类别 全部 - love - loss - identity - obstacles

作者:Jessica DiSibio 4 年以前

244

Viola

Viola, a character from Shakespeare's play, navigates a complex web of emotions and disguises. She initially mourns the loss of her brother, believing him dead, and grapples with her sense of identity.

Viola

Viola

Name the character


Type in the name of the character whose change throughout the story you are going to analyze.

Example: Nick Carraway.

BEHAVIOR

Character's behavior

Think of the character's behavior at the beginning of the story and look for the way it changed throughout the story.

Cause

The reason for the change in behavior

Type in the explanation for the character's change of behavior.

Example: He became so involved with dishonest and careless people that he began to resemble them.

No more than three days after working for him, Viola falls in love with Orsino. She becomes upset by his unrequited and undying love for Olivia, and wishes to pursue him herself. However, she cannot confess her feelings for him since she is disguised as Cesario. This causes changes in her behavior as she tries her best to steer Orsino away from Olivia while not yet giving away her disguise.

The reason for the change in behavior

What caused the character to change the first behavior you mentioned? Type in the reason for the change.

Example: 'because no one else was interested ', and he felt Gatsby shouldn't be left alone in his last moments.

"Say that some lady, as perhaps there is,/ Hath for your love as great a pang of heart/ As you have for Olivia. You cannot love her./ You tell her so. Must she not then be answered?" (Shakespeare 37). "I am all the daughters of my father's house,/ And all the brothers too" (Shakespeare 38).

Change in behavior

How did the character change the first behavior you mentioned? Type in a quote to prove your statement.

Example: Nick assumes the whole responsibility for Gatsby's funeral arrangements, 'with that intense personal interest to which every one has some vague right at the end.'

As the story goes on, her behavior shifts and she becomes less loyally obedient, and more manipulative. Instead of simply falling Orsino's orders and persuading Olivia to accept his advances, Viola tries to convince Orsino that he should stop pursuing Olivia, and suggests that there may be someone else for him. Viola begins to let slip signs and hints that she may not be who she says she is, and is therefore gradually removing her disguise.

Initial behavior

What is the character's behavior at the beginning of the story? Type in a relevant quote for your statement.

Example: Nick seems to be an honest person, calling himself 'one of the few honest people that I have ever known'.

"Conceal me what I am, and be my aid/ For such disguise as haply shall become/ The form of my intent. I'll serve this duke... What else may hap, to time I will commit" (Shakespeare 7).

Initial behavior

How does the character act at the beginning of the story? Type in a relevant quote for your statement.

Example: Nick shows his immature side as he leaves to New York in order to avoid 'being rumored into marriage' with his girlfriend.

At the beginning of Act I, Viola has no other intentions for wanting to serve the Duke. She seems to simply want work, and is willing to see where that takes her. Viola keeps her disguise up as Cesario and impresses Orsino with her servitude, which leads to him entrusting "him" with his more romantic matters.

FEELINGS

Character's feelings

Focus on the way the character's feelings are presented at the beginning and at the end of the story, while explaining why they have changed.

Subtopic
CAUSE
Viola, upon serving the Duke, falls almost immediately in love with him. However, Viola cannot express her true feelings because she disguised herself as a boy so she could earn the position of the Duke's servant in the first place.

The reason for the change of feelings


Why did the character change his feelings? Type in the answer.

Example: the East lost its appeal due to the shallowness, carelessness and corruption.

When challenged to duel with Sir Andrew in Act IV, Antonio steps in, declaring his love and allegiance to Viola, thinking Viola is Sebastian. When Antonio asks Viola to return his purse, it is clear to her that he mistakes her for someone else, and that that person is very likely her brother Sebastian.

The reason for the change of feelings

What caused the character to change the first belief you mentioned? Type in the reason for the change.

Example: disgust towards the lack of morality in the Buchanan family.

AFTER
"To woo your lady. Yet a barful strife!/ Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife" (Shakespeare 14).

Change of feelings

How did the character change the belief you mentioned?

Type in a relevant quote for his change.

Example: 'Winter night and the real snow, our snow(...)We drew in deep breaths of it . . . unutterably aware of our identity with this country for one strange hour before we melted indistinguishably into it again. That's my middle-west.' - Nick on the purity and integrity of Midwest.

Viola finds her job serving the duke to be full of emotional obstacles she was not expecting. She becomes in charge of wooing Olivia in Orsino's favor, but this proves difficult for her.

"Even such and so / In favor was my brother, and he went/ Still in this fashion, color, ornament,/ For him I imitate. O, if it prove,/ Tempests are kind, and salt waves fresh in love!" (Shakespeare 69).

Change of feelings

In what way did the character change the feeling you mentioned?

Type in a quote to support your statement.

Example: 'They are a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.' - Nick criticizing the Buchanans.

Viola realizes that Sebastian may have survived after all. Her hope is restored and she is optimistic rather than in mourning.

BEFORE
Quote

Initial feelings

What was the character's initial belief? Type in a relevant quote.

Example: 'seems like the ragged edge of the universe' - Nick talking about Midwest, the place where he grew up.

"O that I served that lady,/ And might not be delivered to the world / Till I had made mine own occasion mellow,/ What my estate is" (Shakespeare 7).

Initial feelings


How does the character feel about a certain subject at the beginning of the story? Type in a relevant quote to support your statement.

Example: 'Reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope.'

Viola feels that she no longer has an identity without a brother, and seeks something to do that may help her rediscover or even reinvent that identity. She decides that the best way to start that process is to find work, and decides to keep her true self a secret until she has paved the way for herself.

"And what should I do in Illyria?/ My brother he is in Elysium" (Shakespeare 5).

Initial feelings


How does the character feel about a certain subject at the beginning of the story? Type in a relevant quote to support your statement.

Example: "Reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope."

Viola is devastated by the loss of her brother, and does not know what to do with herself.

Twelfth Night - Acts I-IV

Title


Type in the title and author of the literary work that introduces the character.

Example: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.