Maria adds some other clever touches to the letter. The writer of the love letter advises Malvolio …
Malvolio does most of these actions already, but now he will believe that the Countess supports him in all of his rudeness and odd behavior. So, he will be even ruder and more opinionated from this time on. What Malvolio does not know (but what Maria does know) is that the Countess Olivia detests the sight of yellow stockings and cross garters. She will not be happy when she sees Malvolio wearing these items. Moreover, because Malvolio is a Puritan, the use of bright colors is a contrast to the dark and somber colors that Puritans are supposed to wear. The stocking and garters will make Malvolio look like a clown, like a fool. That is precisely what Maria wants to do – to make Malvolio appear foolish before the Countess. Finally, because the Countess Olivia is in mourning, the smiling face of anyone around her will appear presumptuous, insolent, and rude. The Countess will think that Malvolio has gone mad.
The letter works. Malvolio believes that all of the advice comes directly from the Countess, and so he asserts that he will do all that is asked of him. Malvolio will become a willing fool.
Sir Toby is so pleased with the cleverness and the result of Maria’s letter that he tells Sir Andrew …
I could marry the wench for this device. (158) And ask no other dowry but such another jest.
(160)
The word wench means girl or female servant and refers specifically to Maria. The lines are important not only because they reveal that Sir Toby is pleased with the trick and that he appreciates the cleverness of Maria. The lines are also important because they reveal that Sir Toby prizes something as more valuable than money or liquor. The word dowry refers to a substantial sum of money or property that a bride or bride’s father would have to present to the groom before he would agree to the marriage. A large dowry was expected in any aristocratic marriage. In these lines, then, Sir Toby reveals that he values cleverness over wealth and property.
Sir Toby additionally tells Maria (when she appears to them at line 161) that he would willingly gamble his freedom away and become her “bondslave” (166). He is referring to his freedom as an unmarried man, and humorously referring to husbands as being slaves. The cautious Maria does not take him seriously, however, and ignores the references to marriage. But the careful reader should note that despite Sir Toby’s faults, he is unusual in a positive way in that he disregards class distinctions in his evaluation of people and in his views of marriage.