#maria twelfth night

[wordpainterpixie]

Toby: It's not what it looks like!

Maria: If I had even the slightest, foggiest hint of an idea what it looks like you're doing, that might be reassuring.

[macbooth]

Malvolio: I wish I could know why you have so much violence and contempt in your heart.

Maria: I work a minimum wage job.

[diioonysus]

dresses + art

[aq2003]

please do yourself a favor and listen to david tennant malvolio reading the fake love letter to him (act 2 scene 5 of twelfth night). im going to actually start sobbing. oh my GOD

[artemlegere]

Olivia, Maria and Malvolio from "Twelfth Night," Act III, Scene IV

Artist: Johann Heinrich Ramberg (German, 1763–1840)

Date: 1789

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, United States

Description

Ramberg shows the moment when Malvolio ostentatiously declares his love for Olivia, unaware that he has fallen into the trap of Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Feste, who hide behind the screen. The model for Olivia was the famous actress Mrs. Siddons. This scene from "Twelfth Night" was one of the earliest commissions for Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, a permanent exhibition of paintings of scenes from Shakespeare's plays that opened to the public in 1789. The mastermind behind this gallery was a print publisher, John Boydell; he commissioned each painting specifically from the most celebrated artists of the day and hoped to make a further success by publishing prints from the works exhibited. Though for some years one of the sights of London, the gallery foundered financially and the collection was eventually dispersed.

[lizardrosen]

opening night for twelfth night, everyone wish me luck!!!

[greencheekconure27]

Thinking about Maria in Twelfth Night today, and I'm sure somebody else analyzed this before me (and probably much better) but:

Sir Toby is often seen as the instigator of the prank on Malvolio, but Maria? Maria is the one who turns on him the very SECOND he threatens her place in the household. She wasn't interested in enabling Toby before this, but this is where it flips, and she immediately goes all-out.

My theory is that before Malvolio came along she was Olivia's closest confidant (besides Feste, who apparently has a tendency to disappear from time to time), and I do think she genuinely loves her. Then Olivia's father and brother die, and suddenly she has to handle all the family affairs, and on top of that she isolates herself in her grief. So Malvolio,(who originally would interact more with her father and later brother) becomes closer to her, displacing Maria; the distance between her and the rest of the household keeps growing, and Malvolio gains more and more power because Olivia's too miserable to intercede on their behalf. To Toby and by extension Andrew Malvolio is merely a nuisance and an upstart- they still are above him on the social ladder, and it's pretty clear to everybody that Olivia will keep putting up with his shenanigans no matter what she says.To Maria, he's a genuine threat and a rival for her mistress's favour. I don't think she's doing this for Toby (she likes him yes but she also disapproves of his behaviour) or just out of pettiness; she really wants Malvolio out of the way, so she encourages the others' petty grievances to achieve this goal. She's not just the brains behind the operation, she's the one who gets the most out of it, which includes her marrying Toby before the truth comes out to secure her position even better.

(Feste participates partially because a) he views it as part of his court jester duties to restore the balance (which is why he also helps him when the rest of the company starts going overboard) b) Malvolio attempted to threaten his position as well c) general love of chaos)

[feste-de-jester]

🃏 ⤷ Twelfth Night Characters, Lines and Scene Numbers

Thought this table was pretty cool, so I copied it up onto Google Sheets to post here! :)

(Sir Toby above everyone in BOTH his amount of lines and his amount of scenes...as he should be though to be fair, what a cool guy)

(also I linked the source I got it from in the ID! ✨)

[butchhamlet]

Hello!! When I tell you I literally use your blog as a Shakespeare resource ALL THE TIME like I just have so much respect for all your takes and your ability to hold so much in your head?? Insane. I am vv curious to hear your thoughts & feelings about Maria from Twelfth Night?? I just got cast as her in a very cool production and while I’m working on my own interpretation I am very curious and interested in what you think are important things to bear in mind with her!! <3

HI ANON!!! SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO ANSWER YOU HAVE PROBABLY FIGURED OUT EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR OWN MARIA BY NOW AND PERHAPS HAVE EVEN DONE YOUR SHOW (IN WHICH CASE I HOPE IT WENT WELL; IF NOT THEN GOOD LUCK!)

but yeah! yeah! maria! i think about her! she fascinates me, actually, because it's--i was going to say "hard to tell whose side she's ever on," but that makes twelfth night sound like some kind of war plot, when the gulling subplot is in fact just an elaborate prank. but i guess i can say that she fascinates me because her feelings toward olivia and toby are never entirely clear. she's olivia's maid, and they seem to have some fondness for each other, but she's also not above imitating olivia's handwriting (and thus kind of? impersonating her?) for a prank that olivia doesn't get to know about (and depending on how you interpret malvolio and olivia, this could be either maria going "haha this'll be so funny" or maria just not caring if this man makes olivia uncomfortable). and she seems to care about toby as well, and certainly jokes around with he and andrew, but it's also clear that she is exasperated if not harried by his constant bullshit. and yet she marries him--does that prove that she loves him, and the annoyance she feels about him partying at odd hours is just that, annoyance, because the people we love have flaws? or does she marry toby because it's her shot at social mobility? how much does she resent being a maid? is toby her stepladder or her true love or both? does she recognize that irony that by marrying toby she's doing exactly what malvolio hoped to do and can't--marrying up and becoming part of the household nobility? and does she feel bad for him?

anyway beyond all that i think she's fucking awesome. when toby was like "maria you could step on my throat" he was right. don't worry queen i know you're the root of some have greatness thrust upon them

[gayestshakespearecouples]

More quotes, submitter's comments, and credits for photos under the cut!

Orlando and Rosalind

Additional quotes I picked out:

Orlando says this to Rosalind while he still fully believes she's some guy named Ganymede

Rosalind says this in the middle of a rambling speech at one point

Plus, this is a very obvious dick joke that may be from Orlando's poetry that he writes to Rosalind or may just be Touchstone, from whom we hear this, taking the piss

Submitter's comment (also an excellent summary of the play's concept and what's going on with these two):

Toby, Andrew and Maria

Additional quotes I picked out:

Toby cheerfully eggs on Andrew to make moves on Maria, even though he himself fancies her (he later clarifies that he explicitly meant "accost" as "try to get in her pants")

said to Toby:

and another moment where both the knights are totally down bad for Maria (who Toby ends up marrying), yet they never fight over her at any point

Submitter's comments:

Toby and Andrew submission

Toby and Maria submission

Photos:

Orlando and Rosalind: Folger Theatre, 2017

Toby, Andrew and Maria: The Banbury Players, year unknown

[pennydew]

i could talk about the the twelfth night by shakespeare for hours btw

[wordpainterpixie]

Olivia: How do Toby and Antonio usually get out of these messes?

Maria: They don't. They just make a bigger mess that cancels the first one out.

Olivia: Oh... Should we stop them?

Fabian, covered in mustard: Too late.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

honestly? dream aesthetic

[blossoms-and-petrichor]

In Twelfth Night productions, Maria and Olivia should be a little mean. As a treat.

[aq2003]

twelfth night is not a Shakespeare I have read or seen but now I’m a bit terrified of ever consuming it. I definitely would never touch that audio drama with a 10 foot pole though (so so tempting. I might give in)

i was normal about twelfth night and held many normal emotions about it i really liked it for being this fun very messy queer drama until i listened to david tennant malvolio which ruined my life i cannot stress enough all of my evil derangements are because of david tennant malvolio if he had not done any of that i would have been FINE

[vivwritesfics]

Waiting For The Sun

Chapter Four

Rhett Abbott has been hearing his soulmate in his head for ten years. She's the sweetest thing, nicknamed Muffin after her love of baking. Rhett doesn't know who Muffin is, doesn't know where she is, but hearing her voice always makes his day better. But then Trevor Tillerson is killed and Rhett's life is thrown into chaos. Through it all, Muffin in there for her soulmate. She wants nothing more than to find him, even through the chaos.

Soulmate AU

Warnings: smut, masturbation (guided), the bit where he snogs maria (yk), the piss scene (yk)

Series Masterlist

Rhett Abbott was twenty-one years old. His twenty-first birthday, to be exact. June twelfth, the day he had his first legal drink. He'd had alcohol before this, thanks to Perry and that fact that, when he went a few days without shaving, he looked older than twenty-one.

His poor soulmate had put up with so much from his over the year. She was there for his first drink, where she had to hope he was underage (simply because she was, too). He'd assured her that he was underage and that he'd let her know when he wasn't underage any longer.

He bought his first drink and downed it in one. It had very little effect and he quickly ordered another. And then another.

It fucking sucked that he couldn't tell his soulmate that it was his birthday. What he wouldn't give to hear her sing Happy Birthday in her sweet voice. He tried to tell her without saying it outright, tried to tell her that he was finally legal, but even that didn't work.

As far as she was aware, he was just getting drunk. An underage kid taking things too far. He wasn't, and he couldn't fucking tell her.

The kicker came when Perry ordered them tequila. They did the works, the salt, the lime, and threw them back in whatever order it went.

He remembered getting to bed that night, but he didn't remember anything he'd said to his soulmate before that. Everything he'd said to his Muffin in the bar was a blur, but he wouldn't forget anything that happened next.

It's my birthday, he tried to say to her. But it didn't work. He was growing increasingly frustrated as he struggled out of his jeans. When he let out a rather dramatic groan, she giggled in his head. You okay? She asked through her laughs.

No, he wasn't okay. He wanted to sulk like a child about it, but he was an adult now, wasn't he? He couldn't sulk like a child, even if he really, really wanted to.

Baby, Muffin, my love, he began, I need something from you.

What do you need, Cowboy? She asked him, and he couldn't help but be surprised that she was still awake.

Rhett sucked in a breath. He knew it was a huge ask, he knew there was a chance that she'd never want to talk to him again, but his drink addled brain made him at least try.

Have you ever touched yourself, Muffin?

There was a pregnant, anxiety inducing pause. This was it, he thought to himself. This was the point where she turned around and told him that she didn't want to be his soulmate. He couldn't blame her for that.

I... Hearing her voice was such a damn relief, but he was still incredibly anxious. I haven't, she finally answered. I don't know how.

She hadn't told him to fuck off, hadn't called him a creep and told him she never wanted to talk to him again. Rhett sucked in another breath. Do you want me to teach you how?

He almost couldn't believe it when she gave a meek yes. Yes. She had really said yes. She wanted him to teach her how to touch herself. Rhett had been dreaming about this moment for years now. He could never tell her, he knew. She really would think him a creep after that.

Tell me what you're wearing, baby, he mumbled as he wrapped his fingers around himself. But something about this, about fisting his cock while he taught her to touch herself, felt so wrong. This moment was for her, not him.

She told him exactly what she was wearing, stuttering out the colour of her underwear. Not a matching set, she'd said, somewhat embarrassed.

I wish I could see it. His voice was low and gravelly in her mind. I bet you look so damn pretty.

He didn't tell her to touch herself right away. No, he had her slowly peel off her bra and touch herself, describe all the sensations she was feeling as she groped her own breasts. She'd done it before, she admitted shyly, but never like this. Never with his guidance, never creating these feelings in her.

A weak moan sounded in his mind. Holy fuck, Muffin, he moaned right back, but his hands were behind his head. He was so hard, it was painful, but he didn't touch himself. Can you tell me if you're wet?

She didn't answer.

Muffin?

I-I've never done this bit before.

He shouldn't have found it cute, but it really was. It was so damn cute. It's okay, I got you, he replied, lip pulled between his teeth and eyes squeezed shut. He just wished he could picture her face as she did it. As she slipped her hand beneath the underwear that didn't quite match her bra and felt just how wet she was.

Rhett could almost feel it on his fingers. Shit, she squeaked and he held back a laugh. I'm wet.

I bet you are, Muffin.

He told her what to do, told her how to touch herself. Moans and desperate whines filled his head, and Rhett would have given anything to hear them out loud. Would have given anything to hear her moan his name.

He talked her through it until she quietened. Oh, so that was how she came. He could picture it, mouth falling open in a silent moan as her body stopped writhing. His mind strayed to Maria, but he quickly banished the imagine of her from his mind.

That was...

He grinned as he threw off his blankets, the night air in June too hot. That good, Muffin? He asked, tongue poking out to wet his lips.

There was a moment before she answered him. Better than good, Cowboy, she replied. But you can't tell anyone! She said in his head, words quick.

It wasn't long until she fell asleep. She must have already been tired, Rhett guessed as he looked at the alarm clock on his bedside table. And that must have worn her out. Tired, baby? He asked as he looked down at himself, so damn hard.

She didn't reply and he knew she was asleep. He released a breath and moved his hand, the memory of the noises she was making enough to keep him going.

***

He was riding that night. Twenty-Four year old Rhett was at the rodeo, mind quiet. Wherever his soulmate was, she wasn't speaking to him, busy in that moment.

That was okay, though. She was quiet when he rode, anyway, letting him concentrate on staying on the bull.

He looked towards the crowd. It was hard to make out any faces in the dark, but he could see Maria, clear as day. That was fine, they were friends now, weren't they? This was the thing that friends did.

(Let me clear something up. There was a chance that Rhett needed glasses. His eyesight wasn't so bad that he couldn't function without them, but it was bad enough that he knew he needed them. But he didn't have time or the energy to go and get his eyes tested. Plus, cowboys didn't wear glasses).

He mounted the bull. Riding now, Muffin, he said as he secured himself on. there was no way he was going to come off, not until he was ready.

There was a small, quiet Good luck! but then she was gone again. Where his Muffin went, he didn't know. His eyes met Sheriff Joy's. His Muffin gone, Sheriff Joy watched him so closely. Fuck, he couldn't do this.

The gate opened and the bull launched into action. Bucking, throwing his body around. He kept his arm in his air in an aid to keep himself balanced, moving his body with the bulls. It was expert, the way he kept himself on. His hat flew off, but he didn't much care. There was no way he was coming off this damned bull.

When the buzzer buzzed, he jumped from the bulls back. It wasn't graceful, but it wasn't supposed to be. He picked himself up from the sand, scooped up his Stetson and turned his attention to the score bored.

Rider 44. R. Abbott. 82.5.

Top of the motherfucking leader board.

His fist beat against his chest as he turned his attention to the crowd that watched him. Top of the fucking leader board, and almost everybody he cared about was there to watch him. It was a feeling he'd never get enough of, a high he wanted to chase.

Running on pure adrenaline, he ended up in The Handsome Gambler with Maria. They were just friends, that was all. She wasn't his soulmate, he knew, and there was nothing wrong with the two of them getting drinks together.

Muffin? He tried as he took their drinks to their table.

Hey, Cowboy, she replied as he placed the drinks down and slipped into the seat opposite Maria. Sorry, today got a little crazy.

Maria was talking to him, and he should have been listening. He tried, he tried really damn hard to not be rude, but his Muffin was talking to him, and he couldn't not listen to her. He nodded along to whatever Maria was saying as his Muffin told him about her day.

I snuck out.

His eyes bulged out of his head and he just had to hope that Maria didn't notice. He cleared his throat and agreed with whatever she was saying. What do you mean you snuck out? Are you okay? Are you safe? He asked in quick succession.

Maria asked him a question, but he didn't answer for a moment. So, she repeated the question (something about bull riding, about his aspirations) and Rhett scrambled for an answer. And, as he spoke, so did his Muffin. Yeah, I'm fine. I went to see my sister.

Her sister. Rhett finished his drink and went up for another. He knew the story of her sister, that she'd found her soulmate and run off, leaving her family behind.

She's married now, had a baby. She told me if anybody but me picked up the phone, she would have hung up.

Rhett sucked in a breath. He knew what her family was like, what her father would do if he found out she snuck out. If he could have taken her away from it all, he would have. But he didn't know where she was, didn't know how to get her out.

He grabbed his drink and sat back with Maria. Just let me know you're okay, okay? He asked as he sat back down in the seat opposite Maria. Got me worried now.

She let out a giggle, but it was only weak. Relax, cowboy. I'm okay, I promise. There was a moment of nothingness where Rhett said something quick and meaningless to Maria. Are you busy?

He shook his head and Maria furrowed her brow at him. Not busy, Muffin. Just out with an old friend.

I'll leave you to it, Cowboy. Let me know when you're home?

Rhett had several drinks after that. He and Maria both did. The more she had, the more flirty she got. But the conversation got more and more relaxed. Before he knew it, he was openly admitting that he once thought that Maria was his soulmate.

She laughed at that, hand falling onto his own. "I haven't found my soulmate," she admitted, hand still in his. Rhett didn't move and she didn't move, either. "And I know you haven't found yours."

He shook his head. "Still workin' on it," he answered and drained the rest of his glass.

She pursed her lips, fingers dancing across his palm. It might have been soothing, if he wasn't so gone. "You haven't found your soulmate yet, and I haven't found mine," she mumbled, staring into his eyes. "We're both adults, we both have needs."

Maria was gorgeous, but she wasn't his soulmate. Still, she was right. They both had needs that weren't being fulfilled without their soulmates there.

When she stood, hand still in his, he stood with her. Almost in a trance as he followed her out of The Handsome Gambler.

The cool night air kissed his flushed skin, but he had no time to appreciate it as Maria wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close, backing herself up against the wall of The Gambler.

Her lips were on his. Maria held his cheeks as he leaned down, his hat almost hiding the both of them from any view. His hands were on her hips, holding her against the wall. A grunt left his lips, body pressing against hers.

"Muffin."

He hadn't meant to grunt it out loud. Certainly hadn't meant to grunt it in his head. Maria pulled away from him with a deep frown written on her pretty features.

Yeah?

It was almost startling when his Muffin answered him. Rhett blushed furiously as Maria pulled away from him. "I'll see you later, Rhett," Maria said as she walked away.

The shock of accidentally calling out for his soulmate wasn't enough to shock him into sobriety. No, Rhett was stumbling as he tried to make his way... where, exactly?

Fuck, he needed to go.

Leaning against the nearest thing, which just so happened to be a cop car, Rhett freed himself from his jeans and just went. He shut his eyes and threw his head back as he relieved himself into the road. Shit, how much had he had to drink? Clearly a lot, if this was to go by.

But then the door of the car opened. He looked up, almost in a daze, certainly in a drunken haze, as the cop climbed out. "What the hell?" He mumbled before he turned to see the handsome, drunk cowboy. "You're pissin' on my car, Rhett."

"Ah, shit," he mumbled as he looked around. "I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't realise."

"Well, stop pissin', then."

Rhett released a breath. He couldn't. As embarrassing as it was, he couldn't. But he was drunk, and a bull rider. So, that was exactly what he told the cop. "Not so easy to turn off the faucet after ridin' bulls," he mumbled and released a laugh. He hadn't exactly meant to release this laugh, but he couldn't help himself.

"You think that's funny?"

He didn't exactly roll his eyes, but he was close. "Ah, come on," he said, adjusting himself slightly. "It's a little funny." And again, he laughed. But he was still goddamn pissing.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how Rhett Abbott found himself in the sheriffs station.

Rhett Taglist: @finnydraws

@writtingrose

@nurse-sainz

@biancathecool

@xoxabs88xox

@afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff

Series Taglist: @nessjo

@butterflykale1doscope

@eternallyvenus

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@anonymousmuffinbear

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