He hadn't taken the news well, as Viola had feared. Orsino had once again fallen into a deep melancholy...
Oh the tricks that love can play! Viola thinks as she watches him take a turn around the room, gazing at the paintings hung on the walls, obviously deep in thought. She had seen during her brief employment a deeper side to Orsino, the side that made him set on his love for Olivia.
It's one of the best and worst things about him.
Surely, as the waves crash on the shore, Orsino is a man who lives his beliefs and lives them passionately, viscerally. Yet, that can equally enlighten and blind him. Viola shakes her head...
And what would you? Unless you do something drastic, uncovering your deceit, there is little you can expect from him, no matter how much your heart yearns for it.
Orsino begins coming back towards her. The expression on his face seems to have changed, as if he has made up his mind about something and that he has a conspiratorial secret to share...
Viola has now made her most passionate speech to Orsino thus far, expressing her own frustration with his quest for Olivia's love but also detailing the conflict that she faces in the story. She faces a tough dilemma in her position as Cesario --- the webs of deceit, while all good-intentioned and, perhaps, necessary for her protection in a strange land, have begun to tighten around Viola. Near the end of the scene as Viola and Orsino talk about the love that men and women might owe each other, Viola makes her most direct confession of love, even if she knows that he will not understand, given their situation. This exchange between Cesario and Orsino is filled with rich lines on the meaning of love and what it can do to withhold it or, on the other hand, to hold too stubbornly to ill-conceived love. it is also worth noting that, in both cases - in her interactions with Orsino and with Olivia - Viola is strong in her opinions, not letting either of them "walk over her" but makes sure that her opinion is heard and, both Olivia and Orsino can't help but find this forwardness and intelligence intriguing. This was a very subtle attack on social/gender norms of the day, in which he gives the woman a strong and personality that is able to think for herself. This is a theme we can agree with as it values the woman for more than just her exterior beauty by making her intellect and personality of value as well. Okay enough of my monologue...to wrap up our production of this scene, please watch one of the following and answer the question at the end. Each additional option that you do is worth +.5 (total of +1 available today). I believe each one helps give a better insight into this scene.
And so the curtain closes on our scene. As it goes down, the audience sees the set being rearranged and the characters of Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew, and company on stage getting ready for their scene in which they plan to lay at a trap for the pompous butler Malvolio.
If you would like to extend your viewing of this scene further, I have attached 2 other versions of the "Patience on a Monument" Speech - Conversation Between Olivia & Orsino below. These aren't worth additional points, but I think they are worthwhile. Feel free to mention in the comments, which version you like best.
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