Tis but fortune, all is fortune. Maria once told me she did affect me, and I have heard herself come thus near, that should she fancy, it should be25 one of my complexion. Besides, she uses me with a more exalted respect than anyone else that follows her. What should I think on ’t?
Malvolio, despite being a character who should not be trifled with, falls for a poorly planned prank, first and foremost due to his desire for power (which is evident in his verbal juggling), which he believes will only come to him through his marriage to Olivia. Additionally, because Shakespeare wanted to mock the Puritan tendencies of the time, he purposefully created Malvolio to fall for this prank in this scene. A typical set of issues are brought up by the practical prank played on Malvolio, including identity instability, the significance of clothing in establishing one's identity and place, and the illusions and delusions we allow ourselves to fall into in the name of love. Malvolio succumbs to the seduction of romance just like everyone else, including Orsino and Viola. He is as romantic as anyone, despite his outward puritanism, albeit his idea of wedlocking Olivia is motivated more by social aspiration than by love. Malvolio's self-delusion is caused by his desire to surpass his class, but it also helps to explain why Sir Toby and the others find his fantasy so absurd. Malvolio is not a good match for Olivia due to both his undesirable demeanour and the fact that he lacks aristocratic blood. He is an ordinary person, whereas Olivia is a lady. They find it offensive that Malvolio would envisage Olivia and him getting married. We may remember how intrigued Olivia is when she learns from young Cesario, on whom she has a crush, that he is a "gentleman"—meaning that he is of noble birth—in an earlier scene. A noblewoman marrying a lower-class man would have been quite unusual in the class system of Shakespeare's day