Viola is basically telling Olivia that she could never love her because obviously she is a woman. Olivia clearly does not know this and wishes that Cesario would love her that way she wants. Olivia is so head over heals for Cesario that she is not even listening to what Viola is saying. Olivia is not used to taking no for an answer and certainly does not want to from Cesario. Olivia is being so blind sighted by love that she is not taking in that Cesario said he will never and could never love her. We know that Viola is saying this because since she is a woman and she loves men. But even if Olivia doesn’t know that she should still listen to Cesario because the same thing is happening to her. Orsino keeps sending her messengers who tell her how much he loves her and Olivia keeps telling them that she does not love him and does not want to love him. Every time she gets a new message from him she gets annoyed that he won’t take no for an answer. Now that it is happening to her she does not even realize. Cesario even went farther to say that no woman has his love and no one will ever. Olivia obviously does not catch on. She continues to fantasize over him and beg for him to return. Viola is just getting annoyed now that Olivia does not understand what she is saying. She needs to wake up and realize that someone is saying NO to her and accept that. Unfortunately, no one wants to hear the word “No” when it comes to love. Therefore, they hang on to people and hope that one day they will eventually change their mind. That is precisely what Olivia and Orsino are doing.
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I think you are spot on when you announce above that Olivia does not catch on and that she must wake up from her fantasy of what her dream love must be. This is (I think) Shakespeare's view of all lovers generally. No lover truly wants to know all about his beloved. They like to live in their happy delusions of what their love seems to be. Shakespeare seems very cynical about love.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree that the Olivia-Viola-Orsino love triangle is a microcosm of realistic situations. Often,remaining immersed in delusions and fantasies is easier than dealing with the harsh realities of life. I wonder if Shakespeare's perspective of love derives from his own experiences.
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