Olivia in Act 5 Scene 1

In this scene, Orsino and Viola arrive at Olivia’s house to tell Olivia the truth. This is where everything unfolds. Everyone learns the truth about one another and starts making connections. But before all this happens, Olivia is extremely confused and just wants to know the truth. Cesario ignores Olivia, but she doesn’t understand because she had just married Sebastian (thinking it was Cesario). She’s madly in-love with Cesario and just wants his attention – since they had got married. Olivia isn’t necessarily strong or weak. She was put in an extremely confusing situation so some of her reactions are understandable. When it comes to Cesario, she is extremely weak because of her “strong love” for him. Olivia also takes a lot of control during this scene, but mainly because she generally has a lot of power. She orders Malvolio and Feste to give her the letter that was given to Malvolio, she commands Cesario to stay where he is until things are resolved, and orders for Sir Andrew and Sir Toby to get medical attention after the fight. Overall, Olivia has very much control in this scene. The two best words that could be used to describe Olivia during this time are, “puzzled” and “frustrated”. She’s frustrated that so many things are happening at once and they’re all puzzling her.  One way to portray Olivia in this scene is by having her stand in the center of the room, as everything else is going on around her. This shows the control she has over everyone at this time. Strong hand gestures and body position could show her frustration and facial expressions showing her confusion.