Twelfth Night is a story that is written by William Shakespeare. Love is a major topic in the Twelfth Night because many major characters in the story fall in love with each other. In the story, the nature of love does not follow the guidelines of social class. Even though love does not follow these guidelines, the characters in the story still realize what social class they are associated in and it sometimes stops them from seeking out certain characters. There are a few love connections that do defy their social classes. A few examples of the characters that fit this type of love are Malvolio’s love for Olivia and Olivia’s love for Cesario. Another interesting aspect about the “Twelfth Night” is that the nature of love is both a pleasure
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These types of characters in the Twelfth Night are only characters of a higher social class. Sir Toby, a noble, actually marries Maria, a servant, even though they are in different social classes. Olivia, a noble, openly seeks out Cesario, a messenger to Olivia, even though they too are also in different social classes. Olivia never cared about the love messages that Cesario was telling her from Orsino as she states towards Cesario that “… I love thee so that, (despite) all thy pride, (neither) wit no reason can my passion hide” (Shakespeare 1111). In the story, it seems that it is more approved upon if a higher class character tries to be with a lower class character then it would be if it was vice versa. The lone example of a lower class character actually succeeding in being with a higher class character is the relationship between Viola and Orsino. This example could possibly be a poor example because their relationship was rushed at the end of the story. Orsino simply seems to accept Viola even after finding out that she has been tricking him by being a man through the entire time that he has known her. Malvolio’s attempt at being with Olivia does not work out and Maria does not attempt to be with Sir Toby until he comes on to her. Sir Toby attempts to come on to her by stating “come by and by to my chamber” (Shakespeare 1127). Other than these few characters, there are no other ones where Shakespeare attempts to have a lower class character try to be with an upper class
These types of characters in the Twelfth Night are only characters of a higher social class. Sir Toby, a noble, actually marries Maria, a servant, even though they are in different social classes. Olivia, a noble, openly seeks out Cesario, a messenger to Olivia, even though they too are also in different social classes. Olivia never cared about the love messages that Cesario was telling her from Orsino as she states towards Cesario that “… I love thee so that, (despite) all thy pride, (neither) wit no reason can my passion hide” (Shakespeare 1111). In the story, it seems that it is more approved upon if a higher class character tries to be with a lower class character then it would be if it was vice versa. The lone example of a lower class character actually succeeding in being with a higher class character is the relationship between Viola and Orsino. This example could possibly be a poor example because their relationship was rushed at the end of the story. Orsino simply seems to accept Viola even after finding out that she has been tricking him by being a man through the entire time that he has known her. Malvolio’s attempt at being with Olivia does not work out and Maria does not attempt to be with Sir Toby until he comes on to her. Sir Toby attempts to come on to her by stating “come by and by to my chamber” (Shakespeare 1127). Other than these few characters, there are no other ones where Shakespeare attempts to have a lower class character try to be with an upper class