discuss the theme of madness in Twelfth Night

The theme of madness certainly permeates the play, especially due to the play’s enduring celebration of the carnivalesque, epitomised by Feste’s assertion that ‘nothing is so is so’ as the traditional hegemonic hierarchy is subverted and liberated. The development of the character Malvolio from superiority to practical lunacy, I would argue is a key part of the carnivalesque features of the play. At the beginning of the play it is clear that Malvolio’s character is one that is pompous, hubristic and arrogant, desiring above all to control the revellers Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria and, at times, Feste. While Billington’s assertion that ‘the place would be a shambles without him’ is certainly true, with the group frequently carousing into the early hours, Malvolio’s aversion to their behaviour, an arguably puritanical view, does not endear him neither to the group or the audience and simply sets him up for failure. Malvolio’s pompous declaration that the group has ‘no wit, manners nor honesty’ or ‘respect of place, persons nor time’ highlights his feelings of superiority over the group, despite him being inferior hierarchically,prompting Sir Toby to patronisingly question whether he is ‘any more than a steward?’ to reinforce his superiority. Throughout the play we see this hubristic and self-important character reduced and reduced, transforming Malvolio from sensible and responsible steward to irrational and weak debatable madman due to the actions of the revellers. Indeed, it is this group who first set Malvolio onto the track of irrational behaviour, exposing his rather demented inner hierarchical aspirations by means of a forged letter. Maria’s skilfull writing allows Malvolio’s self-important nature to be truly revealed as he transforms the arbitrary letters ‘M.O.A.I’ by ‘crush(ing) this a little’ to make it ‘bow to’ him, betraying his narcissistic ability to see what he desires to see. While the critic Charles Lamb suggests that Malvolio is ‘not essentially ludicrous’ and ‘neither a buffoon nor contemptible’, I would argue that this scene lends a sense of ludicrosity to Malvolio,making him seem both to audience and characters slightly deranged. With Malvolio’s fulfillment of the letter, the presentation of him as a madman is furthered as, upon seeing him, Olivia suggests he ‘go to bed’, proclaiming that it is ‘midsummer madness’ and charging Sir Toby with his care, reinforcing the idea of his insanity. Thus, as the play progresses the idea of Malvolio as a madman is cultivated and developed, leading up to the culminating scene of madness in the dark house. In the ensuing scenes the revellers use biblical language to further suggest Malvolio’s madness, commenting on how ‘the fiend speaks within him’ and has ‘possessed him’. Not only does this affect the other characters, strengthening the insane portrayal of Malvolio for them, but it could also psychologically affect Malvolio himself, making him believe that he is indeed mad. The infamous dark room scene is the moment that solidifies both Malvolio’s madness itself and the carnivalesque uprooting of authority and hegemony, turning both it and Malvolio on it’s head. Feste’s description of himself as a ‘corrupter of words’ certainly comes to fruition in this scene where the extended use of satanic imagery, twisting of Malvolio’s words and, as the critic Kiernan Ryan suggests standingof ‘recieved wisdom on its head’ create an atmosphere which completely changes Malvolio’s character. Feste’s incarnation of Sir Topas plays into the carnivalesque idea of role reversal in which a proclaimed fool can inhabit the authority of a sensible religious figure. The way in which Malvolio’s previously hubristic character is transformed into a weak,sycophantic man, constantly begging ‘Sir Topas, good Sir Topas’ and later, Feste in his own habit, calling him the ‘good fool’. Where Malvolio once scorned and insulted Feste, saying how he ‘marvels (Olivia) can take delight in such a fool’, he now begs at the feet of him, showing how the structure of Illyria has completely reversed. Malvolio’s complete character change in this scene could certainly be described as a form of madness as it is a complete depart from his practical and sensible behaviour at the beginning of the play.