Throughout the play “The Twelfth Night” there are many relationships and love triangles among each character in the play love as a cause of suffering is one of the most prominent theme in the story. Even though this play ends in love and wedded bliss, Shakespeare also shows us that love can also cause pain. The characters often view love as a curse, something that appears among us which we cannot easily or willing escape. Some examples include Malvolio’s love towards Olivia, the between Olivia, Duke Orsino, and viola as Cesario, and Antonio’s crush on Sebastian. There are many occasions where unrequited love for another results in heartbreak and despair.
When Viola first meets Duke Orsino, dressed as Cesario, she is convinced and hopes to win the Duke’s heart over. Viola expresses her true feelings for Orsino the first time she meets him. Viola says “I’ll do my best/ To woo your lady aside yet a barful strife! / Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife”, when she is sent to express Orsino’s love to Olivia. This is the first time where we see Viola taking interest in the Duke. Viola and Orsino also had a good and strong friendship before the truth came out at the end of the book.
Switching from friends to husband and wife would have been easy for them even though Viola is now herself, dressed as a girl. The two see each other on a daily basis and are constantly talking which makes their bond closer and closer. Viola is then caught in another true love scenario only this time she is on the receiving end and things didn’t end smoothly. She tried to get Olivia for Duke Orsino but as time went on Olivia grew to love Cesario. Cesario was not who he seemed to be though because he was really Viola in disguise.There was only way of getting out of this and this was to tell everyone her secret but if she did it could have put her chances with the Duke in danger. With Viola and Orsino spending mostly everyday together has helped them grow a true bond and this is why their love is so strong and an example is true love not lust. Lennon2 Viola’s respect for Duke Orsino was evident before she even knew she loved him. Viola dressed up as a man to be Duke Orsino’s servant. She did not have to dress up as a man but she chose to and this how she became a servant for the Duke.
Viola’s intentions of dressing up as Cesario and working for Duke Orsino were to gain access to Orsino’s palace. With her working for him they grew closer together before her identity got revealed. When Viola first heard of Orsino’s name she already had the respect for him. You can hear that Viola respects Orsino when she says “Orsino I have heard my father name him. / He was a bachelor then”. This shows that Viola knows of Duke Orsino and has heard her father speak of him in the past.
Viola continues her respect by agreeing to persuading Olivia that Duke Orsino likes her but behind her words you can tell that she has feelings for Orsino and wants to pursue a relationship with him. She confesses that she wants to be the role of his wife when she says “Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife”. Since Viola had previous respect for Orsino this will carry on through their marriage and show that they are true to each other and mean what they say. True love shows between Viola and Duke Orsino when they have a conversation about women and both insert their input and opinions. Orsino shares his views on the nature of women while Viola listens and gives her feedback.
