Act II Scene 2 consists of a conversation between Malvolio and Viola/Cesario. Malvolio seems very proud and pleased to be telling Viola/Cesario that Olivia does not want him to bring messages from Orsino any more. Of course he does not realise that the implications of this message are actually the complete opposite! He says:
“And one thing more, that you never be so hardy to
come again in his affairs, unless it be to report your
lord’s taking of this.” (Lines 8-10)
Malvolio is then rude and selfish to Viola/Cesario because he obviously feels that he is more important than him. Instead of handing Viola/Cesario the ring, he throws it onto the floor.
In the next scene, Act II Scene 3 Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are drinking, they persuade Feste to sing for them but Maria is wary and warns them of the trouble they could be in. Malvolio is sent down by Olivia to stop their unruly behaviour. Of course, Malvolio takes this opportunity to scold all of them and be generally impolite to them:
“Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble
like tinkers at this time of night?” (Lines 83-84)
When he realises that this does not seem to have the effect he wanted he starts to use threats to try to shock them. He threatens Maria that he will tell Olivia about her behaviour and that she will be in trouble, but Maria does not seem to care and replies amusingly:
“Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady’s favours at
anything more than contempt, you would not give
means for this uncivil rule. She shall know of it, by
this hand.” (Lines 115-118)
Act II, Scene 5 shows the gullible and amusing side of Malvolio. Sir Toby and his friends have planned a practical joke on Malvolio, maybe because they were intimidated by Malvolio’s harsh yet amusing words in the previous scene. Maria has forged a letter from Olivia to Malvolio and the effects on Malvolio are hilarious! Even before Malvolio finds the forged letter the audience see him daydreaming about Olivia. He thinks that she loves him and he is trying to prove to himself that this is right:
“Tis but fortune, all is fortune. Maria once told me
she did affect me, and I have heard herself come
thus near, that she should fancy, it should be one of
my complexion. Besides, she uses me with a more
exalted respect than any one else that follows her.
What should I think on’t?” (Lines 21-26)
He says that Maria told him that Olivia liked him and that he was Olivia’s type! He also seems to think that Olivia treats him differently to any of the other people that serve her. When he finds the letter he admires “Olivia’s” writing and then opens the letter and reads it. His thoughts about Olivia loving him are now justified and he suddenly feels confident, which makes him very amusing to watch. “Olivia” instructs him wear his cross-gartered yellow stockings which are funny, but then the fact that he really believes it makes the scene even more comical!
Malvolio does not say anything in Act III Scene 2 but he is laughed at by Maria and Sir Toby because they see the effects that the forged letter has had on him:
“If you desire the spleen, and will laugh yourselves
into stitches, follow me.” (Lines 64-65)
“He’s in yellow stockings! (Line 69)
Lines 64-65 are Maria telling Sir Toby that if he wants a laugh he should go and look at Malvolio. Line 69 is funny because Malvolio thinks that Olivia likes his yellow stockings but she actually hates them! At this point in the play, the audience will feel sorry for Malvolio because this trick has really effected him. When you first meet Malvolio’s character it seems that this would not trick him but in this scene you learn that he is in fact very gullible- but in a sweet way!
Act III Scene 4 is where Malvolio is subjected to a lot of embarrassment. He acts in the way that “Olivia” asks him to in the letter and finds that she does not react in the way he expected. Instead of being kind and loving towards him, she treats him as if he had gone mad:
“Why, how dost thou, man? What is the matter with
thee?” (Lines 23-24)
“Why, this is very midsummer madness.” (Line 53)
Olivia puts Malvolio in Sir Toby’s care, which is one of the worst things that she could have done. This makes Malvolio feel embarrassed and angry and gives Sir Toby and his friends the perfect opportunity to tease Malvolio. They give him the usual treatment for madness, which was to be bound and kept in a dark room “until the devil has escaped.” Obviously, this was of great significance to Sir Toby and his friends because it was vengeful. The audience would now feel very sympathetic for Malvolio and would probably feel that this treatment was unfair and immoral. Sir Toby says:
“Come, we’ll have him in a dark room and bound.
My niece is already in the belief that he’s mad: we
may carry it thus for our pleasure...” (Lines 133-135)
Sir Toby realises that this treatment is wrong but he says that they will punish Malvolio for their own pleasure!
In the last scene, Act V Scene 1, Malvolio has written a letter from prison to Olivia trying to explain the situation to her. Feste finally delivers it to Olivia and Malvolio is released. He says:
“Madam, you have done me wrong,
Notorious wrong.” (Lines 322-323)
Malvolio still thinks that Olivia did write this letter to him. At this point the audience would still feel sorry for him because he seems to have been badly hurt emotionally by this letter:
“You must not now deny it is your hand...” (Line 325)
Olivia replies to him:
“Alas, Malvolio, this is not my writing...” (Line 339)
He then realises that he has been tricked and is vengeful. He says that he will make plans to get his revenge:
“I’ll be reveng’d on the whole pack of you!”
The trick was played on him for revenge and also to teach him a lesson, but instead of learning from the experience Malvolio is vengeful and says that he will make plans to get his revenge. The audience would now see that he had not changed and was his usual angry, pompous and self-righteous self!
Malvolio’s character adds to the story of Twelfth Night. If he was kind, caring and not at all gullible the story of Twelfth Night would not have the same interesting and comical theme to it. I think that although Malvolio was mistreated at the end of the play it is only what he deserved. He was just as horrible and vengeful as Sir Toby and his friends and probably would have done the same thing in that situation. Even though he is not one of the main parts he is still very prominent in the play’s storyline and adds to the overall picture that Shakespeare paints.