Act I: Scene 3
Summary
At Olivia's house, Sir
Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle, is criticizing his niece for mourning the death of
her brother so profusely. He says to her serving girl, Maria, that his niece is
melodramatically overreacting, and he thoroughly disapproves. Maria disapproves
of several things herself: she disapproves of Sir Toby's arriving at such a
late hour, dressing so slovenly, and drinking so much. Only yesterday, Olivia
complained of these things, plus the fact that Sir Toby brought someone who he
thinks is the perfect suitor to the house, Sir
Andrew Aguecheek. Despite Maria's calling Aguecheek a "fool and a
prodigal," Sir Toby is proud of the chap — a fitting suitor for his niece:
Aguecheek, he says, receives three thousand ducats a year, plays the
violincello, and speaks several languages. Maria is not impressed. To her, the
man is reputed to be a gambler, a quarreler, a coward, and a habitual drunkard.
When Sir Andrew joins them, there follows a brief
exchange of jests, most of them at Sir Andrew's expense. Maria leaves, and the
two men discuss Sir Andrew's chances as a prospective suitor of Olivia. Sir
Andrew is discouraged and ready to ride home tomorrow, but Sir Toby persuades
him to prolong his visit for another month, especially since Sir Andrew
delights in masques and revels and, as Sir Toby points out, Sir Andrew is a
superb dancer and an acrobat, as well. Laughing and joking, the two men leave the
stage. It is obvious that Sir Toby has a secret and mysterious purpose for
wanting to persuade Sir Andrew to stay and woo the fair Olivia.
Analysis
With this scene, we
are introduced to still another set of characters: in the modern idiom, we have
already met the "upstairs" characters; now we meet the
"downstairs" characters. Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and
Maria form the subplot that counterbalances the main plot. Sir Toby Belch, as
his name implies, is characterized by his heavy drinking and by his obese,
corpulent frame. In an earlier play, Shakespeare created a similar type of
character in Sir John Falstaff (See Henry
IV, Part I and Part II); this character was
extremely popular with Elizabethan audiences, and Sir Toby is reminiscent of
the earlier Sir John; both are plump, jolly knights with a penchant for
drinking, merrymaking, and foolery of all types. In this play, Sir Toby spends
most of his time complimenting Sir Andrew so that the latter will continue to
supply him with money for drinking and cavorting. Sir Toby's niece, we
discover, is too withdrawn in her melodramatic mourning to be aware of the
partying going on in her house, but when she does become aware of it, she
disapproves and relies upon her steward, Malvolio, to keep her household in
order; thus, Malvolio will soon become the butt of the partymakers' jokes.
Maria, another member of the subplot, is Olivia's
vivaci
ous, clever, and mischievous maid. She comes from a Shakespearean
tradition of servants who are wittier and cleverer than the people who surround
them. Thus, she will be seen to be far more witty than Sir Andrew Aguecheek is,
and he will become the object of her many jokes and puns, but he will never
realize the extent to which Maria ridicules him.
Sir Andrew Aguecheek is necessary for the plot mainly
because he is in possession of three thousand ducats a year, and Sir Toby is
anxious to remain on good terms with him so as to be a recipient of the
eccentric knight's beneficence. Consequently, he continually plots ways to make
the knight think that Olivia is indeed receptive to the romantic overtures of
the tall, skinny, ridiculous knight. Now we know that two vastly different
people, Duke Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, are both seeking the hand of the
Lady Olivia. Later, Malvolio will become a third "suitor," by a ruse
played upon him by Maria and her cohorts.
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