Student Question
In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, why is Malvolio punished, but Maria isn't?
Quick answer:
In "Twelfth Night," Malvolio is mistreated through a prank devised by Maria and others, leading to his confinement. Although Olivia acknowledges the wrongdoing against him and offers him a chance for justice, Malvolio leaves without seeking retribution. Maria, on the other hand, avoids punishment by marrying Sir Toby, thus exiting Olivia's household and sidestepping any formal consequences for her actions.
Malvolio is certainly mistreated by Maria, Sir Toby, Feste, the clown who play a prank on him and have locked up in a dark room for madness. It was Maria who devised the scheme of giving Malvolio a letter supposedly written by Olivia to make Malvolio believe that Olivia is in love with and asking him to dress and act like a lunatic. Olivia sees Malvolio acting quite foolishly and Maria and the others have Malvolio locked up as punishment for his madness. However, while the play doesn’t carry out far enough to show us, at the end Olivia agrees with Malvolio that he has been very wronged by Maria and the others and promises that they will be punished for their wrong-doings
Why is Malvolio punished, but Maria is not, in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night?
In the final scene of Twelfth Night, Malvolio is actually not punished . On the contrary, Olivia actually shows a great deal...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
of remorse for the trick played on Malvolio without her knowledge and offers him the opportunity to be both theaccuser and the judge over those who wronged him, as we see in her lines:
But, when we know the grounds and authors of it [the prank],
Thou shalt be both the plaintiff and the judge
Of thine own cause. (V.i.365-67)
However, Malvolio decides not to remain in the household long enough to see
justice done and instead leaves, declaring, "I'll be revenged on the whole pack
of you" (391). Duke Orsino sends a servant to pursue him, hoping to persuade
him to make peace with the household, especially because they need Malvolio to
release the captain he has jailed for some offense so that Viola can get her
maiden's clothing back and be married.
As for Maria, since Olivia was going to allow Malvolio to be
both the accuser and the judge, we know perfectly well that Olivia
meant for Maria to be punished in some way. The only reason
why she goes unpunished is because she marries Sir Toby. As
the wife of Olivia's uncle, it would be improper for her to remain in Olivia's
employment since Maria's marriage crosses social boundaries. Hence, we can also
assume that after her marriage, Maria and Sir Toby left Olivia's
household. We learn of Maria's marriage and, hence, departure in
Fabian's lines as he explains to Olivia what had happened and who was involved,
as we see in his lines:
... Maria writ
The letter at Sir Toby's great importance;
In recompense whereof he hath married her. (Vi.375-77)
Therefore we see that Malvolio certainly never was punished by Olivia, and the only reason why Maria went unpunished is because she left the household.
References