Beatrice of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
One of the most intriguing characters from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing must be Beatrice. An intelligent, well-spoken (and, perhaps more interesting, outspoken) young woman, she is an almost exact opposite of her cousin, Hero. What makes Beatrice so different than what one expects of a woman during Shakespeare’s time? Why did Shakespeare decide to make her such a strong female character? It begs the question of what women were actually like in the Tudor era, and if she was really so radical a character.
Beatrice is very different than the common expectation of women by people looking back on Shakespeare’s period and of the public of Shakespeare’s time in many ways. As previously stated, she is outspoken, intelligent and does not wish to be married. This is strange, considering that around the time that Shakespeare was writing (give or take a few hundred years), women were being restricted in their studies, writing and in society (Wiesner, 3). There are many examples of women being restricted by the law in society, as Merry E. Wiesner stated in her essay:
In regard to the basic obligations and duties of citizenship, little distinction was made between men and women; all heads of households were required to pay taxes… and obey all laws. Beyond that, however, there were clear legal restrictions on what the female half of the population could do. Women differed from men in their ability to be witnesses, make wills, act as guardians for their own children… These limitations appear in the earliest extant law codes and were sharpened and broadened as the law codes themselves were expanded. (4)
With societal views such as this, it was no doubt odd to see such a...
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... even a bit closer to the ideals about women presented at the time. In many ways, Beatrice is ahead of her time as far as how she is presented. In other ways, though, she is no different than real women, and is simply a representation of those real women on the stage (such as Queen Elizabeth I). Though she is almost the exact opposite of her more mainstream idea cousin, Hero, Beatrice is not so taboo or radical when it comes down to a deeper inspection of women, society and her character.
Works Cited
Marcus, Leah S. “Shakespeare’s Comic Heroines, Elizabeth I, and the Political Uses of Androgyny.” Women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. pp 135-153
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing.
Sim, Alison. The Tudor Housewife. pp 3, 126. Wiesner, Merry E. “Women’s Defense of Their Public Role.” Women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. pp 1-27.
Beatrice is an extremely crucial character in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. She is one of the reasons that many plans and schemes fall into place to provide us with the outcome that the play finally reaches. Shakespeare depicts Beatrice as a very strong character who knows what she wants and how she wants to achieve it. Her characteristics of sharp wit and her ability to be acutely opinionated allow her to be a notable contrast from the other women in the play, whether this be in a positive or a negative way.
Much Ado About Nothing is a tale of two very different relationships. The relationship between Beatrice, the niece of the Governor of Messina and Benedick, a close friend of the Nobleman Don Pedro and that of a young soldier called Claudio and The Governor’s young and beautiful daughter Hero.
A major concern in both the film and the original text is the ‘status of women’. This is represented through the differing roles of women and their denigration within the Elizabethan society. For instance, Hero is accused of committing infidelity; consequently her image in society is tarnished, In addition to this, Claudio insults Hero publicly without even considering confirming the accusation of her being unchaste. This is illustrated through Claudio slandering Hero through the use of usage of Greek Mythological allusions “You seem to as Dian in her orb, but you are more intemperate than Venus in y...
In conclusion, gender role in Elizabethan era is very complex with respect to women’s role. Men are the masters of the home and society; they preside over every aspect of life. They are however, expected to take care of their family and also be actively involved in politics, war, and they inherit their father’s properties. Women role varied a according to their social status. All women were raised to be subservient to men. Unlike upper class women, lower class women were denied any kind of education. And all women are expected to get married and bear children. The qualities Shakespeare gave Beatrice are very significant because it contrasts traditional Elizabethan theater. Gender role has evolved over time, especially women’s role and it will continue to evolve as long as there are women like Beatrice around.
(Essay intro) In the modern day, women have the luxury of belonging to themselves but unfortunately this was not always the case. During his life, William Shakespeare created many positive female characters who defied the traditional gender roles and brought attention to the misogynistic patriarchy of Elizabethan England. One of these true feminist icons is ‘Much Ado about Nothing’s. Beatrice. The women in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ defy traditional gender roles. Beatrice represents a brave and outspoken woman who defies the oppressive, traditional gender roles for the female sex. Her cousin Hero, however, represents those women who were successfully oppressed by the patriarchy and accepted the traditional gender roles without much complaint.
Feminist critics of Much Ado About Nothing, like Sylvia Townsend Warner, praise Beatrice for being "free and uninhibited" ("Women as Writers," Warner, 272). Beatrice is a strong female character who marries only after asserting her disapproval for the traditionally voiceless role of women in marriage and courtship relationships of the 16th and 17th c. Beatrice is a fearless verbal warrior, and Benedick is her greatest challenger. Their verbal bantering allow for each of their strengths and opinions to show, and together they glory in the challenge of their next duel.
Much Ado About Nothing is one of William Shakespeare’s best comedies and love stories. What is not to like about a play that is hilarious, romantic, and has a happy ending? In this play the foremost and most intriguing character is Benedick, a man who is a devout bachelor and who does not believe he will ever find the perfect woman; --because perfect is exactly what he must have. This may seem to be a harsh and pessimistic outlook on life, but the way Shakespeare brings this character to life portrays Benedick as a funny and caring man who really is not that certain about what he wants for the future. Benedick’s counterpart in the play is Beatrice who is an independent woman with a quick tongue. Benedick and Beatrice despise and cannot stand each other because it is seemingly impossible for them to have a conversation without arguing and angering each other. The two of them provide some of the more amusing scenes of the play with their word play and mocking of each other. In reality though, they have much in common that they have yet to realize. Both of them despise marriage, are witty, and are each their own persons. These however are not the reasons why they come together. They are brought together by their respective companions who conspire to tell each of them that the one loves the other as the two misdirected lovers listen in. In his speech directly after this, Benedick is swayed to a life that he previously would have avoided at all costs. In hearing of Beatrice’s supposed affection he immediately changes his entire outlook on perpetual bachelorhood and pronounces a love that is not real or his own, but comes secondhand from trickery.
In the play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare there are two main plots in the story. The first is about Claudio and Hero and their relationship, the second is Beatrice and Benedick and their relationship both of these relationships end up in marriage. Shakespeare compares these relationships side by side and you can clearly see his opinion on marriage. He believes in love, but he doesn’t believe in the arranged marriage that is happening during the Elizabethan era of his writing.
Two hundred years ago, during the reign of Queen Victoria in England, the social barriers of the Victorian class system firmly defined the roles of women. The families of Victorian England were divided into four distinct classes: the Nobility or Gentry Class, the Middle Class, the Upper Working Class, and lastly, the Lower Working class . The women of these classes each had their own traditional responsibilities. The specifics of each woman’s role were varied by the status of her family. Women were expected to adhere to the appropriate conventions according to their place in the social order . For women in Victorian England their lives were regulated by these rules and regulations, which stressed obedience, loyalty, and respect.
Beatrice is, without a doubt, one of the strongest female characters that Shakespeare ever came up with in his time of writing. Shakespeare shows, through Beatrice, how every woman should act in an era where only the men were even able to have control. In this era, or the renaissance time, no woman had free will; they were always told what they could and could not do, as well as, who they were to marry. In the play “Much Ado About Nothing” Beatrice has many qualities but the ones that stand out the most in the play are: her independence, her feistiness, and of course her openness to defy male subjection.
Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
Much Ado About Nothing is traditionally known as a comedy, but gender is an obvious theme in this play. To me this play challenges the gender inequality of this time period through its main female roles. Beatrice is a challenge to the traditional woman of the Elizabethan era, who is represented by Hero. Beatrice is seen as a sharp, outspoken, independent woman, while Hero is a quiet, polite and obedient woman. The stark differences between these characters shines a light onto the gender inequality of Shakespeare time. This paper will argue that Beatrice and her cousin Hero are used to show the gender inequality of the the Elizabethan era.
Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398. Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.”
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare focuses on the enormous gap between the power of men and where women stand. Women were expected to be obedient and dependent on men, innocent, and were also expected to be good wives. Shakespeare wanted women to see how the roles are changing for the better. In this play, there is difference between the traditional roles of women back then, and the ones that stand out from the rest. He depicts this through two characters. In the opening scene, where characters and their personalities, and roles are established; Hero has only one line, which is seven words. Even said that, these lines are just a comment on Beatrice. Hero is the daughter and the property of her father, Leonato. Her helplessness comes from her being overprotected by her father, and the need to obey him. Beatrice, by contrast, does not have a father, she lives on her witty personality and her intelligence. Beatrice has a dream to spend her life “where the bachelors sit, and there live we, as merry as the day is long” (2.1.40-46) When Leonato tells Hero, “Daughter, remember what I told you: if the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer,” (2.1.60-63) she just stands there, silently obeying her father. Hero’s looks are her only advantage as a women, as they are what attracts Claudio. He falls in love with her at first sight in the first act, based only on her appearance.
Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900, An anthology of criticism, ed. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997), pp. 17-18.