Olivia pt.1

Here is a bunch of stuff I began work on before last night - things have changed a bit but this was my foundation - so the beginning of my process :

Relationships (Olivia – 12th Night Players)

1. ORSINO
a. Why is Orsino’s love for Olivia Unrequited?
i. Historically -Possibly named for Don Virginio Orsino Duke of Bracciano – who was a Court Visitor to Elizabeth I in 1600.
1. A clue to this relationship could be that Elizabeth was so used to men extravagantly claiming (or rather feigning) their unsurpassable love for her – when in truth they were really in love with Elizabeth’s power, beauty, and succession to the thrown.
2. “Orsino is “far more in love with language, music, love, and himself than Olivia” (Bloom).
ii. Olivia knows in her soul that Orsino is not in love with her (her soul, her being) – rather he loves her shell (her mask, the veil she wears) – the exterior beauty, estate, riches and dowry.
- If Olivia’s Super – Objective is:
To find an honest soul who challenges my fierce wit and loves my true self as much as god – so that I may exist free of deception – unmasked and divine.
Then, Orsino is clearly not the man for her.
b. Orsino as Olivia’s “twin” or mirror character – Olivia and Orsino are characters of extreme (not moderation)
i. Orsino – “a willing prey to the Elizabethan affliction of melancholy” is so in love with love that he would choose to sicken himself with the indulgence of it.
ii. Olivia is similarly a prey to melancholy – she is in mourning for her brother’s “dead love”
iii. However – Orsino and Olivia are twins – but could never match or be a pair – they are too similar.
2. VIOLA
a. Why does Olivia fall for Cesario (Viola)?
i. Cesario is a seemingly “honest soul” (he is not interested in Olivia’s power, beauty, estate, or her as property).
ii. He presents a challenge to Olivia’s “wit” – which is oh so attractive
iii. He admits he is wearing a mask “ by the very fangs of malice I swear I am not that I play.” – this is unbearably attractive to Olivia because she can relate!
iv. He proves that he is a capable of loving a woman so greatly (possibly as much as God): “make me a willow cabin at your gate and call upon my soul within the house …”
v. Keep in mind for relationship: Similar attraction as the one Elizabeth had for Essex:
1. Like Essex, Cesario is bold, handsome, young, free, boundless, and unafraid to challenge nobility/royalty/ the queen.
b. Why is Olivia’s love unrequited?
i. Obviously – because Viola is not a match because she is a girl and in love with Orsino
ii. However, she is also a poor match because:
1. She is dishonest – “she pretends to be that which she is not”
3. FESTE
a. Historically – Feste’s character most likely represents Oxford or Shakespeare himself.
i. After the Essex rebellion Liz banished Shakespeare and his company from her court because of his relations to the earl of Southampton (Essex conspirator)
ii. In the play Feste is referred to as having been Olivia’s fathers favorite fool
1. This is an interesting family tie – which may give insight as to why Olivia needs Feste (despite his dishonorable behavior and possible Catholicism)
b. Why does Olivia Need Feste
i. She is repressed (because she runs from truth and is therefore bound/ veiled/cloistered) – and Feste’s wit is a release, unmasking through humor.
1. “Feste sees through Olivia’s artifice of grief, and would do his best to cure it” (Goddard).
2. Feste “carries his exhaustion with verve and wit and always with the air of knowing there is to know not in a superior way, but with sweet holiday melancholy” (Bloom).

ii. Without Feste, Olivia risks completely losing herself to the sea of excessive emotion – She is the water and Feste is the earth


4. MALVOLIO
a. Historically – A satire of Sir Christopher Hatton
i. Liz fancied Hatton’s dancing. Her nicknames for him included: Sheep, Mutton, Lyddes
ii. Hatton was “affected, self-righteous, deficient in qualities of honor, generosity, and finesse.”
iii. Hatton’s rival was the Earl of Oxford (Edward de Vere)
1. Oxford was an Elizabethan courtier, playwright, poet and sponsor of two acting companies – he is famous today for being the strongest proposed candidate for authorship of shaks. Plays
2. Hatton rivaled him for power
5. SIR TOBY
a. Historically – Peregrine Bertie (Oxford’s brother in law)
b. Olivia loves Toby because he is family, and puts up with him in a caring way, but does what she can to avoid him
6. SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK
a. Historically- It has been said that Andrew is a caricature of Sir Phillip Sydney (father of the woman that the Earl of Essex wed)
b. Andrew is a figure of the several silly suitors who flocked after Liz, not for her soul, but for her image.
7. MARIA
a. Historically – Mary de Vere (Oxford’s sister)/ or Mary Bloody Mary?
b. The relationship here is closer to that of a lady in waiting and a queen.