What does Malvolio contribute to the play?
             'Twelfth Night' is often described as a good-humoured comedy, which features entertaining and humorous characters, like Malvolio. Throughout most of the play Malvolio is seen as a figure of laughter and his contribution to the play is to add extra comedy. However, he is not laughed at like Feste for his dry wit and jokes, but is unknowingly laughed at for his arrogance and indifference to the way people really regard him.
             Malvolio is a proud and pompous man who thinks very highly of himself and patronisingly towards other. His entrance into the play is an example of his offensive manner towards others and shows his self-importance and superiority when speaking about Feste to Olivia, "infirmity that decays the wise, doth ever make the better fool". This snootiness adds humour to the play because he has the highest opinion of himself without realising that others feel completely differently about him, and view him as the fool. He sees "Sir Toby and the light people" as inferiors and talks patronisingly about them to Olivia, when he marvels that Olivia "takes such delight in such a barren rascal" as Toby, and that he was "put down the other day, with an ordinary fool, that has no more brain than a stone". Malvolio thinks he has the right to comment on whom Olivia is acquainted with even though the 'barren rascal' that he refers to is no lower in social status then Malvolio himself, as Malvolio is nothing more then an employee of Olivia's. Malvolio is quite possessive with Olivia, and does not like other men to capture her attention, and so when 'rivals' appear, like Viola in Act 1 Scene 5, he tries to dismiss them without Olivia's knowledge, and is annoyed when he fails at this. The messenger interests Olivia, and Malvolio, frustrated by this, shows his displeasure when he is very short with Olivia:
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