“I would we were well

rid of this knavery. If he may be conveniently delivered,

I would he were; for I am now so far in offense with my

niece that I cannot pursue with any safety to

the upshot” (lines 66-71)

            I chose this quote to demonstrate how the madness of the aristocracy has seeped into those that are working for them. Knowing that it was against the law to portray those in power as crazy or mad, I believe that this play got away with it because it was a comedy. The speaker, Toby, is worried that his niece, the countess Olivia, will find out that he played a part in the plot to make Malvolio “mad.” She’s already angry because he’s a drunkard. The darkness of this plan is overlooked because once again it is a comedy, but the fact that Maria, Toby, and Fabian were able to cook up such a scheme shows that there is something wrong with them. In the play, Toby, nor anyone else, ever mentions that maybe what they were doing was inappropriate and immoral. No one in this play was rational. Marrying someone you know for less than a day is ridiculous. Not being at least a little upset when you realize that you married the wrong person is downright crazy. Of course, we can’t forget that Malvolio was being locked in a dark room as if he was a psychiatric patient. I say all of that to say that this play isn’t meant to be taken seriously. I do imagine that Shakespeare was trying to say that the rich are not as perfect as they would like society to believe. There was indeed foolishness going on in the homes of the affluent. I doubt that the audience would have taken anything in this play seriously. I’m sure that people were aware that the rich weren’t faultless. If anything, the play was probably thought to be funnier because the characters were part of the aristocracy. It’s easy to make fun of a group that you aren’t a part of.