Relationship Contrasts in Twelfth Night
In his play Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare plays with identity when it comes to gender and to love. As the paths of his various characters cross, it becomes clear that he is writing relationships where romantic relationships are weak, but family and master/servant relationships are strong.
A strong relationship is the master/servant relationship between Sebastian and Antonio. Antonio heals up Sebastian after the shipwreck, and he is very devoted to serving Sebastian. As Sebastian makes his way to leave, Antonio says “The gentleness of all the gods go with thee!/ I have many enemies in Orsino’s court,/ Else would I very shortly see thee there./ But come what may, I do adore thee so/ That danger shall …show more content…
When they first meet, she believes that he is Cesario, and while he questions the situation, he accepts it, hoping for it to be real, saying, “Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep./ If it be thus to dream, still let me sleep.” (IV.i 60-61) As he embarks on what he thinks could be a dream, by the end of the act, he tells Olivia that he will “follow this good man, and go with you,/ And having sworn truth, ever will be true.” (IV.iii 32-33) One questions how strong this relationship is. From the start, through their marriage ceremony, to Act V, Scene i, when all is revealed, she believes that he is “Cesario” and he does not know her at all. While Olivia has at least some knowledge about him as “Cesario,” he does not know her, and is actively deceiving her as to his identity. Sebastian acts as a hypocrite, betraying his “sworn truth,” and this relationship built on lies cannot compare to the one that he holds with his sister or …show more content…
The relationship, which begins in Act V, Scene i, occurs in the same scene that Orsino says he has a “savage jealousy” (V.i.115) of “Cesario” (actually Sebastian) for being married to Olivia. As Orsino, closer to the end of the scene, understands that Viola loves him, he requests for her to “Give me thy hand, and let me see thee in thy woman’s weeds,” (ibid. 267) wishing to see Viola as herself, not as Cesario. These two interactions show that Orsino is presumably still in love (or lust) with Olivia, and also that he wishes to judge Viola on her appearance. While this is a play by Shakespeare, and it can be assumed that most everyone will have a happy ending, this relationship at least on one side, is purely physically
In his play Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare plays with identity when it comes to gender and to love. As the paths of his various characters cross, it becomes clear that he is writing relationships where romantic relationships are weak, but family and master/servant relationships are strong.
A strong relationship is the master/servant relationship between Sebastian and Antonio. Antonio heals up Sebastian after the shipwreck, and he is very devoted to serving Sebastian. As Sebastian makes his way to leave, Antonio says “The gentleness of all the gods go with thee!/ I have many enemies in Orsino’s court,/ Else would I very shortly see thee there./ But come what may, I do adore thee so/ That danger shall …show more content…
When they first meet, she believes that he is Cesario, and while he questions the situation, he accepts it, hoping for it to be real, saying, “Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep./ If it be thus to dream, still let me sleep.” (IV.i 60-61) As he embarks on what he thinks could be a dream, by the end of the act, he tells Olivia that he will “follow this good man, and go with you,/ And having sworn truth, ever will be true.” (IV.iii 32-33) One questions how strong this relationship is. From the start, through their marriage ceremony, to Act V, Scene i, when all is revealed, she believes that he is “Cesario” and he does not know her at all. While Olivia has at least some knowledge about him as “Cesario,” he does not know her, and is actively deceiving her as to his identity. Sebastian acts as a hypocrite, betraying his “sworn truth,” and this relationship built on lies cannot compare to the one that he holds with his sister or …show more content…
The relationship, which begins in Act V, Scene i, occurs in the same scene that Orsino says he has a “savage jealousy” (V.i.115) of “Cesario” (actually Sebastian) for being married to Olivia. As Orsino, closer to the end of the scene, understands that Viola loves him, he requests for her to “Give me thy hand, and let me see thee in thy woman’s weeds,” (ibid. 267) wishing to see Viola as herself, not as Cesario. These two interactions show that Orsino is presumably still in love (or lust) with Olivia, and also that he wishes to judge Viola on her appearance. While this is a play by Shakespeare, and it can be assumed that most everyone will have a happy ending, this relationship at least on one side, is purely physically