In this quote, Malvolio is talking about the letter "Olivia" left for him--Maria's trap. In this letter Maria wrote, she only hints at some of Malvolio's qualities and the letter in its entirety doesn't quite seem to fit him and his personality. When Malvolio reads something he can relate to he immediately thinks Olivia is talking about him. "To crush it a little" mean that if the letter was changed slightly, Malvolio would fit "Olivia's" description perfectly.
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Because Malvolio is so excited about the letter, I'm surprised he even noticed that it is not perfectly about him. If I received a letter like his, I would think it applied to me perfectly, because I would want to believe that.
ReplyDeleteMalvolia has to crush it, or crack it, much like a code. Since he picks the letter up of the ground and notices that it is in Olivias handwriting and seal, he wants to be the reciever.
ReplyDeletethis was really clever on Marias part to not make it too obvious. a letter specifically intended for Malvolio wouldve been a drastic action for Olivia to make. Maria makes the letter to have the reader pondering and fantisizing for a good while
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