, discreet and stable bearing," which impresses Sebastian. She preserves her dignity even when she experiences heartbreak.
Olivia inspires loyalty in those who surround her. She speaks plainly to the Clown in his presence and scolds him for his errors but doesn't allow others to speak ill of him. She tells Malvolio about the faults in his face but is concerned when he appears to have gone mad. Her intelligence can be seen as constantly having to deal with her drunken uncle Sir Toby Belch.
Olivia and Love Plot
Olivia's abrupt change of heart and mind is illogical in every way. Despite Orsino's money, prestige, and sincere nature, Olivia thinks she is unable to fall in love with him. The illogical aspect of love is highlighted through Olivia's affection for Cesario.
Orsion adores Olivia, but she prefers Cesario. Olivia doesn't realize it, but she is an important part of Malvolio's story. Olivia's blindness from love is so great that she marries Sebastian, Viola's identical brother. Olivia is happily pleased when she discovers Sebastian is interested in her since she thinks he is Cesario.
Olivia and Sebastian organize the wedding in a single day because she is so eager to wed Cesario. She addresses Viola as her "husband" when they first meet. Viola is still posing as Cesario. Until Sebastian shows up and settles the conflict, this confuses them. Olivia's devotion to Cesario was more driven by the quest for love than by a genuine, rooted love for Cesario's character.
Unification
In the end, Olivia is the one who unifies the play the best. Olivia is most involved in the love plot in the play. Olivia also explains how she is in love with Cesario by telling him that she loves him in front of him his face, when he is over at Olivia's house-
"I love thee so that maogre all thy pride."
Cesario also knows that Olivia is in love with him because he realizes that Malvolio had given the ring to Cesario upon returning from Olivia's house. This is proven to us when Cesario is on the stage himself reading a soliloquy that read,
"She loves me Sure! The sunning of her passion invites me in this churlish messenger."
Maybe her impulsive love and her proclamation of it are the things that most describe Olivia. Compared to Duke Orsino, who pursued Olivia, she is considerably more forceful in her quest for love. The fact that the woman who has little sympathy for the duke falls so impulsively in love with a young girl posing as a young boy is part of the comedy even though she appreciates the duke's positive attributes. She instantly transfers her affection to young Sebastian when she realizes she has married Viola's twin, much as Duke Orsino can do with Viola.
Conclusion
It is a part of Shakespeare's comedy that Olivia who has no sympathy for the duke and his feelings falls irrationally in love with a young girl in disguise as a young boy. This shows that Shakespeare's characters are full of different qualities. Every person has both good and bad in her. Shakespeare very nicely portrays this through Olivia's character.
Written by Garima Jain
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