12th Night Characters Flashcards
Viola / Cesario
-The protagonist of Twelfth Night. An aristocratic woman
-she is tossed up on the coast of Illyria by a
shipwreck at the beginning of the play and disguises herself as a boy, Cesario, to make her way (also cuz Olivia wasn’t seeing anyone).
-exhibits strength of character, quick wit, and resourcefulness.
-her disguise puts her in an impossible position, she maintains self-control and a quiet dignity that contrast with the over-the-top emotional performances of love and mourning
by the other main characters, Orsino and Olivia.
-Viola truly feels pain when she believes that her brother Sebastian died in the shipwreck and when her love for Orsino seems impossible (unrequited)
-After the Duke says women are incapable of love, “Cesario” disagrees and says women can love just as much as men do. Then “Cesario” tells the story of how his “father’s daughter” kept her great love for a man a secret for so long she pined away. “Cesario” cryptically says that “he” is “all the daughters” and “all the sons” of his father’s house.
Duke Orsino
The Duke and ruler of Illyria.
At the beginning of the play Orsino is obsessed by his unrequited love for Olivia . How ever, in the final scene, when Orsino discovers that Cesario is in fact the woman he quickly proposes to Viola.
Because the language and gestures he uses to talk about love are so melodramatic, and because he switches from Olivia to Viola so quickly, Orsino seems more in love with the idea of love and his own role as a spurned lover, than to actually be in love.
His constant self-indulgent complaints about his lovesickness also display his extreme self-centeredness.
Feste implies that Orsino is temperamental and unstable “mind is very opal”
Countess Olivia / Lady Olivia
A beautiful noblewoman in Illyria.
At the beginning of the play, she has rejected both Orsino and her ridiculous suitor, Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
In mourning for her recently deceased brother, she has vowed not to receive any man, or to go outside, for seven years.
However, when she meets Cesario (Viola in her male costume) she falls in love and forgets these oaths. Olivia’s mourning for her brother therefore resembles Orsino’s love-melancholy: it seems more like a
performance than a real, deeply felt emotion.
Like Orsino, she seems to enjoy indulging in misery, and also has no problem shifting the object of love from one person to the next
Feste says that she, not Feste, is the real “fool” for spending all her time mourning instead of living her life.
Sebastian
Viola’s twin brother, whom she believes is lost at sea, and who likewise thinks she’s dead
Sebastian is noble and capable of strong, deeply felt emotion, just like his sister.
The constant powerful love he shows while grieving and when
reunited with Viola contrasts Orsino’s and Olivia’s relatively
frivolous emotions.
He is also the only major character in the play who never engages in deception.
He can be pragmatic, though: when the beautiful, wealthy Olivia proposes to him, he accepts despite the fact that he has never met her before.
Also he befriended Antonio (aka best boy)
Malvolio
The steward in charge of the servants at Olivia’s house.
A stuck-up killjoy, Malvolio annoys the other members of the household by constantly condescending to and scolding
them.
In revenge, Maria, Sir Toby, and others play a prank on Malvolio that adds comic relief to Twelfth Night, but also reveals Malvolio’s ambition, arrogance, and self-love.
The play provides a happy ending for all of the characters except Malvolio, reminding the audience that not all love is fulfilled.
Maria
Olivia’s clever, feisty lady-in-waiting holds her own in battles of wit with the other servants and devises the prank on Malvolio.
Although vicious to Malvolio, she is devoted and attentive to Olivia.
Her wit wins the affection of Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby, whom she marries
Contributes to the plays festive and rebellious spirit
Sir Toby
Olivia’s vulgar uncle, a drunkard, lives at and leeches off of her house. Sir Toby’s crass double entendres and sex jokes offer an earthy contrast to Orsino’s flowery love-poetry,
and his antics help to overthrow Malvolio’s efforts to impose order.
Sir Toby eventually marries Olivia’s lady-in-waiting, Maria
Sir Andrew Aguecheek
A friend of Sir Toby, he hopes to marry Olivia, despite the fact that his suit is obviously hopeless.
Sir Andrew provides a comic foil for the higher characters, who are much more serious about their wooing
Feste / Sir Topas
A clown, Feste is allowed to poke fun at the higher characters.
In this role, he turns upside down the conventional social order, just as occurred during the Twelfth Night holiday
Feste is a genius with words and has a knack for punning, word play, and witty repartee, which he puts to use throughout Twelfth Night. As “Cesario” points out, even though Feste is a “fool,” he’s the wisest in Illyria
He points out that Olivia’s excessive mourning is over-indulgent and “foolish” and notes Duke Orsino’s extreme moodiness when he compares Orsino’s mind to an “opal” that changes color. Even while he clowns around with the rowdy Sir Toby, he also provides some shrewd commentary about Toby’s excessive and dangerous behavior.
Antonio
A local from Illyria who rescues Sebastian from
the shipwreck. Antonio’s feelings for Sebastian push the
boundary line between devoted male friendship and love.
Fabian
An attendant in Olivia’s household
Curio
One of Orsino’s attendants
Valentine
One of Orsino’s attendants.
