Draft:Fabian (Twelfth Night character)

Fabian
Twelfth Night character
Fabian, far left, with Viola, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby during the third act
Created by	William Shakespeare
In-universe information
Affiliation	Sir Toby Belch, Olivia

Fabian is a character in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He is a member of Olivia's household.

Character

Fabian is a member of Olivia's household who has fallen out of favour with his mistress over a bear baiting, for which he blames Olivia's steward Malvolio. In revenge, he becomes a willing accomplice in Sir Toby Belch and Maria's plot to trick Malvolio into believing that Olivia is in love with him. As Malvolio reads aloud from a forged letter in the garden, Fabian, along with with Sir Toby and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, hides in a nearby box tree, laughing and hurling insults at the unwitting Malvolio. He is so delighted to be involved in Malvolio's downfall that he states "I would not give my part in this sport for a pension of thousands to be paid from the Sophy."

When Malvolio, smiling and dressed in yellow stockings, later propositions Olivia, Fabian, Maria and Sir Toby arrive and pretend that he has been possessed by a demon. After performing an exorcism on Malvolio, Fabian delivers the famous metatextual line "if this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."

Fabian is also complicit in taking advantage of Sir Andrew Aguecheek's naive and foolish nature. When Sir Andrew threatens to leave Illyria after witnessing Olivia flirting with Cesario, Fabian eloquently convinces Sir Andrew to stay, and encourages him to challenge Cesario to a duel, despite knowing that neither of them know how to fight. The prank goes too far, however, when Antonio and Sebastian become involved in the fighting.

At the start of act five, Fabian demands from Feste to see the letter Malvolio has written to Olivia, in which he complains about his imprisonment and unfair treatment at the hands of Sir Toby. Although Feste initially refuses Fabian's request, Olivia commands Fabian to read it out loud to the assembled characters, then to fetch Malvolio from the prison. Once Malvolio is released, Fabian confesses the entire plot to Olivia, explaining that it was "sportful malice" that "may rather pluck on laughter than revenge," and suggesting that both parties were as bad as each other ("if that the injuries be justly weighed that have on both sides passed.") Fabian also reveals that Maria and Sir Toby have married each other. The play ends with Olivia warning that Malvolio "hath been most notoriously abused."