A Woman with a Blank History (Megan Howard)
Utah Theatre Festival production
of Twelfth Night
Viola, dressed as Cesario, talks of
herself in a distant third person in her short speech to Orsino at the end of Act
2, Scene 4, Lines 107-112. She describes a woman who never tells the one she
loves her true feelings, while appearing as a peaceful statue, which are often
seen in cemeteries, smiling even though consumed in grief. This is Viola as
thus far in the play she has not spoken to any other character about her love,
and she wears the grief for her assumed dead brother in a happy façade.
Viola also then goes on to reflect
Orsino’s persona back towards him. As Viola as Cesario has been wooing Olivia,
Cesario knows that Orsino may have all the correct societal norms met in
courting Olivia but he has no true feelings behind his advancements and therefore
he will never get any further with Olivia. She knows what type of man she wants
to be with, and Orsino will never be the type of man Olivia wants. Cesario
knows this because he is a woman in a mans’ world and he has been listening to
both Orsino and Olivia in this attempted courtship. Therefore, because of
social status between Cesario and Orsino, Cesario makes a generalized statement
about men and how they court. “For still we prove/ Much in our vows, but little
in our love.” (2.4.114-115) At the end of the speech, Cesario is harsh with his
opinion of men in love. He declares men are full of fancy words and oaths but
deliver little in terms of love. This could be Cesario’s way of trying to get
Orsino’s attention in terms of altering his approach to courting Olivia, as he
has done this previously in Act 1, Scene 4, Line 28. Here Cesario is blatantly
telling Orsino he is wrong in his thoughts with a sharp “I do not think so, my
lord” to Orsino’s foretelling of Olivia’s reaction. Therefore, it is not
strange to see Cesario still trying to change Orsino’s perspective by hinting
at reality instead of a direct approach.
This speech could also be interpreted as
Viola confessing who she truly is, a woman full of grief and unrequited love,
while attempting to seduce or talk Orsino out of pursuing Olivia to pursue
Orsino more openly herself not merely for the betterment of Orsino.
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