Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare presents the difference between love and infatuation. Characters such as Antonio and Viola are shown as deeply caring and selfless, exhibiting true love with their actions, while other characters, such as Olivia and Orsino, display the self-centeredness of infatuation. The play shows that infatuation is self-centered and often involves strong but short-lived passion and emotion, whereas love is focused not on the self but on the person who is loved, and it involves selflessness and legitimate concern for the other person’s well-being. Orsino’s feelings and actions towards Olivia show that he is infatuated with her. Olivia repeatedly tells Orsino that she is not interested in marrying him, yet he continues
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Viola shows her love for Orsino when she says “I’ll do my best to woo your lady; [Aside] yet, a barful strife! Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife.” Viola is willing to court Olivia for Orsino even though she loves him. If she succeeds in courting Olivia for Orsino then the man she loves will be married to Olivia, therefore she is acting selflessly to help Orsino. She knows how much Orsino cares for Olivia, so she shows her love for him by acting against her own self-interest, because she is concerned with Orsino’s well being and not just with herself. Viola is also not affected by strong passions like other characters such as Orsino are. Because Viola is disguising herself as a man she cannot directly reveal to Orsino that she is in love with him without ruining her disguise. She is able to stay calm, even though the fact that she cannot confess her love to Orsino may be frustrating. On the other hand, Orsino is very emotionally affected by his strong desires for Olivia. He is often overwhelmed with his passion, wanting his appetite for love to “sicken, and so die.” At the end of the play Orsino decides to marry Viola, showing that although his passion for Olivia was strong it was also brief, as he quickly changes to loving Viola. Viola’s selfless love, however, remains constant for
Viola shows her love for Orsino when she says “I’ll do my best to woo your lady; [Aside] yet, a barful strife! Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife.” Viola is willing to court Olivia for Orsino even though she loves him. If she succeeds in courting Olivia for Orsino then the man she loves will be married to Olivia, therefore she is acting selflessly to help Orsino. She knows how much Orsino cares for Olivia, so she shows her love for him by acting against her own self-interest, because she is concerned with Orsino’s well being and not just with herself. Viola is also not affected by strong passions like other characters such as Orsino are. Because Viola is disguising herself as a man she cannot directly reveal to Orsino that she is in love with him without ruining her disguise. She is able to stay calm, even though the fact that she cannot confess her love to Orsino may be frustrating. On the other hand, Orsino is very emotionally affected by his strong desires for Olivia. He is often overwhelmed with his passion, wanting his appetite for love to “sicken, and so die.” At the end of the play Orsino decides to marry Viola, showing that although his passion for Olivia was strong it was also brief, as he quickly changes to loving Viola. Viola’s selfless love, however, remains constant for