Malvolio’s Mistreament

Shakespeare neglects to portray Malvolio as a likable character in his comedy Twelfth-Night. In fact, Malvolio’s name means “ill will” in Italian, referring to his displeasing nature. He doesn’t attempt to feign friendliness or politeness to anyone aside from Olivia–ultimately he comes across as a pompous and unsympathetic enforcer of authority. Malvolio’s negative disposition towards others is revealed in his first few words of the play – Malvolio insults the clown, Feste’s wit, by calling him a “barren rascal” [1.5.79]. Malvolio’s words come across as hostile, due to the fact that Feste hadn’t wronged him. This demonstrates the first impression of Malvolio, and he does little to redeem himself throughout the play. The unprovoked strictness of his nature makes symbolizing almost impossible, making his downfall more humorous since it could be seen as a form of comeuppance.

 Malvolio’s reaction to Maria’s forged love letter unveils that he has very high ambitions for himself. Despite being a simple steward, he pines after Olivia in hopes to marry her, almost exclusively so that he can socially elevate himself–having aspirations of becoming “Count Malvolio” [2.5.32], as he states it. He envisions himself “sitting in [his] state” [2.5.42], “in [his] branched velvet gown” [2.5.44], almost comparing his dreams to that of a king. After reading the false letter, the thoughts are no longer of love for Olivia, but of contempt toward Sir Toby. 

Despite being a lowly servant, Malvolio seems to hold a very high opinion of himself in regard to others; when Fabian, Maria, and Sir Toby jestingly feign belief that Malvolio is possessed by the devil, he sternly responds to their quips by retorting “You are idle, shallow things; I am not of your element” [3.4.119]. The language Malvolio uses here reflects his personality–he is well-spoken, but pompous, and displays himself as being above others.

 The way Malvolio easily succumbs to the trickery of Maria’s letter without question shows the extent of his self-delusion. His perception is warped so that he believes everything will turn out the way he envisions it. Malvolio’s extreme self-delusion and self-righteous inhibits any sympathy the audience might feel for him; since it is his egocentrism that allows him to believe the false love-letter, is nobody but his own fault seeing that he fell for the trick, making his misfortune more comical, rather than pitiful.