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Orsino's Treatment Of Women In Twelfth Night

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In this passage from Act II, Scene iv, Duke Orsino gives a speech about love to Viola. Woman, according to Orsino, cannot love as passionately as a man since their hearts cannot retain the passion. He compares a woman’s love to an “appetite,” a small, superficial wanting in contrast a man’s love, which is “as hungry as the sea.” This shows that he thinks a woman’s love is only on the surface while a man’s love is deep and passionate. I chose this passage because it shows the ironic nature of Orsino’s actions compared to his words. He claims woman love superficially but he demonstrates his own superficialness by loving Olivia purely based upon her looks. Throughout the play, it is shown that Orsino is more in love with himself and the idea

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