Thursday, April 7, 2011

Antonio and Sebastian's relationship

The relationship between Antonio and Sebastian seems clearly erotic. It seems as if Antonio is obsessed with Sebastian, where Sebastian was grateful for Antonio for having him take him in after the shipwreck but was ready to move on. Antonio portrays his love towards Sebastian because of his willingness to protect and serve Sebastian. Even though Antonio has enemies in llyria he insists on following Sebastian. His discourse and behavior represents the strong feelings he has for Sebastian which seems like he most likely wants to be more than friends. Later Antonio discloses information saying that if he cannot have the love of Sebastian’s then he wants to be his servant forever. This shows his obsession towards Sebastian because he basically is saying he will never leave him. The love is portrayed through the aspect of safety. Since Antonio insists following Sebastian for his safety, he shows his true passion towards him since he rather put Sebastian’s safety before his own even when he knows he has many enemies in llyria. It is ironic that later in act III Antonio mistakes Sebastian for his sister Viola dressed up as Cesario because he has such desirable feelings for Sebastian and then mistakes his identity. Deception and identity rolls become important and bring humor to the play since the audience is aware of what is going on but the characters do not, making them vulnerable and confused. Overall Antonio fulfills the elements of desirable love since he puts himself before Sebastian at all times. A question to pose is to think about the aspects and elements that draw people into love. Why is Antonio obsessed with Sebastian, this is never really clarified. Is it solely physical attraction because what is so charming about Sebastian’s personality to make Antonio obsessed?

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