Shakespeare's Portrayal of Charlotte Gardener of Leonato

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Shakespeare's Portrayal of Charlotte Gardener of Leonato

Throughout the play the character of Leonato displays varied parenting

skills, he seems to act differently with Hero in different situations.

There are a number of things which point to him being a bad father,

however there are also times when the audience would perhaps disagree

with the way he handles things.

In the wedding scene he is understandably excited, his only daughter

is about to marry a respected gentleman. I think the fact that

Shakespeare made Hero his only daughter intensifies her fall from his

grace. Once she is married he will have an heir and so she is the most

important thing in his life and everything in his life seems to

revolve around her, so he does care what happens to her, although it

might be suggested that this is for selfish reasons.

Therefore when Claudio suggests that Hero is impure, Leonato dismisses

the idea as a mistake or a joke. This indicates to the audience that

he has a high opinion of Hero and doesn't think that she would let him

down, but perhaps he actually thinks that she wouldn't dare let him

down. Although his first assumption that Hero is innocent, is correct,

when Claudio insists that the accusation is true, Leonato stops

doubting and so it seems he didn't need a lot of convincing. This

confirms to the audience that Leonato doesn't know his daughter very

well. He never questions Hero, or asks for an explanation which shows

that he is now convinced that she is not as perfect as he supposedly

thought. Shakespeare portrays the side of Leonato that is concerned

largely with matters of status and reputation in the scene when Don

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be mean to Hero and he wants to show her that he loves her but I think

his problem is that he doesn't know how to act with her and this

becomes evident throughout the play. I don't think the audience

dislike Leonato or think that he is a bad father, I think they do feel

sympathetic towards Hero but would understand that Leonato was trying

his best. It is quite obvious that Hero is happy with her life and therefore Leonato

must be a good father. It seems that she loves him and understands

that he is trying hard to be a good father.

Shakespeare created a complex relationship and left it up to the

audience to decide who is right and who is wrong. This is a good

technique because the audience has control. They might compare the

situations on the stage to their relationships or relationships of

people they know.

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