Shakespeare and Contemporaries

Twelfth Nights: William Shakespeare

Essay by: Maryam Tamim

1. What role does Malvolio serve in the play? How his fate seems unjust? Is it out of place
in a romantic comedy? If so why Shakespeare included him?

Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare. In Christianity the term Twelfth Night is
a holiday in January 5, which marks the twelfth and final night of the Christmas season, the period of
continuous feasting and merrymaking. Traditional roles during this period were reversed; masters
waited for their servants, men were allowed to dress as women and vice versa. The common theme
was that the normal order of things was reversed in this night. The Shakespearian play was originally
written to be performed as a twelfth night entertainment and its main focus was about the spirit of
festivity and partying.

Malvolio in the play Twelfth Night is the head servant of Lady Olivia, he appears in the play to be a
fun hating and a party spoiler, he is obsessed with status, seeing himself to be above all servants and
dreams of marrying Olivia in order to become a Count, to aim a power that will stop others from
acting foolishly. His superiority over others is shown in his saying: “Some are born great, some
achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”(Act II, Scene V)

Malvolio is defined to be a Puritan, everyone in the play hated him; he criticizes everyone and
despises all manner of fun and game. Puritans were a group of English reformed Protestants in the
16th and 17th century who wanted to purify the church from all Roman and Catholic practices. The
word Puritan is used pejoratively to characterize the protestant group as extremist, and often used
to mean against pleasure and entertainment, which they consider sinful. Malvolio represents a
Puritan characteristic that William Shakespeare and his contemporaries were fighting onstage in the
Elizabethan age. While the Puritans were attempting to close the theatres, eliminate musical
instruments and forbid any kind of entertainment. And that is why Malvolio was mocked and
humiliated in a play that must be merry in the twelfth night of Christmas period, to dismiss him in
the end from the festive scene.

Maria, in order to revenge Malvolio, wrote him a love letter in Olivia’s handwriting, convincing him
that Olivia loves him and wishes that he smiles more often and wear yellow stocking and cross
garters. Malvolio, despite his fun hating mentality and nature, he disguises himself as prescribed in
the letter and smiles all the time to impress Olivia. Mourning her brother’s death, Olivia found it
disrespectful and offensive for Malvolio to smile all the time, and she hated the colour yellow and
the cross garters; then orders to imprison him. This tragic fate for Malvolio, show us that
Shakespeare, addressing the Puritans, is telling them that their mentality is nothing but a dark room
where there is no fun, like the room where Malvolio was put in. And however they try to disguise
themselves to be more acceptable or impress others; they are only making fool of themselves
because deep inside their selfishness and superiority will be exposed, so the disguise won’t change
their inner identity. Behind Malvolio’s exaggerated criticism and rules another personality that was
revealed in his disguise, which is not acceptable in his society and surroundings.

In his way, William Shakespeare included such a tragic character in a comedy, that we feel
sympathetic with his fate, although we laugh at him at first and at Olivia’s confusion facing his
foolishness. But in the end it seems unjust for someone whose only fault was to be extravagant in his
aims and ambitions, or a fun hating character. Such fate is out of place in a romantic comedy,
showing us that “happily ever after” does not exist, what made Shakespeare’s work universal and
real not like fairy tales. In every moment of happiness, there is something or someone to spoil it, like
Malvolio’s character in the play. In our lives we cannot find extreme happiness or sadness. Nor our
religious conception must be extreme like the Puritans, where fun and entertainments are
considered to be sinful and forbidden.