Sympathy for the Devil: Class Struggle in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’

If we are to accept the concept that “in class society everyone lives as a member of a particular class, and every kind of thinking, without exception, is stamped with a brand of a class”, then we can subsequently attempt to define the class nature of Shakespeare’s characters in Twelfth Night, how that class distinction defines their roles relative to the other citizens of Illyria, and the way in which this class distinction underpins a more insidious side to the traditionally comic perception of the text. The gross abundance of privilege which allows a character such as Sir Toby Belch to afford his self-indulgent behaviour, at the expense of other members of the ensemble, is rooted in the intrinsic organisation of classes within which our characters are placed.
If we were to present Sir Toby as the face of the gluttony of bourgeois decadence, then at the contradictory opposite we can assert the position of Malvolio, whose tiresome and unappreciated labour is taken advantage of by Toby and his entourage. In Shakespeare: A Marxist Interpretation, Aleksandr A. Smirnov characterises Sir Toby and Andrew as “the aristocratic parasite[s]”, and that “their parasitism is greater than indicated”, supporting the idea that the traditional perception of such characters as merely comic relief or humorous additions to the story is a shallow consideration of the true intentions and repercussions of the inherently abusive class contradictions between the ‘parasites’ and Malvolio. The manner in which Malvolio, and the hospitality of his niece are abused by Toby and company is indicative of the direct subordination they experience, only as a result of this class distinction. The wealth and privilege possessed by Toby and Andrew entitle them to this hospitality, seemingly unconditionally. The invited reading of the text promotes a highly negative view of Malvolio and his intentions. He is typically read as self-serving, arrogant and puritanical, and thus deserving of the misfortune he receives at the hands of his deceivers, however, I will contend that this interpretation becomes increasingly senseless when the nature of the class and power dynamics between the characters, both in the lower and upper echelons of Illyrian society, are considered.
“I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you”, spits Malvolio in the final scene of the play, in a pitiful, desperate exit from his humiliating ordeal. Throughout the series of events that precede this moment, Sir Toby and Andrew, in arms with Maria orchestrate the mortifying jest in an attempt to enact a bout of justice upon Malvolio for threatening the chaos and frivolity of the ‘twelfth night’. To examine this premise through the most conventional lens, one might find perfect justification for the actions of the hoaxers, however, it is through the lens of class analysis provided by Marxism that the joke played on Malvolio becomes more deceitful and wicked. The gaiety and disregard with which Toby, Andrew and other members of the nobility live their lives is afforded to them only through their privilege as members of the affluent class (to use the bourgeoisie-proletariat dichotomy here would be anti-historical in a sense, considering the time at which Shakespeare was writing). Their vacuous antics are a striking embodiment of bourgeois epicureanism, and perhaps to consider the situation from a class-based reading, one might find more sympathy with Malvolio’s position. It begs the question: amidst the alleged chaos of the ‘twelfth night’, are the class parameters dissolved? Absolutely not. On the contrary, it seems by practice that the folly of our cast; the apparent revisions in the social hierarchy, the supposed disintegration of moral hegemony are fabrications which serve only to obscure the insidious nature of class in society, and the events of Shakespeare’s text conclude as such. Even Sir Toby’s own filthy raggedness cannot absolve him of his class loyalties. Despite his obvious character flaws, it cannot be denied that Malvolio possesses a notable passion in his actions, a passion contrasted dramatically by the libertine apathy of the nobility, quite especially in regards to Sir Toby. As the narrative unfolds, is Malvolio rewarded for his passions? No, rather he is despised. And to the contrary, his wrongdoers are rewarded incessantly. Such is the nature of class in Twelfth Night, revealing a more sinister element to the traditionally perceived comedic characterisation of Sir Toby Belch, and his entourage.
