Hypocrisy: What You Will

Twelfth Night is a play which can be dissected in any number of ways, focusing on any number of characters or themes, any of which could somehow be found relevant to the 21st century. But one of the less discussed, yet notable aspects of the play, is the portrayal and 'arc' of the character of Malvolio.
Malvolio is depicted as a typical puritan, in the eyes of Shakespeare, as a 16th century religious fanatic, opposing all that he considers sinful, which is quite nearly everything. It is worth noting that playwrights in this time were particularly hostile to puritans, as they often spoke out against the theaters, preventing them from entertaining within the inner city of London, and generally depicting them as pits of pestilence and sin. As a result, one such as Malvolio is certainly considered unwelcome within a Shakespearean play. True to the 'artistic' interpretation of a puritan, Malvolio is not only blatantly against the most minute things, but is also a hypocrite. He opposes lust, and those who lust, yet he lusts after Olivia. Granted, he feels this only after he has been tricked into thinking that Olivia has fallen for him, but demonstrates his hypocrisy as he becomes infatuated with her.

This subplot is not directly related to the main plot, but the theme of hypocrisy runs through the play. One of the interesting ideas to consider, however, is whether or not it truly matters. The original title for the play was "What You Will". While this could have referred to many aspects of the play, one must consider if there is a deeper interpretation of hypocrisy hidden within the Malvolio subplot. Malvolio might be revealed to have been hypocritical in regards to his puritan beliefs, but what difference would that really make to his behavior? He may have said one thing, and felt another, but his deception was for himself and his image; the fact that he secretly did not follow puritan tenants did not impact anyone until he was directly tricked into acting upon them. Had Malvolio never been targeted by the other members of the household, his hypocrisy would have had no discernible impact on their lives. The irony is that unlike the puritans in Shakespeare's time, while Malvolio may have been pompous and disdainful to his fellows, his actions were not necessarily based out of hypocritical nature, and ultimately did not have the power to truly impact many of them. The title "What You Will" refers to the idea that one should think and act in the way that they choose, and if Malvolio chooses to be a hypocrite, whether he admits it or not, then one could argue that Malvolio has every right to be a hypocrite as any other character in the play has a right to act the way they want to. One of the enduring tenants of the evolving modern culture is the same idea, that one should do "What they will" but this tenant must apply to those with whom one disagrees, even the hypocrites.

She's The Man as a modernized Twelfth Night

As this was my first exposure to Twelfth Night, I found it to be a funny and lighthearted read all with the thematic message that unfortunately, love is often a rollercoaster of pain and suffering. The love triangle between the Duke, Olivia and Viola reiterates just how much we can suffer from love, even if it is resolved by the play’s end. For less fortunate characters such as Malvolio, this idea is especially ingrained. He is duped into believing the beautiful Olivia is in love with him, not through her own words, but rather through the secrecy of a love letter written by Maria. Meanwhile, the other servants are in on it, providing themselves with entertainment at his expense. Perhaps, in locking away Malvolio for his strange and love-blinded behavior, Shakespeare is suggesting that not only is love pain and suffering, but this suffering can lead to adverse effects such as psychosis. The successful unification of the Duke and Viola, and additionally, Sebastian and Olivia, represents the best possible situation achieved through love, while the unresolved suffering of Malvolio and, likewise, Antonio, seem to signify the worst outcomes associated with being in unreciprocated love.

While I had not read Twelfth Night before this class, I have seen the film, She’s The Man, (2006) multiple times. I had not previously made the connection that She’s The Man is an adaptation of this Shakespearean comedy, but I had always really enjoyed the plot (although slightly modernized to the setting of a high school soccer rivalry at a prestigious school). This was before Amanda Bynes’ loony days – she did an exceptional job of representing a young woman who is fearless, dismissive of gender norms (such as rejecting the idea of a debutant ball), and willing to chase her dreams, all while disguised as her twin brother in the hopes of playing in an elite soccer championship that she otherwise would have been exempt from because of her true female identity.

The major difference between the text and the film is Viola’s reasoning for impersonating a man (to compete in an all-male soccer league because the girls’ league was shut down) and also the fact that the man she impersonates is her brother, Sebastian, and not the made-up Cesario. Another significant difference is the exclusion of Malvolio – he is seen briefly as a pet tarantula in one of the minor character’s dorm rooms. In his place are characters like Monique, a haughty cheerleader and the previous girlfriend of Sebastian, intending to do away with Olivia, as she becomes the object of Sebastian’s desire. In the film, Viola’s motivation for cross-dressing is based on ambitious purposes. She (Bynes) is still confined by gender roles, but less so than Shakespeare’s Viola, who might be viewed as an extremely vulnerable young woman living without the protection of a male family member, given the time period. Therefore, Viola in the film is limited by societal expectations, while Viola in the text is bound by the vulnerability of being a woman in general. I think this idea can be supported by the fact that the loss of Olivia’s brother (and father) leaves her in a compromised emotional state. Shakespeare seems to be suggesting that women need protection, or even love, to feel whole. Surely, this is in accordance with the times.

Mockery in Twelfth Night

As I was reading Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, I thought again about how literature can hold up a mirror about what and we laugh at. In particular, I was struck by the difference between the jokes made about Cesario/Viola and those jokes made about Malvolio. The jokes that mock Viola are good-natured and accidental.  Some of the jokes are even made by Viola, which makes the humor comfortable and easy to laugh at. It was far less easy for me to laugh along with Maria, Toby, and Andrew as they mocked Malvolio. There are many differences between the two forms of mockery including, importantly, that Malvolio is not included in the joke. He is the butt of the joke without being allowed to join into the humor. As I thought about it further, the prank played against Malvolio becomes even less humorous because he truly believes in it and becomes hopeful that he can rise in power through a marriage to Olivia. Malvolio’s genuine excitement and interest become the running joke of the play.

As the play continues, however, it is Malvolio’s desperate actions in response to the bait that become uncomfortable and upsetting to watch. As a reader, I wanted to ask him to stop because he was making a fool of himself and making me uncomfortable in the process. Part of this discomfort comes from realizing how easily we laugh at other’s genuine interests and difficulties but a second part comes from Malvolio’s self-awareness. By the end of the play, I felt an uncomfortable mix of pity and annoyance with Malvolio.

In thinking about the play’s connection to my service experience, I thought about this uncomfortable mix of emotions. What it led me to reflect on was the role of humor at the expense of people with disabilities and how long we can laugh until pity or annoyance makes the joke less funny. I am in a special education classroom where all of the children are enthusiastic happy students. They are wonderful to work with and they sometimes miss the jokes that others make. Often it doesn’t matter but when the joke involves a student who doesn’t understand the joke, it quickly becomes uncomfortable if the other person continues the joke, particularly if the student attempts to participate in the joke without understanding. On one occasion, the teacher had to stop a child from going along with a joke at his expense. She explained what the other student meant and told him not to listen to what he said. The student stopped and returned to his desk embarrassed. While the joke was initially funny, when the person it involves doesn’t understand it, the joke becomes a mockery and leaves me wondering what we are really laughing at. Of course this happens to everyone sometimes but the level of humiliation Malvolio is subjected to is extreme and did remind me of how children with special needs are sometimes treated by peers. This mirror reflecting my own standards for what is funny and what is pitiful reflect my real world understandings of the same concepts.

I want to be clear that I am not comparing the unlikeable Malvolio to children in special education classrooms. Rather, I’m comparing how we differentiate between humor and mockery. This difference is clear in both situations however because in both cases the person being mocked is attempting to be a part of society in a particular way and is being shut out. These themes go back to who we laugh at from the Canterbury Tales as well as who is considered other from Lysistrata. Shakespeare has a wide range of humor and it works in many different ways but it is remarkable how true the commentary remains even across centuries.  

Whole Lotta Love

There are many things about this play that I find extremely interesting and definitely surprising. The story itself, to begin with, is not what you would expect to come out of the Elizabethan Age—specifically, the parts regarding gender. The constant swapping of genders and the homosexual undertone create an atmosphere that suggests so many different possibilities beg to be discussed. Now, I am quite familiar with this play because I have studied it before and have seen two different adaptations, yet, I still often find myself confused with all the disguises and false-names. (Just imagine how the audience back then must’ve felt about Viola/Cesario—watching a male play a female disguised as a male.)

I can see why throughout the ages some places in the country, maybe the world too, would ban this play. There are unconventional aspects that may on occasion make some people feel uncomfortable. I say on occasion because I truly believe that this story has many different meanings depending on how it is directed. When I read the play for the first time, I was a freshman in high school and just getting used reading Shakespeare. We didn’t dig too deeply into it; we simply had to write a paper about it. At that time, I most definitely missed a lot of what could be interpreted as homosexual undertones. It was just a simple case of commonplace comedy: people in disguise, comical misunderstandings, and a drunk, old, crazy uncle. In my young mind, the relationships that could be regarded as homosexual—especially with Antonio and Sebastian—were not strange. The love Antonio speaks of so passionately was, in my head where I struggled a bit with the early-modern English, the love of a brother for a brother. Because I read it this way the first time I was introduced to it, I got the same thing the second time when I read it in Dr. Crockett’s class. Before we discussed the play in class, we went to go see a production of it. The light suggestion of homoeroticism in the play was dropped on us like a ton of bricks in the production and I realized for the first time how differently the play could be interpreted. In the play, the actor playing Antonio was directed to be fully in romantic love with Sebastian (who did not realize). Similarly, the scene where “Cesario” and Orsino are talking and listening to music was extremely sexually charged with them frequently leaning in as if they would kiss before pulling quickly away and when they are finally together in the end, Viola is still dressed as a man. These are just a few examples but the idea continued throughout the play. It really makes me wonder how it was directed in the original production.

The other “production” that I have seen is a movie that many people are probably familiar with from when they were younger but, like me, hadn’t realized at the time that it was based off the play. She’s the Man directed by Andy Fickman is loosely based off the Twelfth Night. The characters swap genders, just like in the play, and it loosely follows the same story line (well as much as it can considering one takes place in medieval Illyria and the film takes place in a high school). The interesting thing about this production is that there is very, very little—I actually don’t recall any—hints of homosexuality. It reminds me of the first time I read the book: the love between those of the same gender was more innocent and the gender swapping was completely comedic. That is one of the very interesting things about this play—it can be a completely different story depending on how it is directed.

One last thought that I have is that I feel that, in today’s world, this story could be made very interesting by swapping the actual genders around. The world we live in today is so much more accepting of the LGBT community and I would be so interested to see how this play could work if Viola was actually a man, or Orsino a woman, or Olivia a man. An interesting thing to point out is that I believe that anyway you swapped it, the story would still work. Any way you spin it, this story's got a whole lotta love.

A Series of Confusing Events and Gender Swapping

Over the course of my education, I have gained a new found respect for Shakespeare that I previously lacked. That being said, I must admit that I definitely prefer his tragedies over his comedies. Twelfth Night is funny, but it is also a bit confusing to read and understand who is disguising themselves as what gender. I had the privilege of seeing the play performed onstage and the dialogue and wit was much more apparent spoken aloud as opposed to merely reading it. Being a movie buff, I cannot help but think of the 1998 film, Shakespeare in Love, which fictionally depicts Joseph Fiennes penning Twelfth Night in honor of Gwyneth Paltrow's character, Lady Viola De Lesseps. If you have not seen the film, I highly recommend it.

Aside from this, as I read Shakespeare's comedic work, I found myself consistently taking and updating notes on who was in disguise and who was in love with who. Frankly, the process was exhausting, but greatly increased my appreciation of the writer's comedic genius. At first, I did not understand why this play was selected for the course. However, upon analyzing it, I realized that this play, even centuries later, has modern implications that can be readily discussed. One major theme is the uncertainty of gender. Obviously, disguise plays a major role in the plot as multiple characters must hide their respective genders for various reasons. Viola dresses up as a man and ends up falling for Orsino, but is obviously unable to tell him. The plot is made even more complicated when Olivia falls for Viola in her disguise as Cesario. This leads to questions of homoeroticism and its place in Shakespeare's play. Olivia is in love with a woman, despite the fact that she believes Cesario to be a man. Regardless of Viola's appearance, her manners and characteristics remain the same, and there are numerous remarks on Cesario's beauty by Orsino, suggesting that Orsino is attracted to Viola well before her male disguise is removed. Shakespeare even goes so far as to leave the ending slightly murky concerning Orsino's attraction to Viola. He states at the end, "Cesario, come;/For so you shall be, while you are a man;/But when in other habits you are seen,/Orsino's mistress and his fancy's queen" (Act V Scene I). Even after Viola has revealed herself to be a woman, Orsino still calls her by her male name, leaving the audience questioning who Orsino is truly in love with: Viola or Viola's male persona.

All in all, it is easy to see why this play has caused controversy as it deals with issues of cross dressing and is often labeled as one of Shakespeare's transvestite comedies. This is a topic that is still highly relevant in modern times, and it is obvious that Shakespeare was writing beyond his time.

Love Who You Will

My first thought after finishing Twelfth Night was “I bet people could do so much more with this today.” While the play is the perfect Shakespeare comedy, more controversial topics are hidden underneath the jokes—a common theme of this class. The ending brings all of the possible controversy to light by exposing the relationships of Viola (a woman dressing as a man), Olivia (a woman attracted to a woman dressed like a man), and the Duke (a man who declares love for his manservant as soon as he finds out that he is really a woman). While a hint of controversy is acknowledged, it is swept aside by the humor of the play. One could also argue that maybe the point of the play lies not in its possible controversy, but in something deeper.

Olivia falls in love with a woman even though she thinks Viola is a man, and one could easily read the Duke as being attracted to Cesario (Viola) as well. Antonio and Sebastian’s relationship could also be read through a homosexual lens. However, in the classic happy ending everything is made “socially acceptable”. It turns out that Olivia actually loves Sebastian and the Duke only declares love for Cesario after he is revealed to be Viola. Cesario is a key figure if we are to read the play through a homosexual lens. He is the sexual outlet for both Olivia and the Duke, but it is not socially acceptable for either pair to be together. It is clear that the Duke will not act on his positive feelings for Cesario until he is revealed to be Viola. The mix up with Olivia and Cesario is resolved fairly quickly by the reappearance of Sebastian. Neither relationship is explored until it is made heterosexual again.

The one relationship that struck me as being more blatantly homosexual was the one between Antonio and Sebastian. I think this relationahip was allowed more recognition because it was so one-sided. Antonio clearly is infatuated with Sebastian, but Sebastian does not have any problem acting indifferently toward the man who saved him. That situation is resolved when Sebastian decides to marry Olivia—even though she thinks he is someone else.

Given that so many people are falling in love without knowing exactly what gender the other person identifies with, I think the point of the play is to reveal the openness of love itself. It doesn’t seem to matter who the characters are falling in love with in the play. Shakespeare explores the way people fall in love—not the way men and women fall in love. This is made possible by the Cesario/Viola character. The effects of love are explored without being specifically gendered. However, this does exclude homosexual/bisexual representation.

Only Fools Rush In

The term fool is frequently bandied about in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." However, the reader, or viewer, of the play is able to see that Feste, the only clown in the text, is less a fool than the knights and ladies that pay him for his witticisms. Feste serves as the first character in the play to initiate bringing Lady Olivia out of her mourning. He confronts the lady claiming her deceased brother's soul resides in hell. However, she rebukes him claiming that without doubt she knows her brother's soul dwells in heaven. He turns the tables on her stating that, "The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother's soul being in heaven. Take away the fool, gentlemen" (I.V. 58-59). Malvolio seems incapable of swaying the mood of Olivia and he marvels at the "delight"(I.V.67) that Olivia gets from the jibes of the "allowed fool" (I.V.76). Feste is even wise enough to point out the folly of Olivia to sacrifice her best years, seven of them at that, over mourning for her lost brother since "beauty's a flower" (I.V.42) which necessitates that it bloom to it's fullest then too fade and whither away. He  even avoids what should have been a certain execution for his long absence through this scene of wit and joviality. In comparison to characters such as Sir Toby, whose "quaffing and drinking will undo" (I.III.11) him, Feste seems to be of sound mind and wit. Similarly, Sir Andrew is thought of as a "very fool and a prodigal" (I.III.19-20) wasting away his notable inheritance of "three thousand ducats a year" (1.III.18) getting "drunk nightly in [Sir Toby's] company" (I.III.30). Feste is even removed from the primary scene of low comedy in which Malvolio is given the false love letter and only later aids in the plot due his skill at switching voices and disguise. Though considered mad by the rest of the court due to the false letter, Malvolio's actions were in accordance with what he assumed to be a true message from Olivia. In his state of perturbance and confusion, he suggests that he and Feste are even equals of intellect saying, "I am as well in my wits, fool, as thou art" (IV.II.73-74). Though Feste is removed from any romantic inclinations throughout the play, he plays a vital role in working to pass communications betwen Orsinio and Olivia and even receives gold and payment for such actions. Though a fool like Feste may not find love in the Shakespearian play, from the audience's perspective he seems to be better off than the rest of the alcoholic, cross-dressing, deceived, and youth wasting characters around him.