Benedick's Tsundere Traits: A Dramatic Analysis

Although Benedick was both a sharp fellow as well as a “bachelor” for most of the play, Benedick’s actions were always different when beatrice was involved. In act 2 scene 1 was the scene that revealed his true self. In that scene, not only did he become a punching bag for the other main characters, but it was also the scene that he began to reveal his tsundere traits.
In act 2 scene 1, Benedick follows the punching bag archetype because he was constantly bombarded with “hate” from everybody. During the masquerade dance, Benedick tried to take advantage of everyone wearing masks by questioning Beatrice and attempting milking information out of her. This however, worked against him as he was roasted beyond belief. Not only did she call him

“the prince's jester: a very dull fool”(2.1.521), but also “duller than a great thaw”(2.1.625), insults women rarely said in that era. Furthermore, during the time that Beatrice was ranting about how horrid of a human being Benedick was, Benedick himself could not do anything. He knew that revealing himself, would mean that he had submitted to Beatrice’s and lost his own ego. He even later told Don Pedro that “every word (said by Beatrice) stabs”(2.1.628), further showing that he was in pain from not being able to refute her. By placing Benedick in a situation that forced him to listen and not respond in his usual cheeky way, Shakespeare creates a punching bag that helps others release the anger as well as thoughts of the other characters. Another situation in the same scene that forced Benedick into becoming a punching bag was after Claudio’s little delusional monologue about his love for hero. After thinking about what Don John said about the Don Pedro wooing Hero for himself, Claudio was in the bottom of a pit of despair. And with someone in despair, there is always a need for someone to relieve parts of that pain. By having Benedict talk about his views on women and how being a bachelor would be best in that scene, Claudio’s anger were forwarded to Benedick. Claudio asks “I pray you leave me”(2.1.581), and after Benedick wouldn’t leave, he says, “If it will not be, I'll leave you. (2.1.584). By having Benedick placed as the villain for this scene, Shakespeare sets up the audience with low expectations for Benedick, while raising his likability with every new scene.
On the contrary, although Shakespeare dropped Benedick’s position in the play and made him a punching bag, Benedick’s role in the play later on changes.

After being unknowingly lied to and told that Beatrice loved him, his character turned drastically. His character turned to the classic character trait of a shoujo manga of a “tsundere”. Tsunderes are people who “hate to love but love to love” or in other words, people who are aggressive and cold at first but reveal their warmer side as they get to know the person. Benedick shows this character trait in the form that after he “learned” that Beatrice “loves him with an enraged affection: it is past the infinite of thought.”(2.3.921),he did not know what to do. His once sharp and “bachelor” nature changes to that of a person who wants to find true love. He shows this by not only writing a letter, but also stating,” with no sauce that can be devised to it. I protest I love thee.”(4.1.1930)Further revealing that his heart was now opened up to Beatrice, and that once aggressive nature changed to one of love. Contrasting his original behavior of a “rude gentlemen” to his behavior now of a “ sweet man”, towards Beatrice surely shows that he is a Tsundere. Benedick’s character change is the biggest character change in the whole play. From the once rude and self-doting Bachelor to the lovey dovey yin and yang couple. Benedick was not only a punching bag, but also a tsundere. By combining these two unique character types, Shakespeare is able to create a character that was both well rounded and interesting in the fact that he was hated in the beginning but loved in the

end.