Twelfth Night: Lies and Deceit

Twelfth Night: Lies and Deceit

English 11-4

A woman disguised as a man, and a drunken idiot are a few of The Twelfth Night who provide much evidence of deceit and how easily it can overtake us. Viola, left alone without any remaining family after her brother dies in a shipwreck, is determined to hide her true identity in a foreign land until she is prepared to face reality once again, her deception in the Twelfth Night leads the plot while other characters such as Sir Toby and Maria support the theme of deceit. Sir Toby is able to maliciously deceive Sir Andrew, using him for his own selfish gain. Maria's genius prank on Malvolio, demonstrates that as humans, we often take advantage of others through deceitfulness only, for our own entertainment or benefit. The diverse characters in Twelfth Night demonstrate how selfish desires prompt deceitful actions. Disguising herself as a male servant and blending into a lifestyle where she can be anyone but herself, Viola initiates Twelfth Night's theme of deception, her actions prove how easily it is as humans to deceive others for our own selfish purposes. The grief Viola would have experienced after the loss of her brother Sebastian to a shipwreck, would have been devastating, considering he was the only family she had left. They were incredibly close and involved in one another's lives, therefore it comes as no surprise that Viola was desperate to escape the horrible tragedy that had befallen her. Nearby, Lady Olivia whose brother had also recently died, distances herself from reality and refuses to see any visitors. After Viola's captain explains to her Olivia's situation, she states: "Oh, that I served that lady and might not be delivered to the world, till I had made mine own occasion mellow, what my estate is."1 Viola is clearly establishing the fact that she desires to not only work for Olivia but to live her life in the way Olivia has chosen, to be hidden away from the world, and to have her true identity revealed only on her own accord. Unfortunately Viola's attempt to distract herself from her tragic loss, only seems to create more distressing problems for her. Olivia becomes immediately infatuated with Viola, assuming she is actually Cesario, Duke Orsino's male servant. Although unintentional, Viola selfishly leads other characters on, while deceiving all those around her of her true identity. Viola was an intelligent who could have handled her grief in a far more mature way such as carrying on with her life as herself. She could have discovered new places, travelled, met new people and experienced a different world, but her behavior suggests that her thinking was corrupted by her strong and selfish desire to alter the devastating circumstances she was facing.2 Viola's hasty decisions, prove that when faced with a crisis, people selfishly seek out the easiest and fastest solution for dilemmas, leading to deceitfulness. Sir Toby Belch, is The Twelfth Night’s prime example of a deceitful character. Sir Toby has no pure intentions whatsoever when he prompt Sir Andrew to pursue his niece, Lady Olivia. Sir Andrew’s last name depicts his outward appearance clearly; Aguecheek actually suggests that he is a gangly weakling.3 Sir Toby knew for a fact that Sir Andrew was a complete idiot that had absolutely no chance of winning over Lady Olivia, however Sir Toby did know that he could easily fool Sir Andrew, using him solely for his money. Sir Toby figured he had created a genius plan to keep Sir Andrew around for as long as possible so that he could continue robbing him of his finances. Sir Toby did not greatly need them money, he plotted against Sir Andrew to draw out his own selfish lifestyle. Known as a comic character in the play, Sir Toby's drinking problem provides chaos and devious pranks in Lady Olivia's household. Sir Andrew's obliviousness and foolish behaviour allows Sir Toby to prolong his childish lifestyle. After some time of attempting to woo Olivia, Sir Andrew discloses to Sir Toby that he doesn't believe she has any interest in him whatsoever, but rather, he is convinced that she will agree to one of Duke Orsino's marriage proposals. Sir Toby deceives Sir Andrew further by telling him: "She'll none o' the count; she'll not match above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor wit; I have heard her swear it. Tut, there's life in 't, man."4 Sir Toby was easily able to satisfy Sir Andrew's uncertainty by falsely reassuring him that Lady Olivia would not marry someone who is older or more rich than she is.5 Unlike Viola, Sir Toby's behavior was intentionally planned to be deceitful, exposing him for the selfish man he is. Sir Toby proves that selfish thoughts and reasoning, lead to betrayal and deceit. Olivia's lady in waiting, Maria, is clever and witty, allowing her to deceitfully prank Malvolio for hers and the rest of Olivia's household's entertainment. Malvolio, the head servant of Olivia's home, is not as outright with his foolishness like Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, but rather he is a victim because of his own selfish ego, making him easily susceptible to the belief that Olivia is secretly in love with him. In reality, Olivia sees Malvolio as a fool because of his sense of importance, he is easily influenced by any idea that supports what he believes is his high value in Olivia's house.6 When Maria begins to leave love letters for Malvolio to find he becomes greatly infatuated with the idea that Olivia truly loves him, he is willing to do whatever the letters ask in order to prove his love for her. Little does Malvolio know, that the reason he is acting a fool by wearing yellow socks and taking on a different persona is because Maria is the one writing the letters, making him do ridiculous things as means for her own satisfaction and benefit. Maria and the other comic characters such as Sir Toby, Feste, and Sir Andrew are able to sit back and watch as Malvolio makes an idiot of himself because of his ego. Malvolio's foolishness caused by Maria's prank, was a selfish means of her getting back at Malvolio for his self righteous attitude. Deceitfulness is what drives the plot in Twelfth Night, Viola's selfish disguise allows for confusing twists and turns for all of the characters in the story, it is what prompts the tangled love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola, but it also gives Maria a way to deceive Malvolio. Some characters feel no remorse for their actions, such as Sir Toby who doesn't even stop to think about the way he betrayed Sir Andrew, whereas Viola began to understand that her deceit effected everyone around her. The varied characters in The Twelfth Night deliver great evidence that selfish attitudes lead to deceitful actions, that effect not only themselves, but everyone else involved in their lives as well.

Endnotes
1. Shakespeare, William. "Act 1 Scene 2." (William) Shakespeare: Twelfth Night. Print.
2. Cebriody. "Explore the Use of Disguise and Deception in Twelfth Night." StudyMode. Study Mode, Apr. 2008. Web. 22 May 2014.
3. "Twelfth Night." BBC News. BBC. Web. 26 May 2014. .
4. Shakespeare, William, and Roma Gill. "Act 1 Scene 3." Twelfth Night. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. N. pag. Print.
5. Amir, Āla D. "Dramatic Irony in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night." Journal of Missan Researches 5.9 (2008): 289.
6. Gilbert, Sandra M. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. New York: Monarch, 1964.Sharing Masterworks of Art. May 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.
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