The Role and Nature of The Fool
However, despite Feste's playful and outwardly frivolous nature, we see at certain times during the play that he is very capable of taking revenge upon those with whom he is not on good terms. Furthermore he has a darker and mysterious side to him. Malvolio's insulting account to Olivia of Feste's defeat in a battle of wits by a village idiot infuriates Feste and he assists with Maria's and Sir Toby Belch's plot of revenge against the arrogant steward. Feste's opportunity for revenge comes in his confrontation with Malvolio at the end of the play: he disguises himself as a priest and confuses Malvolio even further, although he does enable Malvolio to get out of his sorry state.
It is also possible to see Feste as a slightly tragic character, with an underlying sadness to him. At the end of the play, he sings the famous line, "For the rain it raineth every day," - suggesting that every day brings some kind of misery - a somewhat melancholy line for a clown.
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