Scenes 3.1-3
Summary (Act 3.1-3)
Viola, still disguised as Cesario, finally arrives at Olivia’s court to talk even more about Orsino’s passionate love and is greeted by the fool. After exchanging a few good-hearted jokes, the fool takes his leave to tell Olivia that Cesario has arrived. After a brief conversation between Toby, Andrew, and Cesario, Olivia arrives and starts to privately speak with Cesario. She finally reveals her profound love for him but is swiftly rejected due to the fact that he already loves someone(Orsino). In the next scene, Sir Andrew almost leaves because he thinks he will never be able to convince Olivia to love him, but Toby and Fabian convince him to do otherwise. After he decides to write a letter that will officially challenge Cesario to a duel, Sir Andrew takes his leave. Maria comes in saying that Malvolio is about to talk to Lady Olivia in his cross-gartered leggings which gives everyone a good laugh, and they decide to go watch him get humiliated. Next, elsewhere in Illyria, Sebastian and Antonio are walking the streets of their destination but Antonio decides it is too dangerous for him. They reach an agreement where Antonio will find them a place to stay while Sebastian is touring the streets, then part ways.
Personal Reaction- Character Decisions(Olivia)
In this section, scene 3.1 in particular, Lady Olivia finally tells Viola/Cesario how much she loves him. I understand that she eventually had to tell him, but I didn’t think she would admit it in such a direct way. Besides, considering that she already gave him a sort of clue in the ring she sent him through Malvolio, I thought that she would continue using the subtle hinting method to eventually communicate her affections. Instead, she openly told him that she loves him which I find very un-Olivia-like.
Interesting Question-
How will Orsino react once he finds out that Olivia loves Cesario?
Up until now, we know that Orsino trusts Cesario and thinks well enough of him to send him to Olivia as his messenger of love. Once he finds out that Olivia loves Cesario, I think Orsino will get really mad, maybe even banish Cesario from his court. All that can happen unless Cesario somehow finds a way to talk him out of it, maybe even admit his/her own affections for Orsino.