Thinking about Malvolio in Twelfth Night
Dec. 19th, 2005 12:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xiphiasSo, Lis and I were talking this morning about Malvolio and how he ends up leaving on the line "I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you." And how that can give a rather somber and disturbing tone to the end of the play.
And we were trying to think of other ways you could read it, and you could play it.
We were thinking, what if Feste, Fabian, Maria, and Malvolio were old friends -- the four of them having hung out together and pranked each other back and forth -- and with Sir Toby Belch hanging out with them, too. And Malvolio, upon being made the steward and therefore the superior of Feste, Fabian, and Maria, began to get "too big for his britches," and that caused a split between them.
Is there any way that we can read Malvolio as realizing what happened, realizing that he HAS become too big for his britches -- that his supposition that he could marry Olivia was hubris and would be an upset of his natural place in the world -- and that his natural place was with his old friends. Can we find a way to read, and a way to play Malvolio so that his final line, "I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you," means that he's going to become one of the gang again -- he's going to short-sheet their beds, and do humorous pranks on them. Can we read this as Malvolio saying that he's going to become playful, not bitter, and that he's going to be happy and antic in his proper place as a servant, rather than puritanical and bitter trying to be higher than he is?
First, does the text support that interpretation? Can we read the play and think it plausible that Shakespeare intended Malvolio's story to have a reasonably happy end? Second, whether Shakespeare intended it or not, do you think that it COULD be played that way, and how would you go about doing it? And third, would that interpretation be satisfying to you as an audience member if you saw it played that way?
And we were trying to think of other ways you could read it, and you could play it.
We were thinking, what if Feste, Fabian, Maria, and Malvolio were old friends -- the four of them having hung out together and pranked each other back and forth -- and with Sir Toby Belch hanging out with them, too. And Malvolio, upon being made the steward and therefore the superior of Feste, Fabian, and Maria, began to get "too big for his britches," and that caused a split between them.
Is there any way that we can read Malvolio as realizing what happened, realizing that he HAS become too big for his britches -- that his supposition that he could marry Olivia was hubris and would be an upset of his natural place in the world -- and that his natural place was with his old friends. Can we find a way to read, and a way to play Malvolio so that his final line, "I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you," means that he's going to become one of the gang again -- he's going to short-sheet their beds, and do humorous pranks on them. Can we read this as Malvolio saying that he's going to become playful, not bitter, and that he's going to be happy and antic in his proper place as a servant, rather than puritanical and bitter trying to be higher than he is?
First, does the text support that interpretation? Can we read the play and think it plausible that Shakespeare intended Malvolio's story to have a reasonably happy end? Second, whether Shakespeare intended it or not, do you think that it COULD be played that way, and how would you go about doing it? And third, would that interpretation be satisfying to you as an audience member if you saw it played that way?
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 06:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 09:19 pm (UTC)Yeah, I think Malvolio is rightfully bitter, because the others treat him horribly. In order to make Malvolio's end less bitter, I think you would have to make the others less mean-spirited, less derisive and judgmental throughout.
I'd like to think that this was what Shakespeare intended, but I don't think the text supports that interpretation. I do, however, think that it could be played that way with some judicious cutting of certain parts of the text, as well as with facial expressions and tone of voice.
As for me as an audience member, yes, I would find that interpretation satisfying, since -- as I mentioned -- the ending has always struck a false chord with me. I'd be interested to see such a performance.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-19 10:05 pm (UTC)I also think that touch of darkness is part of what elevates the play from run-of-the-mill romance of mistaken identities to the sublime.
Sure, you could read/play it as you suggest (Shakespeare is nothing if not open to interpretation). But I think you'd have a less potent - and less satisfying - play.
Interesing!
Date: 2005-12-20 01:27 am (UTC)malvolio
Date: 2005-12-20 05:22 am (UTC)so, I've played Malvolio. And I've directed the play. And I've seen like eight productions.
the standard exit is for Malvolio to yell, "I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you," and rush off in a huff. End of story. Now, Orsino does ask his servants to "entreat him to a peace," but that's mostly so he can get his girlfriend her clothes back. Then everyone just goes on with their party.
and it's definitely one of the wonkier happy endings Shakespeare wrote. you've got all these strange ill-suited couples, and they've just ruined this guy's life because he was kind of mean to them. and then forgotten about him. I think everyone agrees that they went too far, but it doesn't seem to bother them that much.
malvolio's sin - whether it's pride, self-importance, ambition - seems to earn him a very harsh punishment. but he doesn't realize what's happened to him until very shortly before his last line. remember, he thinks it's been a big misunderstanding, and Olivia's in love with him. so the violence of his reaction isn't surprising.
as for any companionship within the household, I don't doubt that they've all grown up together, but I think that's the source of their disagreement. When Olivia's father died, I think there was a rush for influence, and Malvolio has won that contest. He's encouraged her to go into mourning for seven years. Toby thinks it's an "enemy to life," Maria thinks he's doing it to get himself more power, and Feste's actually left town because he was so upset. In a way, the action of the play is about Feste regaining influence over Olivia from Malvolio.
so, I think any undercutting of Malvolio's last line is selling the intentions short. Remember, Malvolio doesn't get jokes. He's all about what he thinks is noble, appropriate, important. He's upwardly mobile to the extreme, and he tries to bring that humorless mood to the household. He's not the short-sheeting type, I think. He's a genuine threat to Maria, Toby, and Feste; in that letter scene, he fantasizes about them serving him. God forbid he should ever get in control.
I always sort of imagined that Malvolio would run back in at the end of the play with an AK-47. That, however, would be a bit of a downer. I once saw a production where Malvolio yelled his line, and then just stood at the back of the stage until the end. That was, as they say, lame-o.
I did something a little odd when I directed it. I had Malvolio say his line, and then get coaxed back onstage by the servants to serve as wedding photographer. He gave each couple their Polaroid photo, and then stalked off stage triumphantly, having shown them how ridiculous they looked together. He had gotten his revenge; if they mocked him for his silly hopes, then he would show them how silly theirs were. a little high-concept, I guess, but at least he had his (all-important) pride.
malvolio
Date: 2005-12-20 05:23 am (UTC)I think, just because the play is so good at mixing comedy and drama, good feeling and nastiness, love and hate, that slightly sour ending is important. that, even as they're celebrating their love, you have in your mind the cruelty that's percolating around that love.
You might compare Malvolio's treatment to that of Parolles in All's Well that Ends Well. He's another ridiculous, proud character who's had a pretty cruel trick played on him, but we actually hear his response. He says, "OK, I got fooled. Maybe I didn't deserve it, but I'll be OK." And then he has this great line: "Simply the thing I am shall make me live." I think Malvolio is the same way: he's made out of pride and self-importance, and for better or worse, that will propel him through life. Will he return to Olivia's house? Probably not, but I guess you never know. Anyway, as blind and egotistical as he is, he'll be all right.
A decent character parallel is with Shylock. Both are nuanced characters, but their functions in the play are as villains for the audience to hiss at, and they get their comeuppance because that's what happens to villains. it's a tribute to Shakespeare's writing that their punishment makes us uneasy, but in the context of Elizabethan drama, their place is clear. And they're both minority types: Shylock the Jew, Malvolio the Puritan (or at least supposed Puritan). Puritanism stands for absolutism, the opposite of everything theatrical and playful, and this is an anti-absolutist, playful play. The audience knows this kind of character from other appearances on the stage, and they know to root against them. If Shakespeare gives us more, if we wonder about Malvolio's revenge, well then, that's just good playwriting.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-20 07:10 pm (UTC)1) What Akiva said.
2) Akiva's comment reminded me: ART is doing Romeo & Juliet, directed by Gadi Roll, at The Loeb this February and March. The ART is an extraordinary company, and the Loeb is hands down the most ejoyable theater I've visited. There are no bad seats. In most other theaters, every seat at the Loeb would be orchestra. Anyone want to go?
(no subject)
Date: 2005-12-20 09:35 pm (UTC)Actually, one of the things I like so much about Shakespeare is that he often chooses to be true-to-life rather than take the easy way to a dramatically satisfying ending. In real life, people get hurt. There are heros who do nasty things, and villians that we feel sorry for. Yes, Malvolio leaves us hanging, but then again so do Iago, Shylock, Paroles, and others.