Skip to main content

How are different types of love explored in "Twelfth Night"?

Firstly, we certainly see a great deal of "romantic love" in Twelfth Night. The play explores unfulfilled romantic desire in the play's love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola/Cesario. At the end of the play, we see the fulfillment of romantic love with the coupling of Orsino and Viola and Olivia and Sebastian. The most true romance we see between two characters, however, might be in the flirtatious and seemingly truly mutually affectionate relationship between...

Firstly, we certainly see a great deal of "romantic love" in Twelfth Night. The play explores unfulfilled romantic desire in the play's love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola/Cesario. At the end of the play, we see the fulfillment of romantic love with the coupling of Orsino and Viola and Olivia and Sebastian. The most true romance we see between two characters, however, might be in the flirtatious and seemingly truly mutually affectionate relationship between Maria and Sir Toby that does, ultimately, end in a report of marriage.


The play also explores sibling or familial love. We see the grief caused by the loss of a sibling for both Viola and Sebastian—who believe the other drowned—and for Olivia, who is mourning the death of her brother at the play's beginning. The ties between family are further explored in the relationship between Olivia and Sir Toby—it is a tense relationship as Toby's drunkenness and brawling are problematic in Olivia's household. Olivia responds to her uncle's behavior with a mixture of care and concern, anger, and sadness over the course of the play.


Friendship is a type of love that is complicated within Twelfth Night. There is a sort of friendship between Cesario and Orsino that is complicated by Viola's feelings for her boss and Orsino's confusion over his feelings for Cesario. There is also a sort of friendship between Feste and Olivia and Maria and Olivia, but this is complicated by status. The friendship between Toby and Andrew is complicated by the fact that Toby uses Andrew for his own amusement. The only true friendship to be found in the play is that between Antonio and Sebastian—and there is scholarly contention that Antonio's feelings for Sebastian are more romantically inclined than anything else.


Finally, this play deals with the idea of self love. This is most evident in the character of Malvolio, whose love for himself is his own downfall. His opinion of himself is so elevated that he is blind to the trickery of Toby and Maria and ends up disgraced and humiliated.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

What gift did Della buy for Jim and why in "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry?

Della buys Jim a watch fob because his watch is his most prized possession. Della and Jim Young do not have much money. Despite this, Della really wants to buy Jim a good Christmas present. She is even willing to sell her hair to get him a nice gift. This is ironic because we learn Della and Jim both highly prize her hair. Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which... Della buys Jim a watch fob because his watch is his most prized possession. Della and Jim Young do not have much money. Despite this, Della really wants to buy Jim a good Christmas present. She is even willing to sell her hair to get him a nice gift. This is ironic because we learn Della and Jim both highly prize her hair. Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair.  Della is still willing to sell her hair so she can b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...
Post a Comment
Read more