Love as a Cause of Suffering in Twelfth Night Essay Sample

Love can cause more pain than it is worth. William Shakespeare proves this anyhow. Even though his play Twelfth Night ends in weddings and happiness, Shakespeare also demonstrates that love can cause pain. Multiple characters throughout the play exhibit that being in love is causing them to suffer, or more so, the pain of being in love with someone who does not love them back. For example, the love triangle between Olivia, Duke Orsino, and Cesario causes much bitterness. There are many scenes in the play that prove that unrequited love for someone else results in sorrow. 

The first character who demonstrates that love causes suffering is Olivia. After the death of her brother, Olivia plans of shutting herself away for seven years to mourn him. She also refuses to love another man. For instance, she will not give Duke Orsino, who is in love with her, the time of day. However, when Orsino sends his servant Cesario to tell Olivia about Orsino’s love for her, she falls for Cesario instead. Olivia does not know how to feel about it. She states, “Even so quickly may one catch the plague?” She is describing love as a “plague” and how quickly she fell in love with Cesario. Unfortunately for Olivia, Cesario is actually a woman in disguise. Olivia does not find this out until the end of the play when she marries Sebastion, thinking it was Cesario. Not only did love cause Olivia pain from her brother’s death, but it also causes sorrow because she cannot hold who she loves.  

The second character who demonstrates painful love is Orsino. He starts off the play by exclaiming, “O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou, / That, notwithstanding thy capacity / Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there, / Of what validity and pitch soe'er, / But falls into / abatement and low price / Even in a minute” (Shakespeare, Act 1. /Scene 1. /Lines 9-14.) Orsino explains that love is restless, and one second it makes you want everything, However, the next second it makes you hate everything. In the play, Orsino is in love with Olivia, who does not love him back and refuses to see or hear from him. Orsino does everything in his power to convince Olivia to marry him, but she refuses. As previously stated, Olivia falls for Orsino’s page, Cesario. This angers Orsino and he threatens to take Cesario from Olivia. Orsino exclaims, “And that I partly know the instrument / That screws me from my true place in your favor, / Live you the marble-breasted tyrant still” (Shakespeare, Act 5. /Scene 1. /Lines 118-120). Orsino does not want Olivia to love anyone except him, so he is willing to do anything it takes to get her to himself. Love causes Orsino to feel anger at Cesario, sorrow because he cannot be with Olivia, and desperation to be with Olivia. 

Viola is another character who exhibits this theme. Viola is in love with Orsino. However, Orsino only knows her as the man Cesario, his page. According to the article “Love, Loss, And Desire in Twelfth Night,” by Lesley Currier, “She makes up for the loss of her brother by taking on a male persona patterned after him...” This is a way Viola mourns for the death of her brother Sebastian. After becoming Cesario, she starts working for Orsino and falls for him. However, like previously stated, Orsino loves Olivia. Orsino uses him as a messenger to try to persuade Olivia to love him. Viola did not enjoy doing this because she wanted to marry Orsino. She exclaims, “Yet, a barful strife— / Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife” (Shakespeare, Act 1. /Scene 4. /Lines 43-44). Fortunately, for Viola, this plan did not work because Olivia falls for Cesario instead. Love causes Viola to suffer when she loses her brother and because Orsino loves another woman.  

The fourth character who demonstrates the suffering of love is Malvolio. Malvolio is Olivia’s servant, who he is in love with. However, Olivia does not feel the same way. In the play, many of Olivia’s people find Malvolio raging, so another servant, Maria, writes a note for Malvolio to find. She makes it look like it is from Olivia to embarrass him. In the note, Maria writes, “Remember the woman who complimented / you on your yellow stockings, and said she/ always wanted to see you with crisscrossing/ laces going up your legs—remember her” (Shakespeare, Act 2. /Scene 5. /Lines 35-38). Maria wants Malvolio to wear his socks and laces like this because she knows Olivia hates it. After finishing the letter, he is convinced that Olivia finally loves him back, so he goes and approaches her about it. Olivia thinks he has gone insane and sends him to be locked up in a dark room. Malvolio’s love for Olivia has caused him grief, embarrassment, and the loss of his job. 

Antonio is the last character who gets affected by love. In the story, Antonio takes in Sebastian after the shipwreck because he takes a liking to him. Sebastian decides to go to Orsino for work. Antonio offers to help but Sebastion declines because “Antonio is a wanted man and accompanying him on his journey would put him at risk,” according to EduCheer’s essay “Love as the Cause of Suffering.” Antonio decides to follow him anyways and meets Cesario who is in the middle of a duel with Sir Andrew. Believing it is Sebastian, Antonio attempts to help Cesario. However, Viola is confused because she has never met this man. Sir Andrew, unfortunately, knows Antonio is a wanted criminal and turns him in. After the authorities come to arrest Antonio, he tries to take his purse back that he let Sebastian borrow, but Viola has no idea what he is talking about. Antonio becomes angry and exclaims, “Will you deny me now? / Is ’t possible that my deserts to you / Can lack persuasion? Do not tempt my misery.” (Shakespeare, Act 3/ Scene 4/ Lines 313-315). Antonio believes that “Sebastian” is pretending he does not know Antonio now. Fortunately, he gets released at the end of the play and realizes that Sebastian did not betray him. On the other hand, he feels heartbroken when Sebastian marries Olivia. Love causes Antonio to feel not only anger and betrayal but also sadness. 

Love does not always mean happiness. Shakespeare exhibits this in his play by showing multiple ways love can cause a person to feel. It can cause someone to feel betrayed like Antonio, angry like Orsino, or sad like Viola. Also, just because someone might be in love with another person does not mean that it is always going to work out for them in the end. For example, Malvolio is in love with Olivia, but he does not marry her in the end. This causes him much sorrow and he feels like a fool. Antonio goes through the same situation. Shakespeare proves that love can cause more bitterness and sorrow than joy.