Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s more popular plays, a comedy loved by many, and produced still to this day. However, behind all the wordplay, misconception, and pranks Shakespeare successfully exposes the dark, ugly truth about gender roles and inequality within the Elizabethan society. The inequality of genders is prevalent in Beatrice’s language, how the male characters view women within the play, and the concept of honor.
Beatrice is easily one of the biggest and roundest characters in Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare created Beatrice’s character in order to bring to the stage opposition to the “traditional woman” of the Elizabethan time and shed light on gender inequality. Hero seems to be the ideal woman, polite, respectful, obedient, and quiet. She follows societies patriarchal views, submitting first to her father, who commands her to accept Claudio’s hand when he proposes, and submissive to her new fiancé, even after he publicly shames her. Beatrice, on the other hand is cynical, sharp, witty, and a feisty woman. It first becomes apparent that she is not the “norm” and does not follow society’s gender roles when in Act 1 when she speaks of Benedick, Leonato apologizes on her behalf to the Messenger. “You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a kind of merry way betwix Signor Benedick and her” (Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 49-51). A woman legitimately criticizing a man does not go with gender roles in this society, and therefore Leonato feels the need to cover it up, belittling and dismissing what Beatrice has to say -- her honest opinion of Benedick. The same issue seems to arise when Beatrice and Benedick banter back and forth. Beatrice takes jabs at Benedick’s character, and unable to handle a woman insulting him, he gives up, or cops out. “You always end with a jades trick”, Beatrice complains. In the many film adaptations of the play, it is obvious that Benedick is trying to entertain the crowd, who “ohh” and “ahh” after his wordplay, while Beatrice is in to insult Benedict, standing alone and not getting much reaction from the crowd of listeners. Beatrice stands out as a character in Much Ado about nothing because she is a proud, strong female character, rare during Shakespeare’s time. She refuses to marry because she hasn’t found a perfect equal partner and is unwilling to submit her control and freedom to a husband. She yearns to be equal with men, something that challenges the gender inequality of Elizabethan time.
The way Shakespeare has the men view the women characters in Much Ado About Nothing also gives insight into Elizabethan gender equality as well. Throughout the play women are referred to objects, and untrustworthy ones at that. Claudio asks Benedick early on his opinion of Hero, and the conversation turns quickly to talk of buying her and her “worthiness” of love and marriage. Her beauty and obedience are things that these men seem to value and think make her “worthy”. In Act 2 when Claudio is led to believe that Don Pedro stole Hero for himself, Benedick proclaims Don Pedro “stole your meat”. Objectifying the women makes it evident that the men believe the women have no real voice in any matter; they are there for the taking and meant to be submissive. The frequency of cuckolding jokes suggests that the men also believe that women by nature are untrustworthy and unfaithful. Benedick basically compares marriage to a prison – saying a married man is a man who gets cheated on. And before the men even “see” Hero in the window having sex, they are very quick to believe Don John’s claims, already vowing to shame her when it’s proven true. None of the men try to defend Hero before that night, because it would make perfect sense for a woman to be unfaithful in their eyes. Once the men “see” that Hero has in fact had premarital sex while she is engaged to marry Claudio, they don’t hold back in punishing and exposing her by brutally publicly shaming her. Even Hero’s father Leonato believes the lie at first, “Could she here deny the story that is printed in her blood? Do not live, Hero, do not ope thine eyes…” (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 120-123) It can also be argued that Don John used Margaret as an object or pawn to ruin Claudio and Hero’s relationship. Margaret was convinced to dress in Hero’s clothing, yet Borachio is the one rewarded by Don John for assisting in the act to fool Claudio.
Gender roles are also highly evident when it comes to the theme of honor in Much Ado About Nothing. In this society, honor is everything. But it’s interesting that it depends so much on women. For instance, Claudio’s fear of honor comes from women. If Hero truly did have sex prior to marriage and he knew and still willingly wed her, he would be shamed, his honor lost. So in order to keep his honor, he must shame Hero because it would be far more embarrassing for him to lose his honor to a woman. Another interesting thing is how valuable honor is to women in the play. Men are able to win back their honor/their family’s honor by fighting in a battle or a duel. However, once a woman’s honor is destroyed, so is her family’s and there is no coming back from that. Beatrice highlights that she is aware of this when after Claudio shames Hero, she explodes with rage, “O that I were a man for his sake!” “I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.” (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 312-318) Women aren’t able to stand up for themselves or challenge accusations; only men have a voice in this society.
Through his play Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare exposes the dark, ugly truth that is gender inequality of the Elizabethan time. He does so through the character Beatrice, with her language that speaks and yearns for gender equality. She considers herself to be equal of some sorts with her wits, and attempts to defy the norms by vowing to not marry in order to keep her independence, but is aware that society does not allow her a true voice when it comes to defending herself or her friends. The way that the men treat the women in this play also gives insight into how women of this time were viewed. It is made clear that they are viewed mostly as objects that tend to not be loyal. It’s no surprise if they are found to be dishonest, but at the same time the men must constantly keep their honor in tact. Honor is everything, but can only really be defended or saved by men who challenge other men. A man’s honor can depend on a woman, but she cannot have a say in her honor if it’s criticized. Characters are susceptible to limitations and expectations based on gender, which is a major theme of Much Ado About Nothing.
Beatrice is easily one of the biggest and roundest characters in Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare created Beatrice’s character in order to bring to the stage opposition to the “traditional woman” of the Elizabethan time and shed light on gender inequality. Hero seems to be the ideal woman, polite, respectful, obedient, and quiet. She follows societies patriarchal views, submitting first to her father, who commands her to accept Claudio’s hand when he proposes, and submissive to her new fiancé, even after he publicly shames her. Beatrice, on the other hand is cynical, sharp, witty, and a feisty woman. It first becomes apparent that she is not the “norm” and does not follow society’s gender roles when in Act 1 when she speaks of Benedick, Leonato apologizes on her behalf to the Messenger. “You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a kind of merry way betwix Signor Benedick and her” (Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 49-51). A woman legitimately criticizing a man does not go with gender roles in this society, and therefore Leonato feels the need to cover it up, belittling and dismissing what Beatrice has to say -- her honest opinion of Benedick. The same issue seems to arise when Beatrice and Benedick banter back and forth. Beatrice takes jabs at Benedick’s character, and unable to handle a woman insulting him, he gives up, or cops out. “You always end with a jades trick”, Beatrice complains. In the many film adaptations of the play, it is obvious that Benedick is trying to entertain the crowd, who “ohh” and “ahh” after his wordplay, while Beatrice is in to insult Benedict, standing alone and not getting much reaction from the crowd of listeners. Beatrice stands out as a character in Much Ado about nothing because she is a proud, strong female character, rare during Shakespeare’s time. She refuses to marry because she hasn’t found a perfect equal partner and is unwilling to submit her control and freedom to a husband. She yearns to be equal with men, something that challenges the gender inequality of Elizabethan time.
The way Shakespeare has the men view the women characters in Much Ado About Nothing also gives insight into Elizabethan gender equality as well. Throughout the play women are referred to objects, and untrustworthy ones at that. Claudio asks Benedick early on his opinion of Hero, and the conversation turns quickly to talk of buying her and her “worthiness” of love and marriage. Her beauty and obedience are things that these men seem to value and think make her “worthy”. In Act 2 when Claudio is led to believe that Don Pedro stole Hero for himself, Benedick proclaims Don Pedro “stole your meat”. Objectifying the women makes it evident that the men believe the women have no real voice in any matter; they are there for the taking and meant to be submissive. The frequency of cuckolding jokes suggests that the men also believe that women by nature are untrustworthy and unfaithful. Benedick basically compares marriage to a prison – saying a married man is a man who gets cheated on. And before the men even “see” Hero in the window having sex, they are very quick to believe Don John’s claims, already vowing to shame her when it’s proven true. None of the men try to defend Hero before that night, because it would make perfect sense for a woman to be unfaithful in their eyes. Once the men “see” that Hero has in fact had premarital sex while she is engaged to marry Claudio, they don’t hold back in punishing and exposing her by brutally publicly shaming her. Even Hero’s father Leonato believes the lie at first, “Could she here deny the story that is printed in her blood? Do not live, Hero, do not ope thine eyes…” (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 120-123) It can also be argued that Don John used Margaret as an object or pawn to ruin Claudio and Hero’s relationship. Margaret was convinced to dress in Hero’s clothing, yet Borachio is the one rewarded by Don John for assisting in the act to fool Claudio.
Gender roles are also highly evident when it comes to the theme of honor in Much Ado About Nothing. In this society, honor is everything. But it’s interesting that it depends so much on women. For instance, Claudio’s fear of honor comes from women. If Hero truly did have sex prior to marriage and he knew and still willingly wed her, he would be shamed, his honor lost. So in order to keep his honor, he must shame Hero because it would be far more embarrassing for him to lose his honor to a woman. Another interesting thing is how valuable honor is to women in the play. Men are able to win back their honor/their family’s honor by fighting in a battle or a duel. However, once a woman’s honor is destroyed, so is her family’s and there is no coming back from that. Beatrice highlights that she is aware of this when after Claudio shames Hero, she explodes with rage, “O that I were a man for his sake!” “I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.” (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 312-318) Women aren’t able to stand up for themselves or challenge accusations; only men have a voice in this society.
Through his play Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare exposes the dark, ugly truth that is gender inequality of the Elizabethan time. He does so through the character Beatrice, with her language that speaks and yearns for gender equality. She considers herself to be equal of some sorts with her wits, and attempts to defy the norms by vowing to not marry in order to keep her independence, but is aware that society does not allow her a true voice when it comes to defending herself or her friends. The way that the men treat the women in this play also gives insight into how women of this time were viewed. It is made clear that they are viewed mostly as objects that tend to not be loyal. It’s no surprise if they are found to be dishonest, but at the same time the men must constantly keep their honor in tact. Honor is everything, but can only really be defended or saved by men who challenge other men. A man’s honor can depend on a woman, but she cannot have a say in her honor if it’s criticized. Characters are susceptible to limitations and expectations based on gender, which is a major theme of Much Ado About Nothing.