ironic ?

Viola: "Then think you right. I am not what I am."

Olivia: " I would you were as I would have you be." (III.i.148-9)

- Viola is attempting to leave Olivia's home in this scene, but Olivia is attempting to make her stay. Olivia asks Viola what she thinks of her and Viola responds by saying that Olivia is denying what she really is. Olivia then goes on to say that if that was true then she believed that Viola was doing the same.Next is where this quote comes into play. Viola is saying that Olivia is right when she says that she thinks Viola is not what she seems to be. Olivia then tells Viola that she wishes Viola was what she wanted her to be. Viola responds by asking if it would be better if she was what Olivia wanted her to be. She states that right now she is a big fool. Olivia is pretty much begging for Viola's love at this point, but what she doesn't know is that Viola is really a woman. This is what makes this quote so ironic. Olivia is saying that she thinks Viola is denying who she really is meaning denying her love for Olivia. When Viola admits that she is not what she seems to be, Olivia does not realize the context of this statement. Viola is pretty much admitting that she is not a man in this quote, but in a very subtle way. At the end of the scene, Viola says that she will never love a woman, pretty much crushing Olivia's hopes of them every being together. Olivia thinks that she is being denied because Viola doesn't love her, but in reality she is being denied by Viola because she isn't actually a man.