“There is no woman’s sides

Can bide the beating of so strong a passion

As love doth give my heart; no woman’s heart

So big to hold so much; they lack retention.

Alas, their love may be called appetite” (lines 93-97)

            This quote is central to Duke Orsino’s thought process. When I first read this quote, I was in shock because he was so brazen in his disrespect for women, or at least his ignorance. Of course, he wasn’t aware that he was speaking to a woman. Arguably, that would not have stopped him from saying what he said. He is saying that a woman can’t feel love as powerfully as men because their heart can’t handle it. He also has the nerves to say that women’s hearts “lack retention,” so their love dissipates like hunger. His so-called love for Olivia isn’t really love, especially if he doesn’t believe that she can reciprocate his feelings. Not to mention, his gross negligence in recognizing that she is mourning for her brother and even her father. The speaker, the Duke, is somehow hoping to win Olivia. He doesn’t care if she loves him or not. He just wants someone who is equal to him in class and possibly beauty. So far, the text has ensued into chaos. Several men are interested in Olivia. Viola, who is dressed as a man, Cesario, is interested in the Duke, and Olivia is unknowingly in love with a woman, Viola. Orsino’s point of view of women is just a small part of what is going on. Since the audience for Shakespeare plays are men and women, I don’t believe they would have shared the Duke’s opinion. They would have understood that he was a buffoon who didn’t understand that his advances would never be received. Not to mention, his lack of propriety towards a woman who is mourning her loved ones would have been seen as inappropriate. Of course, I’m sure that some men held the same view as Orsino. For a long time scientists were claiming that women didn’t feel the same sensations as men. Plus, they were seen as objects rather than human beings. In a marriage, it was the man who was to be satisfied, and the woman was someone who bore children and took care of the house.