Twelfth_Night_Characters

3. Malvolio Even though Malvolio seems like a minor character at the beginning of the play, he develops into a complicated character who adds a certain different aspect to the play which wouldn’t be present if he wasn’t portrayed as he was. Malvolio at the beginning of twelfth night is Olivia’s extremely rigid servant who tries to impose his rule and stop other characters in the play, like Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Feste from having fun. At this point in the play he seems to be just an obedient, emotionless and following servant to his superior, Olivia. We can see this plain side of him as he yells at Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria threatening them that he will tell lady Olivia to kick them out if they don’t quiet down. It seems at this point that he is just a stiff and appropriate servant who likes nothing more than to ruin people’s fun. It is at this point that a turning point comes about. Sir Toby and Maria plan Malvolios fall from his ignorant throne. By doing so Maria and sir Toby reveal a side of Malvolio which was not as obvious before that event. When he first finds the letter, that he assumes is from Olivia, he undergoes a complete transformation. From his stiff and firm attitude he goes to a person with deeper feelings of hope but also self-love. After reading the letter he firmly believes that Olivia is in love with him, as he goes in her chamber following the instructions from the letter acting as a mad man. And even after Olivias clear denial of his love he still has great hope and is even convinced of her love towards him. This is a also a tale of how ambition can overcome good sense. Before he was a stiff servant, now he is a joyfull one but is in search of a love that everyone except him knows doesn’t exist. As the play continues and as he is trapped in a dark room by Maria and Toby he protests and tries to assert that he is not mad. In these actions we see Malvolios stubbornness but also his firm attitude which we see as he claims his sanity even after Feste’s claims that he is mad, which gains our respect in a way. Malvolio at the end of the play is brought out of the darkness, and sees everyone elses celebrations that he is not a part off, but despite his sufferings no one offers him a true apology. He exits with a harsh note saying “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you”. According to me Malvolio has no place in the anarchy of Illirya as even in the happiest of times he is the only one that is suffering 2. Society class and Ambition Twelfth night is deeply concerned with the issue of social ambition, especialy the issue of someone marrying someone above their rank. This is obvious in the events surrounding Malvolio, as the writer (Shakespeare) ridicules Malvolios ambitions to climb up the social ladder. Malvolio who seems to be a capable servant turns out in fact to be an egomaniac, with ambitions of marrying Olivia and therefore rising out of his current rank. Maria plays with Malvolio and his high hopes as she makes him believe that Olivia is in love with him. When she does this everyone find it very funny not only because his personality is extremely under-attractive but also because he is not of honorable birth. But still social ambition is not entirely futile. Maria is able to increase her social status by marrying Sir Toby. Though this may be because of he acceptance of Sir Tobys and Sir Andrews rule less way of life. Marias wish and success to raise out of her class might of passed onto Malvolio, but there is a key difference. Malvolio does not embrace the overturning of power and the attitude of Olivia but simply wants to blur the social lines and win Olivia’s heart. The theme is also grasped in the social status of someone like Feste compared to Sir Toby. Sir Toby only eats and spends money his whole life, while Feste the fool who is an excellent performer works for no money and is not treated any better than a servant. 2. Love and Suffering Twelfth night is a romantic comedy whose main focus is love. Because it is a romantic comedy it of course has a happy ending. Nevertheless, despite the happy outcome the writer shows how love can be very painful. Some of the characters view love not as bliss but as a curse For example Orsino claims to have suffers from love. Orsino at the beginning of the play refers to love as an appetite that he cannot fulfill still at another part of the play he calls his yearnings “fell and cruel hounds” portraying the pain that it is causing him. Olivia also criticizes love calling it a “plague” from which she is sick from. Love has even struck Viola, causing her suffering when she says that she is desperate for Orsino’s love. From these quotes we can conclude that the characters see love as a cruel force that they fall victim to. This desperation and craving for love is so great that it can result in further suffering, when Orsino threatens to kill Cesario(Viola) when he thinks Viola is Olivias lover. But love also causes pain because it does not allow everyone to be happy. It is very exclusive, for example at the end of the play as most of the characters fall in love and live In happiness Malvolio is denied love and therefore happiness, which causes him further suffering. Malvolio who through the play has pursued Olivia through the whole play now must come to terms with his true status. He must realize that he is a fool and that he will never gain the love of Olivia. But he is not the only one that is left out. Antonio has no chance to fulfill his love towards Sebastian as social norms do not allow this to happen. Shakespare depicts this theme very vividly and clearly shows that love can cause either suffering or happiness, depending on if it is fulfilled or not, and if it is not the characters won’t fall out of love, they will just suffer greatly from the sting of love 1. Throught the play Shakespare has enforced the comedy of Twelfth night with the attitude of his characters, the nonsensical decisions they make their complete disregard of consequences as well as gender uncertainty mistaken identities and pointless ambition. From the beginning of the play Viola makes a very improbable decision, she decides to disguise herself as a man in order to find a job in Orsino’s court. Obviously this elaborate trick that Viola has cooked up is less than necessary because even if Orsino only hires young men there is surely some other employer in Illyria who is hiring servants. But Viola commits this act because such an elaborate twist in the story will bring about endless amount of interesting situations later in the plot. For example, Shakespare by dressing Viola as a male creates . Sir Toby Sir Andrew and Maria are very comic characters. This is so because they do not take themselves seriously and are much more relaxed than the plays leading roles of lovesick nobles. The comedy is further enhanced by Sir Tobys and Marias wits contrasted by Sir Andrews foolishness allowing Sir Toby and Maria to make fun of him.