Deception In Twelfth Night

Deception in Twelfth Night

Deception, a misleading falsehood or misrepresentation that one could potentially experience, is a dominant theme present in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Malvolio, the arrogant steward; Orsino, the self-indulgent Duke of Illyria; and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, a foolish knight are all deceived during the course of the play. Malvolio's self-absorption and great ambitions are played upon by the clever Sir Toby Belch and Maria. Orsino is misled into believing his faithful servant Cesario is a man when, in reality, he is actually a woman. The mindless Sir Andrew is conned into believing he has a chance at marrying the fair Olivia by the devious Sir Toby. Deception, one of the main themes of this comedy, is clearly illustrated by the actions of various characters throughout the play.

The narcissistic Malvolio is effortlessly fooled by lady Olivia's uncle and her attendant, Sir Toby Belch and Maria, through several tactics. Together - along with other minor characters - they conspire against the steward after he threatens to inform Olivia about the "uncivil rule" (2.3.120) from Andrew Aguecheek, Toby Belch, Feste, and Maria. Malvolio is so "sick of self-love" (1.5.91) that Maria finds her revenge of "notable cause to work" (2.3.149) and takes delight in exploiting the steward's unpleasant characteristics. Maria "can write . . . like [her] lady" (2.3.154) so she prepares a "device" (2.3.159) that involves dropping "some obscure epistles of / love" (2.3.161-63), that would seem to be from Olivia, for Malvolio to find. The letter indirectly expresses Olivia's alleged love for the steward and how she wishes that he would step forward and "appear fresh" (2.5.148). Of course, none of this is true; however, he is likely to believe it because "he [finds] himself most feelingly personated" (2.3.155) in the letter. While out in Olivia's garden, Sir Andrew, Fabian, and Sir Toby observe Malvolio as he discovers and reads the message. He is quite excited by the news and decides to "be point-devise the very man" (2.5.162) that Olivia supposedly wants. As far as he knows, his dreams of becoming "Count Malvolio" (2.5.36) are finally about to become a reality. Olivia is in a detestable mood when he tries to get her attention, though, and once she sees Malvolio acting strangely by smiling continuously and wearing "yellow stockings . . . a

colour she / abhors; and cross-gartered, a fashion she detests" (2.5.200-01) she believes he is mad and wishes for him to be taken "special care of" (3.4.61) by Toby and Maria. Sir Toby and Maria take the deceit even further and pretend to believe that Malvolio is possessed by the devil. They agree on confining him to a "dark room, and/ bound" (3.4.137-38) to "make him mad indeed" (3.4.135). As he desperately protests that he is not mad, Malvolio begins to seem more of a victim than a persecutor. Maria even asks Feste to "put on [a] gown and [a] beard" (4.2.1) to make Malvolio believe that he is Sir Topas the curate visiting "the lunatic" (4.2.23). In addition, Feste pretends that Malvolio is - in fact - not sitting in darkness but in a room with "bay windows transparent as / barnicadoes" (4.2.37-38) but he retains his sanity and repeatedly pleads that he is not insane. While Malvolio is restrained in the dark room, he asks for "light and paper and ink" (4.2.121) so he can write a letter to Olivia concerning his current situation and why he is absent from the household. The letter eventually reaches his lady and he is released into a celebration that he has no part in. Olivia confesses that it is "not [her] writing . . . [but] Maria's hand" (5.1.342-44) in the letter. There is no real recompense for Malvolio's suffering and he is simply dismissed without any apologies. However, he vows that he will "be revenged on the whole pack of [them]" (5.1.375). His arrogance and delusions of greatness are ultimately his downfall. Malvolio is deceived by Sir Toby Belch, Maria, and other characters without realising the impracticality of their plot and, consequently, embarrassing himself.

The self-assured duke Orsino is misled by Viola into believing that she is actually a man. Viola's boat becomes shipwrecked and she is forced to stay in Illyria with a sea captain. She hears of a bachelor, duke Orsino, and is intrigued by the idea of being around him and the countess Olivia. Viola dresses in men's attire, adopts the name Cesario, and is "[presented] as an eunuch" (1.3.54) to the duke. Cesario becomes "no stranger" (1.4.4) to him and within a few short days Orsino is so impressed with Cesario that he "[unclasps] . . . the book . . . of [his] secret soul" (1.4.13-14). At any point, Viola could have revealed her disguise but, nevertheless, waits for the opportune moment when she was certain of security. Orsino sends Cesario on a task to woo Olivia for him but Viola has other plans in mind. She admits that this is a difficult task because whoever she woos it will not matter since she wants herself to "be [Orsino's] wife" (1.4.42). Viola did not give the full message to Olivia and therefore fails to fulfill her duties to the duke.

Viola also unintentionally causes the countess to fall in love with her because of her "perfections" (1.5.299) and "subtle stealth" (1.5.300). Orsino relies on Cesario to win Olivia's heart for him and instead she betrays his trust. Dramatic Irony, which is often associated with deception, is demonstrated many times through Orsino and Viola's conversations. When the duke notices that Cesario's "eye/ [h]ath stayed upon some favour that it loves" (2.4.23-24), Cesario responds that the woman is of Orsino's "complexion" (2.4.26) and "[a]bout [his] years" (2.4.28). Little does Orsino know that Viola is actually talking about him. Viola's deceit unravels when Orsino witnesses Olivia's claim that Cesario has "not [kept] promise with [her]" (5.1.99). The duke realizes that Cesario has "[screwed] [him] from [his] true place in [Olivia's] favour" (5.1.119) and is then told that Cesario and Olivia are married. He becomes very angry with the "dissembling cub" (5.1.160) and declares for Cesario to "direct thy feet/ [w]here [they]

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