Character of Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night we encounter several interesting
characters. The character I found to be most interesting and most different from the
others was Malvolio.
Malvolio is the servant of Olivia. Although he belongs to the servant class, he
believes strongly that he is better than the individuals that he serves. Malvolio often
takes it upon himself to try to discipline others when Olivia is not around. For example
he even takes it upon himself to discipline Sir Toby, his social superior. Malvolio
appears to be a dedicated worker. Most of the time Olivia seems to appreciate the solemn
dignity with which he carries out his duties, however, the others find him arrogant and
regard him as an enemy.
Malvolio, like Rosalind in As You Like It is in disguise. He pretends to be a
Puritan. He dresses in black and never laughs. Throughout the movie we never see a
smile on his face. This however, is merely a disguise that he assumes, that allows him to
criticize others. Under his black garments, lies a heart filled with vanity. He often
daydreams that Olivia will marry him and as a result he will become her equal. He
imagines himself wearing fine clothes and jewelry. He would then have command of the
household, and he would then be able to get revenge on those who haven’t treated him
respectfully.
I find it ironic that Malvolio is more successful at fooling himself than he is at
deceiving others. The other members of the household see through Malvolio’s
hypocritical nature. Even Olivia, who seems to value Malvolio as a servant, says he is
“sick of self love”, Act 1, Scene I, line 92). Though others can see through him,
Malvolio fools himself completely. Maria says, he believes that “all that look on him
love him”(Act II, sc.iii, l.152). He is sure that some accident of luck has caused a man as
fine as him to be born a servant rather than a master. He believes that fortune will
eventually correct that mistake. Malvolio's self deception makes him the perfect target for
Maria and Sir Toby's joke. Maria's letter is only able to convince him that Olivia loves
him because that's what he wants to believe.
life, and acting upon his responsibilities in order to follow with his heart, instead of with
Throughout, the play, Much Ado About Nothing, the characters within the play constantly degrade Don John to less than a human, because of his illegitimacy. These people treat him inferior to themselves, which in response makes Don John provoke chaos.
In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Malvolio is considered an outcast by almost everyone in the play. He doesn’t act the same way that any of the other characters act, in that he doesn’t participate in any of their activities, he enforces rules that the others could care less about, and he is just overall a socially awkward guy. Malvolio not only claims to adhere to the rules of the household himself, but uses his relations with Olivia to try and help make the others follow the rules as well. This upsets certain characters more than others. For instance Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria find his behavior particularly detestable. But Malvolio’s strict coherence to the rules allows him to have a rather high position in Olivia’s household. While Malvolio may be considered a social outcast to most of the characters in the play, Olivia considers Malvolio to be a very trusted steward of her household. For these reasons Malvolio is not only a social outcast, but an outcast that Shakespeare uses to keep people interested in his play.
of his riches and fortune. Additionally, the people of his court show to be honest, full of chivalry,
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. [Falls.]" (Act 5, scene 3, line
ultimate authorative figure in Thebes. He stands for obedience to the State. Surely it is
Don John is the illegitimate half brother of Don Pedro in the play. Don Pedro is the Prince of Aragon and is highly respected throughout the play, whereas Don John is treated with cautious attention and indifference. In Act one scene three, Leonato greets Don Pedro rather enthusiastically and respectfully,
witty he did know his place as a servant and throughout the play the servants
...ove a woman." (Act 1, scene I) iWhen iBenvolio iasks iwho ihe iloves, iRomeo idoes inot igive ia straight ianswer ibut iinstead icomplains ithat ishe idoes inot ireturn ihis ilove i"From Love's weak childish bow she lives uncharmed” (Act 1, scene I).
For example, she is having an affair with the president of the United States of America. She knows the consequences of the having this affair, but time and time again, she remains physically involved with him. She is a crisis manager and often will have to fight battles that seem to be a lost cause , but because of Olivia’s personality and perseverance that spills over to her team, they are always able to get their client out of any situation not matter how big the problem may be. She wanted to know what happened with her mom and no matter how many times her father told her not to look into it; she continued to search for answers. Even Davis Rosen knows Olivia gets what she wants. In season 4, David Rosen was told that he would no longer be in the running for attorney general. While talking to Abby he states, Olivia pope for all talks about white hats doing good, but she gets whatever she wants she has no loyalty and you are collateral damage. She is a winner and she doesn’t sit around wondering if she played the game the right way. Another example would be, Olivia was contacted by a man in prison for attempting to assassinate the president in the 80’s that president has died of a stroke and he believes that the bullet can prove his innocents. Olivia calls reporters, and puts a bug in their ear about changes his conviction, and in the end she gets the Attorney General to introvertly file chargers for murder.
and all he is doing is trying to please Lady Catherine by doing as she
he put it, Olivia was doing "more favors to the Count's servingman than ever she
His attempts to flirt with Maria by showing how clever he is fail when Sir
servants to treat Sly as their master, he too pretends to be a servant. The
Feste is able to prevent any delusions of grandeur by a reminder that foolishness is a condition common to all mankind whether one is king or servant. It is Malvolio's vanity that convinces Feste to take part in the joke played on the steward. As "Sir Topas", and Malvolio's `prosecutor` Feste attempted to help Malvolio realize that there was "no darkness but ignorance".