Johns Hopkins University Press
Feste's "Whirligig" and the Comic Providence of Twelfth Night
Author(s): Joan Hartwig
Source: ELH, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Winter, 1973), pp. 501-513
Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2872556
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FESTE'S " WHIRLIGIG " AND THE
COMIC PROVIDENCE OF TWELFTH NIGHT
BY JOAN HARTWIG
counterposethe powersof huShakespeare'splays frequently
usuallygenerates
man and ofsuprahumanwill,and the antithesis
a definitionof natures,both human and suprahuman.These
vary,however,accordingto the play. For instance,
definitions
" does not seem the same as the darker,
Hamlet's " providence
Macbethto pithiswillagainst
powerthatencourages
equivocating
fromDiana and Apolloin
a largerorder;and thesecontrolsdiffer
the later plays, Periclesand The Winter'sTale. Furthermore,
Hamlet's submissionand Macbeth's submissionto non-human
controls(ifindeedtheydo submittheirindividualwills) cannot
as the same actionor evento implythesame kind
be understood
ofhumanvision.
of TwelfthNightseem to be concerned
Many of the conflicts
withthe contestbetweenhumanwill and suprahumancontrol;
itselfinvariouswaysandis calleddifferent
yet,thelattermanifests
themselves.'As each contestbetweenthe
namesby thecharacters
humanwill and anotherdesignerworksitselfout, the involved
but not according
charactersrecognizethattheirwillis fulfilled,
to theirplanning.The individual'swillis finallysecondaryto a
accordswithwhat
but unpredictably,
designthat benevolently,
he trulydesires.2For example,whenOlivia,at the end of Act I,
imploresFate to accord withher will in allowingher love for
Cesarioto flourish,
she has no idea thatherwillmustbe circumof Sebastian
ventedforherown happiness.Yet the substitution
than
forCesarioin herlove fulfills
herwishesmoreappropriately
' Viola's Captain calls this power "<chance " (I. ii. 6, 8); Viola submits herself to
" Time " (I. ii. 60; IL ii. 39); Olivia and Sebastian referto " Fate " (I. v. 296; II. i. 4);
Malvolio speaks of Jove's control (II. v. 158, 164; III. iv. 68-77); and the forged
letter names " the stars," "the Fates," and "Fortune " (II. v. 131-146). Citations
of the plays are from William Shakespeare: The Complete Works, ed. Alfred Harbage
(Baltimore, Md.: Penguin Books, 1969).
2 S.
Nagarajan, "'What
You Will': A Suggestion," Shakespeare Quarterly, 10
(1959), 61-67, employs Thomistic categories to discuss the function of human will
in the play.
Joan Hartwig
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501
her own designcould have done. Inversely,whenDuke Orsino
saysintheopeningscenethathe expectsto replaceOlivia'sbrother
in her " debt of love," he doesn'trealizethat literallyhe willbecomeher " brother" (I.i.34-40). As the closingmomentsof the
play bringOlivia and the Duke togetheron the stageforthe only
time,she says to him, "think me as well a sisteras a wife"
(V.i.307); and the Duke respondsin kind: " Madam, I am most
and a bit later," Meantime,sweet
apt t' embraceyour offer,'"
hence" (V.i.310, 373-74). The
from
sister,/ We will not part
Duke had not understoodthe literalforceof his prediction,but
his earlystatementof his hope plantsa subtlesuggestionforthe
audience. When the play's action accords with Duke Orsino's
is a
c"will," the discrepancybetweenintentionand fulfillment
you
"c
what
that
fact
the
to
again
points
ironywhich
delightful
"
will maybe realized,but underconditionswhichthe humanwill
cannotmanipulate.Orsino'sdesireto love and be loved, on the
otherhand, is fulfilledby his fancy'strue queen, Viola, more
thanhis designforOlivia wouldhave allowed.
appropriately
in theplay
The one characterwhosetruedesiresare notfulfilled
is Malvolio. His hope to gain Olivia in marriageresultsin public
humiliationat the hands of Feste, who takes obvioussatisfaction
in beingable to throwMalvolio's formerhaughtywordsback at
foolishhim undertheirnew contextof Malvolio's demonstrated
ness:
and some
Why,'someareborngreat,someachievegreatness,
have greatnessthrownupon them.'I was one,sir,in this
oneSirTopas,sir;butthat'sall one. 'By theLord,
interlude,
'Madam, why
am
notmad!' But do youremember,
I
fool,
laughyou at sucha barrenrascal? An you smilenot,he's
of time bringsin his
gagged'? And thus the whirligig
revenges.(V.i.360-66)
Feste's assertionthat the " whirligigof time" has broughtthis
revengeupon Malvolio neglectsthe factthat Maria has been the
of the plot to harass Malvolio.
instigatorand Feste the enforcer
Time's design,insofaras Malvolio is concerned,depends upon
froma central
significantly
Maria's and Feste's will,whichdiffers
pointthat the mainplot makes-that humanwill is not the controllerof events. The charactersin the main plot learnfromthe
inadeplay's confusingactionthat humandesignsare frequently
quate for securing" what you will," and that a designoutside
502
Comic Providenceof " TwelfthNight"
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in unexpected
ways.Feste'sfallacy,
bringsfulfillment
theircontrol
ofcourse,makestheresultsofthesubplotseemto be thesameas
theresultsofthemainplot,but Time'srevengeson Malvolioare
measureformeasand thisparticular
humanrevenges,
primarily
justiceallowsno
Feste's
human
control.
within
ureis thoroughly
themarkin humanaction;andtheincipient
formissing
mitigation
by
is felt,apparently,
crueltythat his precisejusticemanifests
in theplay.
othercharacters
WhenOlivia and her companyhear Malvolio'scase, she respondswithcompassion:" Alas,poorfool,howhave theybaffled
abused" (V.i.359,368).
thee!. . . He hathbeenmostnotoriously
comDuke Orsino,uponhearingMalvolio'sletterof explanation,
" (V.i.304). And
ments," This savorsnot muchof distraction
of
evenSir Toby has becomeuneasyabout the harshtreatment
scene: " I wouldwe werewellrid
Malvolioin theimprisonment
I wouldhe
delivered,
ofthisknavery.If he maybe conveniently
withmyniecethatI cannot
were;forI am nowso farin offense
pursuewithany safetythissportto the upshot" (IV.ii.66-70).
Actually,to place the responsesinto this sequencereversesthe
play's order;and we shouldconsiderthe factthat Shakespeare
withOlivia'sstatement
buildstowarda compassionate
comment,
to
the
actionsof Feste and
an unwillingness condone
climaxing
Mariain gullingMalvolio-at leastin itslastphase. Feste'sexact
revenge,
formofjusticewithoutmercyhas alwayscharacterized
and eventhe word" revenge"is stressedby severalof thecharactersin the subplot.WhenMaria voicesher apparentlyspontaneousplotto gullMalvolio,she says:
The devila Puritanthathe is . . . thebestpersuadedofhimas he thinks,withexcellencies
thatit is his
self;so crammed,
groundsoffaiththat all that look on himlove him;and on
thatvicein himwillmyrevengefindnotablecause to work.
(II.iii.134-40)
of her" revenge" elicitsSir
implementation
Maria's successful
" I could
At theendofII.v, he exclaims,
Toby'stotaladmiration.
marrythiswenchforthisdevice" (168), and whenMaria appears
he asks," Wilt thouset thyfooto' my neck?"
soonthereafter,
' Notice the similarity between Feste's description of events and Jago's prediction
as he encourages Roderigo to join him in his revenge against Othello: " There are
many events in the womb of time which will be delivered" (I. iii. 366). Jago implies
that he is merely an agent bringing about time's inevitable retributions.
Joan Hartwig
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b03
(174). The battlefieldimage of the victorand the victimis mockheroic,of course; but in the finalscene Fabian testifiesto its literal
fruition:" Maria writ/ The letter,at Sir Toby's great importance,
/ In recompensewhereofhe hath marriedher " (V.i.352-54). Sir
Toby's submissionto Maria's will is a comic parallel for two actions: the pairingoffof lovers,and the submissionof the individual's will to a design other than his own. Yet the inclusion of a
parodic version of marriage-harmonyin the subplot does not
fullyease the discomfortof the subplot's conclusion. Fabian tries
to smooth it away when he suggests that the " sportfulmalice "
of gullingMalvolio " may ratherpluck on laughterthan revenge"
(V.i.355-58) .4 NeitherFeste nor Malvolio seems to be convinced,
however. Feste's " whirligigof time bringsin his revenges," and
Malvolio quits the stage with," I'll be revengedon the whole pack
of you! " (V.i.366-67). The forgivenessthat should conclude the
comic pattern is " notoriously" missing from the subplot and
cannot be absorbed successfullyby the Duke's line, " Pursue him
and entreat him to a peace." Malvolio seems unlikely to return.
The major differences
between the subplot and the main plot is
clearestat this dramaticmoment: revengeis a human action that
destroys; love, graced by the sanction of a higher providence,
creates a " golden time."
Feste's " whirligig"seems to be a parody of Fortune's wheel in
its inevitable turning,particularlywith its suggestionsof giddy
swiftnessand change." It provides a perfectimage for the wild
but symmetricalcomic conclusion of the play's action. Feste's
speech which includes it gives the appearance of completionto a
mad cycle of eventsover whichno human had much control. Only
in Malvolio's case was human control of events evident. In her
forgedletter,Maria caters to Malvolio's " will " and, by encouraging him to accept his own interpretationof circumstancesas his
desire dictates,6she leads him not only into foolishness,but also
F
Fabian's participationin the gullingof Malvolio has a vengefulmotive,because,
as he says to Sir Toby, Malvolijo has at some previous time "brought me out
o' favorwith my lady about a bear-baitinghere" (If. v. 4-7).
5 The OED cites Feste's line as an example under " circlingcourse, revolution (of
time or events)," but other uses of the term cited there are also importantin the
forceof the word in Twelfth
Night: "whirligig" is the name of various toys which
are whirled,twirled,or spun around; the term was also used to signify" an instrument of punishment"; and the word suggests fickleness,inconstancy,giddiness,or
flightiness.
" of Malvolio's certain response (II. iii. 1376 Maria indicates her " foreknowledge
40), and Malvolio's commentsfulfillher prediction (II. v. 110-12, 150-52).
504
Comic Providenceof " TwelfthNight"
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betweenMalvolio's
intoa defenseofhis sanity.The discrepancy
assumptionthat fortuneis leadinghimon his way and the fact
itselfclearlyin the
thatMaria is in chargeof his fatemanifests
to the revelers(as she leaves the
juxtapositionof herdirections
stage) withMalvolio'slinesas he enters:
MARIA Getyeall threeintotheboxtree... . Observehim,
forI knowthisletterwillmake
fortheloveofmockery;
idiotof him. Close,in the name of
a contemplative
down
jesting.[Theothershide.]Lie thouthere[throws
a letter];forherecomesthetroutthatmustbe caught
Exit.
withtickling.
EnterMalvolio.
all is fortune.Maria once
MALVOLIO 'Tis but fortune;
me. (II.v.13-22)
toldmeshe[Olivia]didaffect
The gullingofMalvoliowhichfollowsis hilariously
funny,partly
becauseMalvoliobringsit all on himself.Even beforehe findsthe
ofrankand hisplans forputtingSir Toby
letter,his assumptions
in his place elicitvolatileresponsesfromthe box tree. And after
he findsthe forgedletter,Malvolio'sself-aggrandizing
interpretationsof the oftencrypticstatementsevokehowlsof glee mixed
withthealreadydisdainful
laughter.The comedyofthissceneis
simplein its objectiveexploitationof Malvolio's self-love,and
comicbutt. The audience's
Malvolio becomesan appropriately
thanSir Toby's and the box
hilarityis probablymorecontrolled
treeaudience'sexcessivelaughter;still,we are unitedin laughing
And whenMalvolioappearsin his yelat Malvolio'sfoolishness.
low stockingsand cross-garters,
the visual comedyencouragesa
total releasein the funof the game-Malvolio is gulledand we
unneed not feelthe least bit guilty,because he is marvelously
Obliviousto anyrealitybut hisown,
awareofhisownfoolishness.
Malvolio thinkshe is irresistibly
appealingwithhis repugnant
dressand hiscontinuous
smiles-socontrary
to hisusualsolemnity
-and Olivia concludesthat he has gone mad. "Why, this is
verymidsummer
madness,"she says,and, then,as she is leaving
to receiveCesario,shecommends
Malvolioto Maria's care.7
' Olivia has drawn a similarconclusionabout herselfin the openinglines of this
scene: " I am as mad as he, / If sad and merrymadnessequal be " (III. iv. 13-14).
Because Olivia concurs with Maria in classifyingMalvolio's peculiar behavior as
"4madness," she inadvertently
begets the subplottersplan for imprisoningMalvolio.
We have Rosalind's word for it in As You Like It that the typical treatmentfor
lunaticsin the sixteenthcenturywas imprisonment:
JoatnHartwig
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505
Good Maria, let this fellowbe looked to. Where's my cousin
Toby? Let some of my people have a special care of him. I
would not have him miscarryfor the half of my dowry.
(III.iv.55-58)
Malvolio miscontrues Olivia's generous concern as amorous passion and he thanks Jove for contriving circumstances so appropriately:
I have limed her; but it is Jove's doing, and Jove make me
thankful.. . . Nothingthat can be can come between me and
the fullprospect of my hopes. Well, Jove, not I, is the doer
of this,and he is to be thanked. (III.iv.68-77)
Malvolio's scrupulous praise of a higher designer than himselfis a
parodic echo of Olivia's earlier submission to Fate after she has
begun to love Cesario: " What is decreed must be-and be this
so!" (J.v.297). The impulses underlying Malvolio's speech (and
to some extent, Olivia's speech as well) exert opposite pulls:
Malvolio wants to attribute control of circumstances to Jove at
the same time he wants divine identity. He. attempts to simulate
foreknowledge through predictive assertion: " Nothing that can
be can come between me and the full prospect of my hopes." As
long as events are in the hands of a non-human control, man cannot destroy or divert the predetermined order. But Malvolio
cannot foresee the vindictive wit of Maria (often pronounced
" Moriah "), nor can Olivia foresee the necessary substitution of
Sebastian for Viola-Cesario. Each must learn that he, like the
characters he wishes to control, is subject to an unpredictable will
not his own. Precisely at this moment-when the character is
forced to see a discrepancy between what he " wills " and what
"is "-the possibility that he is mad confrontshim.
Feste seems to adopt the disguise of Sir Topas to convince
Malvolio that he is mad,8 and the imprisonment scene evokes a
Love is merelya madness,and, I tell you, deservesas well a dark house and a
whip as madmen do; and the reason why they are not so punishedand cured is
that the lunacy is so ordinarythat the whippersare in love too. (III. ii. 376-80)
8Cf. JulianMarkels, "Shakespeare's Confluenceof Tragedy and Comedy: Twelfth
Night and King Lear," in Shakespeare400, ed. James G. McManaway (New York:
Holt, Rinehart,and Winston,1964), pp. 85-86,fora similarobservation.Feste makes
evident his assumptionthat Malvolio is " possessed" by associatingcarnal sexual
interestswith Malvolio's requestthat Sir Topas " go to my lady " (cf. Leslie Hotson,
The First Night of TwelfthNight [New York: Macmillan,1954],pp. 108-09). Feste
replies:
Out, hyperbolicalfiend! How vexest thou this man! Talkest thou nothingbut of
ladies?
(IV. ii. 25-26)
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Comic Providence of " TwelfthNight"
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different
responsethan the letter that exploitsMalvolio by
encouraging
him to wearyellowstockingsand cross-garters.
In
theearlierphaseofthegulling,Malvoliois a comicbuttafterthe
howfashionofSirAndrewAguecheek,
unawareofhisfoolishness;
ever,imprisoned,
Malvoliois a helplessvictim,fullyaware that
he is beingabused. WithOlivia,his extraordinary
costumeand
perpetualsmilesmakehima visibleclown,and,as a result,he even
But withMaria and Feste in theimprisonseemsgood-humored.
mentscene,heis notvisible;weonlyhearhimand hisprotestations
of abuse. These different
visualpresentations
producea notable
in comiceffectbecause visualcomedyoftenchangesa
difference
serioustoneinthedialogue.9
thatthings
In theimprisonment
scene,SirTopas keepsinsisting
arenotas Malvolioperceivesthem;but Malvoliorefusesto admit
a discrepancy
betweenwhat he perceivesand reality. Accordingly,Malvolioinsiststhatheis notmad.
Malvoliowithin.
MALVOLIO Whocallsthere?
CLOWN Sir Topas thecurate,whocomesto visitMalvolio
thelunatic.v . .
Obsessive interestin sexual lust seems to have been a commonplaceshorthandto
indicatemadness for Renaissance dramatists:forexamples,see Ophelia's mad songs
in Hamlet (JV.v); Edgar's speech to King Lear as poor Tom o' Bedlam (JII.iv.);
and the masque of madmenin The Duchess of Malfi (IV. ii.). Feste is also following
Vice's typical role of teasing and tormentingthe Devil when he berates Malvolio.
who (Feste asserts) is possessedby the fiend-a point that Feste's song at the end
of IV. ii reiterates.
' The two productionsof TwelfthNight that I have seen both chose to emphasize
visual comedy. One was the Royal ShakespeareCompany'sperformance
at StratfordUpon-Avonin August 1971. During the scene, Malvolio kept poppinghis head up
througha left-front
trap door, and Feste respondedwith a swiftstomp of his foot,
closingthe trap accordingto his whim. In this case, Malvolio was not allowed to
see Feste, but the audience was allowed to see Malvolio. A performance
in the fall
of 1971, by Florida's Asolo Theater, had Feste roll onstage a wheeled cage with a
small barredwindowon the upper left,coveredby a flap. A sign reading"Beware
the Lunatic" coveredmost of the visible side of the cage and evoked a large laugh
fromthe audience. Throughoutthe scene, Feste was able to lift or lower the flap
coveringthe bars,so that Malvolio was exposedto the audienceand to Feste according
to Feste's whim. In both of these instances,the visual comedy was heightenedat
the expenseof the text and its suggestedvisual effects:Malvolio neithersees anyone
nor is seen by anyonein the darknessof his prison. An illustrationof this scene from
Nicholas Rowe's edition of 1709 shows Malvolio separated from the others by a
center stage partition,which would allow the audience to witness both situations
simultaneously.This is closer to stage directionsin the text, but, of course, would
not have been probable for Shakespeare'sstagingof the scene. See "Plate 9 (c),"
W. Moelwyn Merchant, Shakespeare and the Artist (London: Oxford University
Press, 1959), betweenpp. 48, 49.
Joan Hartwig
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507
Sir Topas, never was man thus wronged.Good
MALVOLIO
Sir Topas, do not think I am mad. They have laid me
here in hideous darkness.
CLOWN Fie, thou dishonestSatan. I call thee by the most
modest terms,forI am one of those gentle ones that will
use the devil himself with courtesy. Say'st thou that
house is dark?
As hell,Sir Topas.
MALVOLIO
CLOWN Why, it hath bay windows transparentas barricadoes, and the clerestoriestoward the south north are
as lustrous as ebony; and yet complainest thou of obstruction?
I am not mad, Sir Topas. I say to you this
MALVOLIO
house is dark.
CLOWN Madman, thou errest. I say there is no darkness
but ignorance,in which thou art more puzzled than the
Egyptians in theirfog.
I say this house is as dark as ignorance,
MALVOLIO
though ignorance were as dark as hell; and I say there
was never man thus abused. I am no more mad than
you are. (IV.ii.20-48)
In the darkness of his prison, Malvolio literally is unable to see,
and Feste makes the most of the symbolic implications of Malvolio's blindness. The audience perceives with Feste that the house
is not dark (that hypothetical Globe audience would have been
able to see the literal daylight in the playhouse), yet the audience
also knows that Malvolio is being " abused" because he cannot
see the light. The audience is thereforeled to a double awareness
of values in this scene: we are able to absorb the emblematic
significance of Malvolio's separation from good-humored sanity
and to know at the same time that Malvolio is not mad in the
literal way that Peste, Maria, and Sir Toby insist. Although the
literal action engenders the emblematic awareness, the literal action does not necessarily support the emblematic meaning. This
pull in two opposite directions occurs simultaneously and places
the audience in a slightly uncomfortable position. We prefer to
move in one direction or in the other. Yet it seems that here
Shakespeare asks us to forgo the either-or alternatives and to hold
contradictory impressions together. Malvolio cannot be dismissed
as a simple comic butt when his trial in the dark has such severe
implications .'?
10The problem of whetherto sympathizewith or to reject and ridiculeMalvolio
508
Comic Providenceof " TwelfthNight"
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The ambiguitiesof his situationare clear to everyoneexcept
hissinglepointofview.Because
maintains
Malvolio,buthe rigidly
own
narrowed
he refusesto allowmorethanhis
focus,he is emblebuttfortheharshcomicactionthatblots
maticallyan appropriate
out hispowerto see as wellas to act. He mustultimately
depend
uponthefoolto bringhim" ink,paper,and light" so thathe may
extricatehimselffromhis prison,a situationwhichwould have
seemedto Malvolioearlierin theplay " mad " indeed. Feste thus
does forceMalvolio to act againsthis willin submitting
to the
to
his
attitudes." Malvolio refool,but Malvolio fails change
mains a literalist-Feste'svisual disguiseis forthe audienceso
ofhisperformance,
thatwe can see as wellas heartheambiguities
a pointthatMaria bringsintofocuswhenshe says" Thou mightesthave donethiswithoutthybeardand gown.He seestheenot"
(IV.ii.63-64).
In theverynextscene,Sebastianpresentsa contrastwhichdeof Malvolio's response
lineateseven moreclearlythe narrowness
situation.Sebastian,too,confronts
to an uncontrollable
thepossibilitythathe is mad: his situationin Illyriais anything
but under
hiscontrol.
This is theair;thatis theglorioussun;
This pearlshegave me,I do feel'tand see't;
Andthough'tiswonderthatenwrapsme thus,
Yet 'tisnotmadness... .
For thoughmysouldisputeswellwithmysense
That thismaybe someerror,butno madness,
Yet doththisaccidentand floodoffortune
So farexceedall instance,all discourse,
That I am readyto distrustmineeyes
Andwranglewithmyreasonthatpersuadesme
To anyothertrustbutthatI am mad,
Or elsethelady'smad. (IV.iii.1-16:myitalics)
is an old one. Charles Lamb probablyopened this Pandora's box when he praised
Malvolio as what Lamb thoughthe should have been-" brave, honourable,accomplished": from" On Some of the Old Actors,"The London Magazine, 1822, reprinted
in Shakespeare's TwelfthNight, ed. Leonard F. Dean and James A. S. McPeek
(Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1965), p. 150. Many argumentshave been advanced
against Malvolio's " humanity" as realized in the play. Two of the more interesting
are by S. L. Bethell, Shakespeare and the Popular Dramatic Tradition (London:
Kings and Staples, 1944), pp. 77-78, and Barbara K. Lewalski, "Thematic Patterns
in TwelfthNight," ShakespeareStudies, 1 (1965), 168-81.
" Julian Markels, " Shakespeare's Confluenceof Tragedy and Comedy,"
p. 84,
and Barbara Lewalski, " Thematic Patterns in TwelfthNight," discuss the regenerative potentialsof madness. Both discussionsare pertinentto the emblematicvalues
presentedin this scene.
Joan Hartwig
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509
Sebastian'spile of contrasting
conjunctions(" though,""yet,"
" but") underlines
his hesitanceto forma finaljudgment,unlike
Malvolio,whosepointofviewneverchangesdespitetheonslaught
ofhis sensory
ofunmanageable
circumstances.
The contradictions
lead Sebastianto a stateof " wonder"in whichhe is
perceptions
a
able to suspendreasonand delay judgment,and this signifies
of perceptionwhichMalvolio cannotattain. Malvolio
flexibility
of experienceto considerthat
is not stirredby the discrepancies
appearancesmaynot be reality;but Sebastiancan appreciatethe
of a powerbeyondthe evident.Sebastian's
undefinable
workings
"
abilityto sensethe wonder'"in a worldwherecause and effect
have been severedgives him a staturethat Malvolio cannot
betweenthemis due to the sourceof
achieve.'2Yet the difference
theirmanipulationas well as to their response. Sebastian is
manipulated
byFate orbyFortune;Malvolio,byMaria and Feste.
Human manipulatorsparody suprahumancontroland because
theydo, Maria and Feste definebothlevelsofaction.
world
Feste,Maria,and SirToby are all in a setand predictable
of sportinggullery,and the rules for theirgames are known.
Feste's " whirligig"associatesTime with a toy (perhapseven
of torture)and limitsTime to humanterms
withan instrument
ofpunishment.On theotherhand,theTime thatViola addresses
knotofdisguise.Feste's attribution
doesuntieherproblematic
of
of Time" pointsup the difference
revengeto this" whirligig
bebecomesa parodicsubstitweenthe two controls.The whirligig
tute forthe largerprovidencethat othercharacterstalk about
underothertitles: Time, Jove,Fate, Fortune,or Chance. Signifi-
is theonlyhumanlydesignedaction
cantly,Malvolio'shumiliation
its parodyin
thatfulfills
itselfas planned. The subplotperforms
" it disbut in Feste's summary" whirligig
manyotherways,13
playsthe doublevisionthatShakespeareanparodytypicallyprovides. The foiblesoftheromanticsin Illyriaare seenin theirreduced termsthroughSir Toby, Maria, and Sir Andrew,but the
limitationsof the parodiccharactersalso heightenby contrast
theexpansiveand expandingworldoftheplay. Love,notrevenge,
is celebrated.
But evenFeste'swhirligig
takesanotherspinand does not stop
" Shakespeare'sTwelfth
Cf.HaroldJenkins,
Night,"in Shakespeare:
The Comedies,
ed. KennethMuir (Englewood Cliffs,N. J.: Prentice-Hall,1965), p. 76.
13 L. G. Salingar discusses some of the other parodic functionsof the subplot in
"The Design of TwelfthNight," ShakespeareQuarterly,9 (1958), 119-39.
12
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Comic Providence of "Twelfth Night"
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extendsan emat revenge:in theplay'sfinalsongtheplaywright
braceto his audience. Feste's songcreatesan ambiguityof perspectivewhichfusestheactualworldwithan idealone: " therain
it rainetheveryday " is hardlythe worlddescribedby the play.
RomanticIllyriaseemsto have littleto do withsuchrealisticinof continuousrain is in itselfan
trusions.Yet, the recognition
excess-it doesnotraineveryday in theactualworld,at leastnot
in the sameplace.14Thus,the pessimistic
excessof the songbalances the optimisticexcessesof the romanceworldof Illyria;
neitherexcessaccuratelyreflectsthe actual world. Despite the
apparentprogressthe song describesof a man's growingfrom
infancyto maturityand to old age, it remainssomething
of an
enigma.-5The ambiguitiesof the firstfourstanzas build to a
contrastofdirectstatements
in thefinalstanza.
A greatwhileagotheworldbegun,
Withhey,ho,thewindandtherain;
Butthat'sall one,ourplayis done,
Andwe'llstrivetopleaseyoueveryday.
The firstlineofthisstanza seemsto implythattheworldhas its
own,independent
design;16and it also suggeststhatman'sactions
musttake theirplace and findmeaningwithinthis largerand
olderpattern.The specificmeaningof that largerdesign,however,remainsconcealedwithinthepreviousambiguities
ofFeste's
song. His philosophicpretensionsto explain that design are
comicallyvague and he knowsit. He tossesthemaside to speak
directlyto the audience:" But that'sall one,our play is done."
This is thesamephraseFeste uses withMalvolioin his summary
speechin Act V: " I was one,sir,in thisinterlude,
one Sir Topas,
14 JosephH. Summersmakes a similarpoint," The Masks of TwelfthNight," The
Universityof Kansas City Review,22 (1955), 31. In contrast,the song becomesan
appropriatedescriptionof the play's world in King Lear (III. ii. 64-77).
5 I disagreewithJohnA. Hart's opinionthat Feste's song " is not hard to fathom":
"Foolery Shines Everywhere: The Fool's Function in the Romantic Comedies,"
Starre of Poets, Carnegie Series in English, 10 (Pittsburg: Carnegie Institute of
Technology,1966), p. 47. Hart's own reading of the song's "cgeneral meaning"
differsin several major points fromother readings. One of the most generallyheld
readingsis by John Weiss, Wit, Humour, and Shakespeare (Boston, 1876), p. 204.
It is impossibleto list everyvariant,but worthnotingby contrastis Leslie Hotson,
The First Night of TwelfthNight, pp. 168-71, who centershis discussionof the
song on the sexual innuendoesthat proceed fromreading"thing" as male genitalia.
16 Leslie Hotson,ibid.,p. 171, n. 2, pointsout that this line " recallsthe Elizabethan
euphemismforcoition,'To dance The Beginningof the World!"' Withoutdiscounting
that allusion,I suggestthat a much more generalpatternof action is implied.
Joan Hartwig
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511
sir;but that'sall one." In bothcases,Feste avoidsan explanation.
the dramaticillusionis
Turningto the audienceand shattering
typicalin epilogues,but Feste's inclusionof the audienceintohis
of the play as a metaphorforactual experiencehas
consciousness
here. ThroughoutTwelfthNight,Feste has
a specialsignificance
In
engagedvariouscharactersin dialoguesof self-determination.
"
for
mourn
to
fool
a
is
that
Olivia
out
one gameofwit,he points
yourbrother'ssoul,beingin heaven" (J.v.65-66).By his irrefutable logic,he winsOlivia'sfavorand hertacit agreementthather
has been overdone.The Duke also is subjectto Feste's
mourning
upon the
evaluationin two scenes. Followinghis performance,
leaves a
Feste
love,
of
unrequited
of
a
sad
song
Duke's request,
paradoxicalbenediction:
god protectthee,and the tailormake
Now themelancholy
forthy mindis a very
thydoubletof changeabletaffeta,
put to sea, that
opal. I wouldhave menof suchconstancy
and theirintenteverytheirbusinessmightbe everything,
where;forthat's it that alwaysmakesa good voyageof
nothing.(II.iv.72-77)
And later,when the Duke is approachingOlivia's house, Feste
encountershimwithone of his typicallyunique and audaciously
appliedtruisms:
DUKE I knowtheewell. How dostthou,mygoodfellow?
CLOWN Truly,sir,thebetterformyfoes,and theworse
formyfriends.
thebetterforthyfriends.
DUKE Justthecontrary:
CLOWN No, sir,theworse.
DUKE Howcanthatbe?
CLOWN Marry,sir,theypraiseme and makean ass of
me. Now myfoestellme plainlyI am an ass; so that
and
ofmyself,
in theknowledge
by myfoes,sir,I profit
to be as
I am abused;so that,conclusions
by myfriends
makeyourtwoaffirmatives,
kisses,ifyourfournegatives
and thebetterfor
whythen,theworseformyfriends,
myfoes. (V.i.9-20)
The Duke has in fact lacked some knowledgeof himself,and
Feste's pointedremarkmakesit clear that he is usinghis role as
of others.In theprisonscene
foolto pointup the truefoolishness
a
game of switching
confusing
Feste
provides
with Malvolio,
identitiesfromthe Clown to Sir Topas. In each situation,Feste
perspectiveforseeing
providesthe otherpersonwith a different
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Comic Providenceof " TwelfthNight"
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himself.Thus, it is morethanmerelyappropriatethat at the end
ofself.
oftheplay Feste engagesthe audiencein its owndefinition
By askingthem to look at theirparticipationin the dramatic
illusion,Feste is requestingthemto recognizetheirown desirefor
humanlywilledhappiness.'7
like the comic providencein the play, has
The playwright,
understood" whatwe will" and has led us to a pleasurablefulfillmentofourdesires,but in wayswhichwe couldnothave foreseen
ofthefinalline," And we'll strive
or controlled.The substitution
" For the rainit raineth
to please you everyday," forthe refrain,
in
repetition
everyday,"is a crucialchange. Like theincremental
has builta dynamictension
refrain
thefolkballad,thispessimistic
that the play is an actual exwhichis releasedin the recognition
periencein the lives of the audience,even thoughit is enactedin
who arranges
an imaginedworld.The players,and theplaywright
them,are engagedin an ongoingeffortto please the audience.
The providentialdesign remainsincompletewithinthe play's
action and only promisesa " goldentime"; similarly,the playwrightpromisesfurtherdelightfulexperiencesfor his audience.
The subplot'saction,on the otherhand, is limitedwithinthe
ofrevenge:therevengeofthesubplotcharacterselicits
framework
Malvolio'scryforrevenge.
Malvolio is the only one who refusesto see himselfin a subservientpositionto a largerdesign. And possiblybecause that
designis too small,we cannot feelthat his abuse and finalexclusion
fromthe happy communityof lovers and friendsallows the golden
time to be fulfilledwithinthe play. Feste's manipulation of Malvolio resembles the playwright'smanipulation of his audience's
will, but in such a reduced way that we cannot avoid seeing the
differencebetween merelyhuman revengeand the larger benevolence that controlsthe play's design.
Universityof Kentucky
1
Cf. Joseph Summers," The Masks of TwelfthNight,"'pp. 31-32.
Joan Hartwig
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513