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Perhaps the most important force at work in
The main characters’ drastic swings in affection are also foreshadowed throughout the first acts. In Act II scene iv, Orsino first declares that men are fickle and unreliable: “Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, / More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn, than women’s are.” Later in the same scene contradicts himself, saying the love of women is less intense than men’s because their hearts “lack retention.” As Feste observes, Orsino himself is “a very Opal,” changing constantly. Later we will see Orsino easily transfer his love for Olivia to Viola. The scene foreshadows the two kinds of desire present in
Another important motif that enhances conflict in the play is mistaken identity. After Sebastian arrives in Illyria, he and his twin sister Viola (disguised as Cesario) are often mistaken for one another, creating many complications and tricky scenarios. This mechanism is craftily set up in the early sections of the play. When Viola is first introduced in Act I, scene ii, the Captain shares his belief that Sebastian might still be alive, because he saw him swimming away, “holding acquaintance with the waves.” This note of doubt regarding Sebastian’s death foreshadows his later arrival. Sure enough, once Sebastian appears in Act II, scene i, he too fears that his sister has drowned. Since the audience now knows that both Viola and Sebastian are alive and well, and since both are presently on the Illyrian mainland, chances are the two will reunite later in the story. Their reunion functions as the climax of the play, and triggers the resolution. Once Sebastian admits that Viola “much resembles” him (II.ii.), the audience is prepared for the antics that result from mistaken identities.
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