Character Studies: Twelfth Night

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Sir Toby as he is best known, is a rather fat individual who spends most of his time in the play either merry making and getting drunk with Sir Andrew or plotting against Malvolio. Sir Toby uses Sir Andrew simply because he has more money than sense. It becomes obvious in Act 3; Scene 2 where Sir Toby and Fabian convince Sir Andrew to stay at the palace and fight a duel with Cesario because ‘women love bravery’, ‘Taunt him with the license of ink’. This shows that although Sir Toby uses Sir Andrew, he does so in a very cunning way and always makes Sir Andrew see past the fact that he only wants him to stay for his (Sir Andrews) money which makes him a very clever and calculating individual. Act 3 also shows us that Sir Toby is a brave and courageous man. This is shown in Act 3; Scene 4, when Sir Andrew and Cesario are dueling and Antonio suddenly enters and draws his sword to protect Cesario (who he thinks is his companion Sebastien), Sir Toby then draws his sword saying, ‘Nay, if you be an undertaker, I am for you’. It shows great bravery to draw your sword on a man you don’t even know because he could be an excellent swordsman. Sir Toby also enjoys getting drunk and making merry (much to the displeasure of Olivia’s assistant, Malvolio). The best example of this is in Act 2; Scene 3 when Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria and Feste are up in the early hours of the morning Drinking and singing loudly. Sir Toby starts off the whole thing by saying, ‘Th’art a scholar; let us therefore eat and drink. Marian (Maria), I say, a stoup of wine!’. He then starts off the singing, ‘Excellent! Why this is the best fooling, when all is done. Now a song’. At the end of the play, act 5; scene 1, he finds love with Maria and they live (supposingly) happily ever after.

Of all the characters in this book including the fool himself (Feste), Sir Andrew must be the most foolish. For a start, it is clear that when he and Sir Toby go out drinking, he is the one who has to cough up the money. Sir Toby may like him as a friend, but he uses him to his full extent and gets more than his fair share of beer from him. Sir Andrew is literally conned a number of times during the play, mainly by Sir Toby. For a start, after he threatens to leave the house and go home as Olivia (the person he came to woo) is not paying attention to him, Sir Toby convinces him that to get Olivia to notice Sir Andrew, he must fight a duel with the ‘man’ Olivia is paying the most attention to; Cesario. Sir Andrew writes a rather foolish letter challenging Cesario for a duel even though Sir Andrew doesn’t know how to sword-fight. After Antonio interrupts the first bout, Sir Andrew then challenges Cesario look-alike, Sebastien who gives Sir Andrew a head wound. Sir Andrew does however enjoy a good practical joke when He and his ‘friends’ leave the note for Malvolio. At the end of the play (Act 5; Scene 1), he leaves the house with no money and no bride. It is obvious that he lost more than he gained from coming to stay for the summer.