Love Is Overrated Character Essay

Love is Overrated, Right? Saying one thing and doing another is a very common occurrence, and reveals one's true self. Though much of Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night is focused and revolved around Countess Olivia and what she does, her thoughts and actions prove to be very jellylike, allowing some to believe she is the most self-indulgent, overrated character in the play. One weakness that makes her an overrated character is her erratic behavior. In the very first scenes of the play, we learn of Duke Orsino’s love for Olivia, and his attempts to try to win over her heart. He specifically says “ If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it; that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die” (1.1, 1-3). Though the Duke puts a great amount of effort into swaying Olivia to him, she ignores him. While most girls would fawn at the attention of someone with such noble rank, Olivia seems to believe that it is more important to mourn her brother’s death, explicitly for seven years. This detail is a crucial piece of information for later parts in this play, as we will see Olivia goes back on her word. Proving …show more content…
She seems so caught up with Cesario when he arrives that she deceives herself and falls in love with him, without taking the time to notice that “he” is actually a “she”. She also ignores Cesario’s protests that he does not love her, and is only there on account of Duke Orsino. While she tries to deceive herself with her romances, she also deceives others. Malvolio seems to believe she has left little hints for him, other than the forged letter from her, and Sir Andrew never picks up on the fact that she doesn’t return the love. Regardless of whos fault that is, Olivia convinces herself of certain untrue things, and goes above and beyond the role of self-deceptor, allowing others to believe distorted