Acknowledging Female Stereotypes in Much Ado About Nothing Women in the Elizabethan age were extremely repressed and discriminated against. Most would not have gone to school or received any type of formal education. They were not allowed to vote, own property, or freely voice their opinions. They were seen as the property of a man, subject to his wants, needs, and not allowed to have their own; men held extremely stereotypical views of their female counterparts that helped them justify the way they treated them. Shakespeare exposes many of these injustices and biases in his stage plays, which are still commonly read and performed today. In Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio moves from seeing women (specifically Hero) as goddesses and wives …show more content…
This implies Beatrice, and by extension all women, to be controlled and weakened by their emotions. Claudio says that Hero had told him that Beatrice would surely die if her situation with Benedick progresses in any direction, again poking fun at women's irrationality. He suggests she wear herself out by talking to someone about her love, as though she were a small child throwing a temper tantrum. Like most men of his time, Claudio appears to believe that women's perceived lack of control of their emotions made them less worthy of esteem. His view of women again turns cynical again when he receives news in Act 3, Scene 2 that leads him to believe that Hero has had an affair with another man. Don John uses the word “disloyal” to describe her actions, and Claudio repeats that word in outrage and confusion about this blow to his honor (3 2 76). Being “disloyal” seems worse than most other things, in that it has wounded Claudio's pride and reputation. The prefix “dis” is extremely negative and poignant. He emphasizes that if he sees anything with his own eyes, he will believe these accusations. He describes the issue as “mischief strangely thwarting,” and extends that description to all women in general; here he shows that he has moved from seeing women as wives and goddesses to adulterers and shrews. At their wedding ceremony in Act 4, Scene 1, Claudio spitefully and ironically addresses Hero with all
This essay is an exploration of the play Much Ado About Nothing, and the gender roles involved in the deceit and trickery that transpire and develop throughout the story. As gender is one of the main themes in the plot, identifying the expected gender roles of the characters, and how the contrast between characters highlights these expected roles. In Shakespeare 's time, known as the Elizabethan Era, men and women’s roles and expectations were starkly different. Elizabethan women, no matter what social class, were inferior to men. A female’s role in the family was to get married so they could increase their family 's wealth and power and to produce heirs. Men, on the other hand, had all of the power within a household. Males were expected
Claudio and Hero are the idealised Elizabethan couple in the book because of the patriarchal society that the story is based on. This is because Hero is shown as a weak and powerless young woman while Claudio is described as a powerful and honourable man. In the wedding Claudio decides to shame her and says ‘There, Leonato, take her back again Give not this rotten orange to your friend’. Even when Hero is being insulted and accused of being a prostitute she does not defend herself and says ‘Is my lord well, that he doth speak so wide?’ Instead of defending herself she asks if Claudio is alright which displays a sign of weakness in her.
Shakespeare uses both Claudio and Leonato to represent the males of the time and the honor code they were held to. Claudio is in no way held to the same pre-marital expectations as Hero, which, at the time, was the case for all men. For instance, when Hero is accused of being with a man prior to her marriage, no one questions what man and, quite frankly, no one cares what man. Shakespeare also shows how men are judged and given honor based on how their women act. When Leonato learns of the accusations his daughter receives on her wedding day he scolds her and says,
Hero does not get a chance to mull over the idea of Claudio as a husband. Even the audience knows little about her going into the now famous “shaming scene.” Details about Hero’s virtues and personality are purposely left out, partially to satisfy the dominant male perspective in the play, but also to give more clout to the heinous claim that Claudio makes during the wedding. The reactions of Hero’s father and others indicate that a woman’s virtues are only as good as a man says they are.
During the wedding scene Claudio takes his revenge out on Hero by calling her out because he thinks she cheated on him and was going to make him a cuckold. Claudio states “Don’t insult a friend by giving him a beautiful orange that rots inside. She only appears honorable from the outside. Look, how she blushes like a virgin! Oh, sin can disguise itself so artfully! Doesn’t that rising blush suggest that she is virtuous and innocent? All of you who are looking at her, wouldn’t you swear that she’s a virgin, judging by these outward shows? But she is no virgin. She has been in a man’s bed. She blushes from guilt, not modesty” (Shakespeare) Claudio took his revenge out on Hero without knowing the full truth and ruined a good relationship, for a
She throws away her old self, stating "Contempt, farewell! and maiden pride, adieu!"(3.1.109). She also choses not to be so protective of her independence and declares love for Benedick, claiming "I will requite thee, Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand"(3.1.111-112). However, the true change in Beatrice does not show until the first church scene in which Claudio publicly humiliates Hero. Beatrice shows deep concern for her cousin Hero, the first time in the play where Beatrice shows concern for another. She is the first to claim Claudio is a liar and declare "on my soul, my cousin is belied!"(4.1.145). Beatrice then proves once again that she is a better person by demanding justice for Hero is met. Through Benedick, Beatrice plots to right the wrong and asks Benedick to "Kill Claudio"(4.1.290). It is in this scene as well that Beatrice, proving a complete turnaround in behavior, confesses to Benedick that "I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest "(4.1.287-288). This shows Beatrice transforming from someone who would scoff at marriage and love, declaring things like "I may sit in a corner and cry heigh-ho for a husband"(2.1.312-313), to someone who easily embraces love from the person she once mocked. But such a dramatic change is seen in her love as well.
Also during Act 1 Scene 1 Don Pedro 's assumption, "I think this is your daughter", is met by Leonato 's response, "Her mother hath many times told me so." This introduction of Hero is indicative of the treatment of women, as he makes a joke at her expense in public without considering her feelings. It could be said that this sort of oppression of Hero is what causes her to remain silent, although Shakespeare may have created her in recognition of the popular view of women at the time, as an opposite to Beatrice 's free speech. When the play was written there would have been no competition to this convention and, as mentioned earlier, it has only surfaced in the wake of women gaining an 'equal ' role in society. In short, the stark contrast between Hero 's muteness and Beatrice 's unconventional vulgarity highlights Beatrice 's lack of a father to govern her and the way that women were viewed
On their wedding day, Claudio accuses Hero of having an affair. He says, “Give not this rotten orange to your friend; she’s but the sign and semblance of her honor. Behold how like a maid she blushes here! Oh, what authority and show of truth can cunning sin cover itself withall… Would you not swear, all you that see her, that she were a maid, by these exterior shows?
When she is alone with Benedick she bears a raging anger and exclaims “O God, that I were a man” twice but then later goes on to say that “manhood is melted into courtesies, valour into compliments and men are only turned into tongue”. Shakespeare’s use of metaphors may suggest that men used to be strong and powerful however now they have changed and are ‘all talk; no game’, meaning that they act strong and ‘manly’ however they do not act on the things they say they will do. Shakespeare could have been trying to imply that Beatrice was furious that they have superiority in society yet they do not use the power they have been effectively given and that men just try to appease women by saying they will do things but do not actually do them. He also might have been trying to suggest that Beatrice would rather have a powerful man who does everything he says he will despite her expressing how much she loved her independence and that she didn’t need a man in her life at the start of the play. However, Shakespeare implies Beatrice has some kind of jealousy towards men because they have the power she wishes she could be able to exert in society, which she cannot because she is a woman.
How does Shakespeare challenge the conventional role of women within the patriarchal society of 'Much Ado About Nothing.' 'Much Ado About Nothing' is set in a patriarchal society in the late 16th century. In a patriarchal society, men are the dominating sex and women are the oppressed ones. The play takes place over a course of three days. As so much happens during these three days, the events take place rapidly and can create confusion and misunderstanding. 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a play of wit, deception, and slander. It is full of darkness just as much as it is full of light. Beatrice constantly tries to oppose the views of her society with which she does not agree. The treatment of gender issues in 'Much Ado About Nothing' would have
In act 4 scene one he cause immense grief and shame to be brought on to the family of Hero the one he loves. Once again the Machivalian-esque character seeks to ruin the lives of everyone close to his brother. Claudio and Don Pedro are fools to Don Jon’s trickery and are led to believe that Hero was being unfaithful. I can’t blame them all too much though as they saw the shadows of another couple expressing their love in her room and mistaken that for Hero.
He also has feelings of dislike towards Beatrice as she does for him. One big difference between him and Beatrice is that at first he does not support Claudio’s decision to pursue Hero, he thinks he should stay a bachelor not become a husband. Towards the end of the play you can see his support of the couple when he is upset at the wedding scene and tries to defend Hero’s honor by saying the Princes have “bent honor”. What causes this change is that when he hears Claudio, Don John and Leonato stated that Beatrice loves him he reconsiders her, love and starts to over analyze everything she says and
She possessed the obedience and silence that attracted Claudio to her. These traits ensure Claudio that she would be submissive to him, far from the character of her cousin, Beatrice. Unfortunately, Jon Don’s evil scheme embedded in Claudio’s mind and brought doubt about Hero’s status. For a female to marry while still saving her virginity for her husband was highly expected; nevertheless Don John painted a picture of Hero being sexually active with one of his friends. I read somewhere that Don John could have been gay. I am strongly pushed to question his sexuality because he did strike out at the most humble female in the play. Was his actions jealousy or did he want Claudio? When the trust came out about the wrong doing that Don John had done, he ran away, but was captured. Was he running away with shame of his lie or because he thought others might question his sexuality too. Don John’s public demeanor was more in the lines of a female than Beatrice. After a research on Shakespeare, I was left wondering if he intended to reverse the sexual image of the two in Much Ado About
In act 2 Claudio expresses his love for Hero, which was looked down upon, but his speech professing his love to her is the most famous line in the whole play. In Act 2 scene 1 line 170-180 Claudio had just been told by “Benedick” which was actually Don Jon about how Don Pedro was wooing Hero for himself and that is when he gave
The topic of Hero’s honor and Claudio tarnishing it is a major subject matter that arises in the climax of Much Ado About Nothing, which is the wedding scene at the beginning of Act IV. This particular act revolves around how Claudio decides to publicly shame Hero while the other characters react to his accusations of her infidelity on the night before the wedding. Claudio’s need to shame the woman he loves without a second thought is an unusual behavior, and Leonato trusting Claudio’s claims over his own daughter’s honor is even more unexpected. In Shakespeare’s time, a woman’s chastity is what made her honorable and once that’s been violated her social status is almost completely lost. Shakespeare’s usage of metaphors and symbols instead of straightforward speech helps amplify the reactions of the characters at the wedding along with their