2. 2. 26
“Poor lady, she were better love a dream.”
Olivia is better off loving something not real, like a dream, than love Viola because she is disguised as Cesario, a man. Unlike Olivia’s love for Viola, a dream cannot disappoint you. What Olivia feels is fake because she does not know who Cesario really is.
Hi Hannah: This is such a loaded quote. Can you not make more of it. What is Viola so sympathetic for Olivia's plight? Is love always a dream?
ReplyDeleteViola is sympathetic of Olivia's plight because she herself is in a similar situation. She should not love Orsino because she is disguised as a man, and trying to woo Olivia for Orsino.
ReplyDeleteLove is not always a dream, it is just safer to love a dream because a dream can't break your heart. Love itself is real, just risky to engage in.
I see exactly what you're saying. I think it's interesting to connect the theme of love to the many problems of the characters of this play. This also shows that since she cannot actually love a dream, Olivia is stuck in a predicament with no way out.
ReplyDelete