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,
No motion of the liver, but the palate,
That suffer surfeit, cloyment, and revolt.
But mine is all as hungry as the sea,
And can digest as much. Make no compare
Between that love a woman can bear me
And that I owe Olivia.
-Duke (II.iv.91–101)
Orsino is talking about his love for Olivia. He says that his love for her is much stronger than her love could be for him. He says that the way a man loves a women is much more real than how women love men. He says that his love is deep, while a woman can only love superficially, and that women can easily change how they feel. He thinks his emotions are the most important and Olivia's are trivial. I think this is interesting because we have seen that it is in fact Orsino who falls in love easily and and superficially and often changes who he loves. This quote shows how he is selfish and has very little knowledge about the actual nature of love between men and women. His beliefs are proven wrong throughout the play.
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