In the kingdom of Illyria, a
nobleman named Orsino lies around listening to music, pining away
for the love of Lady Olivia. He cannot have her because she is in
mourning for her dead brother and refuses to entertain any proposals
of marriage. Meanwhile, off the coast, a storm has caused a terrible shipwreck.
A young, aristocratic-born woman named Viola is swept onto the Illyrian
shore. Finding herself alone in a strange land, she assumes that
her twin brother, Sebastian, has been drowned in the wreck, and
tries to figure out what sort of work she can do. A friendly sea
captain tells her about Orsino’s courtship of Olivia, and Viola
says that she wishes she could go to work in Olivia’s home. But
since Lady Olivia refuses to talk with any strangers, Viola decides
that she cannot look for work with her. Instead, she decides to
disguise herself as a man, taking on the name of Cesario, and goes
to work in the household of Duke Orsino.
Viola (disguised as Cesario) quickly becomes a favorite
of Orsino, who makes Cesario his page. Viola finds herself falling
in love with Orsino—a difficult love to pursue, as Orsino believes
her to be a man. But when Orsino sends Cesario to deliver Orsino’s
love messages to the disdainful Olivia, Olivia herself falls for
the beautiful young Cesario, believing her to be a man. The love
triangle is complete: Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and
Olivia loves Cesario—and everyone is miserable.
Meanwhile, we meet the other members of Olivia’s household: her
rowdy drunkard of an uncle, Sir Toby; his foolish friend, Sir Andrew
Aguecheek, who is trying in his hopeless way to court Olivia; Olivia’s
witty and pretty waiting-gentlewoman, Maria; Feste, the clever clown
of the house; and Malvolio, the dour, prudish steward of Olivia’s
household. When Sir Toby and the others take offense at Malvolio’s
constant efforts to spoil their fun, Maria engineers a practical
joke to make Malvolio think that Olivia is in love with him. She
forges a letter, supposedly from Olivia, addressed to her beloved
(whose name is signified by the letters M.O.A.I.),
telling him that if he wants to earn her favor, he should dress
in yellow stockings and crossed garters, act haughtily, smile constantly,
and refuse to explain himself to anyone. Malvolio finds
the letter, assumes that it is addressed to him, and, filled with
dreams of marrying Olivia and becoming noble himself,
happily follows its commands. He behaves so strangely that Olivia
comes to think that he is mad.
Meanwhile, Sebastian, who is still alive after all but
believes his sister Viola to be dead, arrives in Illyria along with
his friend and protector, Antonio. Antonio has cared for Sebastian
since the shipwreck and is passionately (and perhaps sexually) attached
to the young man—so much so that he follows him to Orsino’s domain,
in spite of the fact that he and Orsino are old enemies.
Sir Andrew, observing Olivia’s attraction to Cesario (still
Viola in disguise), challenges Cesario to a duel. Sir Toby, who
sees the prospective duel as entertaining fun, eggs Sir Andrew on.
However, when Sebastian—who looks just like the disguised Viola—appears on
the scene, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby end up coming to blows with Sebastian,
thinking that he is Cesario. Olivia enters amid the confusion. Encountering
Sebastian and thinking that he is Cesario, she asks him to marry
her. He is baffled, since he has never seen her before. He sees,
however, that she is wealthy and beautiful, and he is therefore
more than willing to go along with her. Meanwhile, Antonio has been
arrested by Orsino’s officers and now begs Cesario for help, mistaking
him for Sebastian. Viola denies knowing Antonio, and Antonio is
dragged off, crying out that Sebastian has betrayed him. Suddenly,
Viola has newfound hope that her brother may be alive.
Malvolio’s supposed madness has allowed the gleeful Maria, Toby,
and the rest to lock Malvolio into a small, dark room for his treatment,
and they torment him at will. Feste dresses up as "Sir Topas," a
priest, and pretends to examine Malvolio, declaring him definitely
insane in spite of his protests. However, Sir Toby begins to think
better of the joke, and they allow Malvolio to send a letter to Olivia,
in which he asks to be released.
Eventually, Viola (still disguised as Cesario) and Orsino
make their way to Olivia’s house, where Olivia welcomes Cesario
as her new husband, thinking him to be Sebastian, whom she has just
married. Orsino is furious, but then Sebastian himself appears on
the scene, and all is revealed. The siblings are joyfully reunited,
and Orsino realizes that he loves Viola, now that he knows she is
a woman, and asks her to marry him. We discover that Sir Toby and
Maria have also been married privately. Finally, someone remembers
Malvolio and lets him out of the dark room. The trick is revealed
in full, and the embittered Malvolio storms off, leaving the happy
couples to their celebration.
