THE EGOTISM OF ORSINO-How it affects his relationship with others

1. Viola uses wit and sarcasm towards his overly sentimental and overdramatic declarations of love

2. Orsini uses love as a disguise for his egotism and self-love

2.1. pretends to be a victim of love, “Love consumes you”

2.2. Exaggerated sense of self importance and calls himself “one self king”

2.3. Has grave misconceptions of reality and what true emotions really are.

2.4. Orsino egotistically withdraws from society, neglecting the responsibilities of dukedom. (“For I am best/when least in company”)

3. Orsino’s relationship with Oliva

3.1. blinded by self love thus fails to acknowledge Olivia’s constant rejection.

3.2. claims to love Olivia but is too “lovesick” to make the journey himself, so he sends a series of messengers with prostestations of love in attempt to woo her.

3.3. claims that his love for Olivia is as “all embracing as the sea” and his passionate spirit is so absorbed with his imaginary ideal that he lives,acts and breathes love at every minute of the day.

3.4. his hyperbolic language absorbs and transforms reality into it’s own image.

3.5. not in love with Olivia but in love with the idea of love, it is the “food of love” he enjoys, his feelings are stimulated by appearance and imagination. (“O when my eyes did see Olivia first, methought she purged the air of pestilence”)

3.6. appreciates Olivia’s sisterly affection while anticipating the passion she’ll eventually love him with. (“To pay this debt of love but to a brother/how will she love...”)

4. Viola tries to bring sense to Orsino in terms of his overdramatic love for Olivia. (“But if she cannot love you, sir?”)

5. Orsino’s relationship with Viola

5.1. Viola courts Olivia for him even when she has seen how superficial his love maybe.

5.2. Orsino and Viola had a bond of trust, Orsino confided in his feelings for Olivia ( “ I have unclasped to thee the book even of my secret soul”)

5.3. Orsino was so blinded by his shallow concept of love that failed to acknowledge Viola’s real feelings for him.

5.4. Viola knows how to woo a woman, thus uses with and intelligence to woo Olivia when she realizes Orsino’s overdramatic love speeches have no effect on her.

6. Orsino’s relationship with Feste

6.1. Feste observes the foolishness of other characters in the play, and points out that Orsino’s love is indeed superficial. (“For thy mind is a very opal”)

6.2. Compares Orsino’s mind to an opal stone which changes colors easily thus mocking his foolishness and excessive superficiality of emotions.

6.3. He also points out his melodramatic indulgence “Now the melancholy god protect thee”

6.4. “Thy doublet of changeable taffeta” , further compares Orsino to a type of silk that changes colors in light, thus calling him out for his fickle nature and predicts the end of the play, his love changing from Olivia to Viola