Olivia Twelfth Night

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Olivia, a noble woman in the land of Illyria, is sought after for marriage by more people than any other character in the play. Even with multiple choices for a husband, she still ends up dissatisfied with love. Some of these men who seek her hand in marriage range from servant to nobles just like her, but not one of them can satisfy her. Even though love is one of the most central themes in the play, Olivia still cannot find a two way relationship. She can attract many people very easily but does not respond well to many of them. Olivia’s wealth and power makes finding love difficult for her, because she wants someone who will show her respect and truly has feelings for her unlike Malvolio and Orsino. Most of the men who want to marry her only want to be her husband for the money and power it would bring them. Many men offer themselves to Olivia, but secretly fantasize about the power their marriage would bring them. These men do not want to marry Olivia for her personality and plot to use her for their selfish desires. When the duke Orsino lets the audience know he wants to marry Olivia, he includes the sentence, “Her sweet perfections with one self king” (Shakespeare 1.1.39-40). Orsino essentially wants to exploit his relationship with Olivia by deciding what happens with her possessions and by taking control of everything she is in command of. Another way …show more content…
Her wealth, power, and specific demands for someone she can fall in love with are the main reasons for this. The play shows that even though someone who has many people fall in love with them, might not mean they can fall in love with someone easily themselves. This issue provides a very large emotional toll on Olivia and makes her sad and weak for the majority of the play. If Olivia were not as wealthy, it would have been easier falling in love because she would be equal with the men she