She carries out orders unquestioningly to “woo” Olivia, when she herself knows she is wooing the woman that will be Orsino wife “who’evr I woo, myself would be his wife” when it is she that wishes to be in that place. She wants him to be happy and in giving him that happiness, her happiness she is left alone, is that not self-sacrificing?
Out of all the characters in the play it is Viola who speaks sincerely and honestly, showing them what true love is “In faith they are as true of heart as we” telling Orsino that love a woman can bear towards him is as much as he can bear a woman. She says to Olivia “write loyal cantons of contemned love, and sing them loud even in the dead of night” showing her what real love is and most likely stopped what would have been a dreadful marriage between Olivia and Orsino, two people so very unlike each other.
She is very poetic which is also another quality which endears us to her, such a language cannot be used by someone shallow “I hold the olive in my hand; my words are as full of peace as matter” It is nobody, save Orsino, who talks like this. Except unlike Orsino she does not create an image of pomposity or appear a snob.
However she does deceive everybody into believing she is a man, is deceit not a loathsome quality? If it is, why do we not shun her? I think it is because she shuns the disguise, “disguise I see thou art a wickedness” she understands that disguising yourself does not solves problems but rather creates them. Even though when she realises the feeling Olivia has for her, she does not laugh and use this knowledge to ridicule her, “poor lady, she were better love a dream” but pity’s her instead.
Viola reveals her true self to us in her soliloquies, she tells us what she is thinking, “my master loves her dearly, and I (poor monster) fond as much on him.” And so is more honest. However people like Olivia are telling us what they think they are feeling “methinks I feel this youths perfections with an invisible eye and subtle stealth to creep in at mine eyes ” but since what they are thinking is based in violas lie, they are in a way lies. So it is Viola who we see as the real person and consequently feel for her much more than the others.
Viola never seems to get caught up in petty arguments, but nor does she seem above the characters in doing this. Even in the dual she did not look for the fight “I do assure you, ‘tis against my will” she seems to have a deeper meaning. She is the one person who shows us our true feelings and we like what we hear. With Olivia you could almost compare her to an old lady dithering in the street, sure she knows what she wants but in reality doesn’t.
I think what make Viola an endearing character to play is that she has a heart; she has feelings that aren’t petty and annoying but deep and thoughtful. I think that character is a hard character to play because she has many complexities and acting her so she does appear thoughtful is very hard to achieve.
I think that for example when Malvolio gives Viola the ring and afterwards does her soliloquies that she should stare thoughtfully down at the ring occasionally looking into the audience but her attention always being brought back to the ring as a focal point. Because this is kind of an important part is also adds a small amount of drama. Viola is a rewarding character but also a very complex character to play.
