Twelfth Night Identity

The mirror-like double plot in, “Twelfth Night,” highlights the struggles for identity, power, and true love. The plot with Sir Toby Belch, and Malvolio often reflects the journey for love traversed by Orsino, Viola, Sebastian, and Olivia. These plots eventually further each other, intertwining, colliding at a pivotal moment in Act 5 Scene 1—when Cesario, or Viola’s, true identity is discovered. In Act 2 Scene 3, Malvolio overhears the drunken Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew mocking him, calling him a Peg-a-Ramsey. These crude insults spur threats from Malvolio, leading him to tell Olivia what has occurred. Knowing Olivia will not approve, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria develop a plan to humiliate Malvolio as payback. Carefully crafting a love letter with Olivia’s penmanship, Maria and the men set Malvolio up to look like a grinning fool. This love letter resembles the letter Orsino makes Cesario, Viola, memorize to repeat to Olivia. Both of these letters make the men look like fools, because Olivia does not requite either of their love.

Malvolio is Olivia’s steward, beneath her in rank, making it inappropriate to suggest feelings. However, this difference in station helps Maria, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew’s plot. It makes it more convincing that Olivia would write a cryptic letter to Malvolio, instead of proclaiming her feelings. Whereas, a relationship between Orsino and Olivia would be completely proper, but she develops feelings for Cesario instead. Similarly, these two letters do not accomplish their seemingly given tasks, but create problems instead. Malvolio becomes a laughing stock, and Olivia falls for Viola, as Cesario, when she is doing Orsino’s