Chapter 2: Public Views On Changing Gender Roles

All throughout the beginning of the play, both Beatrice and Benedick use sarcasm and hide their true feelings for each other, which is the first example of tricky in their relationship. Both of them have vowed never to marry anyone; Benedick stating: "Because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the right to trust none; and the fine is, for the which I may go the finer, I will live a bachelor." (1.1.232–35), while Beatrice says, "No, uncle, I'll none. Adam's sons are my brethren, and truly I hold it a sin to match in my kindred." (2.1.59–60.) Their friends see that they are the perfect match for one another, and plan to trick them into confessing their love for each other. When Benedick is in the orchard, he overhears Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato talking about how Beatrice is in love with him but is afraid he will mock her if she tells him. Benedick believes them, saying, "This can be no trick." (2.3.217.) He then goes on to say, "I will be horribly in love with her." (2.3.230–31.) Later, Beatrice hears Hero and Ursula talking about how they can't tell her that Benedick loves her because she is a scornful person. After Hero and Ursula leave, Beatrice states:

Benedick’s attitude to love & marriage in ‘‘Much Ado About Nothing’’ In the play ‘‘Much Ado About Nothing’’ by William Shakespeare, the character of Benedick shows mixed emotions towards loves and marriage throughout. In the two extracts we studied, Benedick shows a large contrast of opinions: In Act 1 Scene 1, Benedick portrays strong feelings of contempt towards love and marriage, whereas by Act 2 Scene 3, Benedick has completely changed his views and he is prepared to make the commitment and marry Beatrice, a woman he appeared to dislike in the beginning of the play and who seemed to have mutual feelings towards Benedick. Act 1 Scene 1 portrays that Benedick has a very negative attitude towards love and marriage. When conversing with

Gender roles have progressed since the 1950s, and there is now more equality between genders. According to the encyclopedia Credo, “Gender roles are the set of expectations a society has about males and females. These expectations are multifaceted and include specifications about appearance, personality traits, emotions, interests, abilities, and occupations” (Blair and Lenton 1). The majority of people conform to those roles very early on, but sometimes the line blurs between masculinity and femininity. The fifties were known and classified as the era of stereotyping, but as we move forward the equality of the gender roles is more recognized. Women have had to deal with the rubbish of being stereotyped as the least important gender due to

On the other hand Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship is different; their relationship is not superficial but deeply rooted within them. They enjoy insulting each other as Benedick says to her ‘what my lady disdain! Are you yet living?’

In the play of Much Ado About Nothing, the characters of Benedick and Beatrice have a love-hate relationship. On the surface, it appears that their relationship is built on a war of wits and insults. However, in Benedick’s soliloquy, the reader discovers that at the core of their insults actually lie the true feelings of love. It is also apparent that Benedick even sees loving each other as a competition, in that he wants to love her to a point of outdoing her love for him. Not only is Benedick constantly warring with Beatrice, but he is also undergoing an internal struggle, which is made quite apparent in Benedick’s soliloquy in Act 2 Scene 3.

The change in Benedick's character is accompanied by the change in his relationship with Beatrice, as they move from 'merry war' and 'skirmish of wit' to become lovers, though Benedick does still protest that he 'love thee (Beatrice) against my will'.

Here, Beatrice compares Benedick to a fool; someone who makes his living by entertaining others. As well, she describes him as a dull and unpleasant person who is disliked by men. These lines truly depict Beatrice as a nasty and cruel character but in reality, she is deceiving Benedick and herself of her true feelings toward him in order to protect herself. However, this deception seriously hurts Benedick because although he will not admit it, he truly cares about her opinion. This is demonstrated when he complains to the Prince about the verbal abuse he received during the masquerade party: “She speaks poniards, and every word stabs (2.1. 244-245)”. However, Beatrice is not who she appears to be. Although she treats Benedick with utter disdain and contempt, she has strong feelings for him which she hides. This is seen when at the beginning of the play, she suddenly interrupts Leonato to inquire about Benedick's safety: “I pray you, is Signior Mountanto returned from the wars or no? (1.1.30-31)” This symbolizes her interest in him and her genuine feelings toward Benedick. Though she certainly comes off as a malicious and hurtful person, Beatrice does not want to be vulnerable again and we learn this from a reference made about a past relationship. When

Throughout history, gender roles have been the foundation that determines the course of a civilization. These gender roles have undergone a change over time. It is important for every society to re-evaluate its preconceived ideas of gender and determine if that is still the norm for their society. When people think of gender roles we typically have set stereotypes in our head of what that means. Much of the time, what we believe, is not what is actually true. It is often argued what is right and what is wrong.

Needless to say, Benedick and Beatrice are the antithesis of each other, for Beatrice is reasonable which means she is always trying to come up with a reason for what somebody has done or for what she is going to do, but Benedick is irrational which means he never needs a reason for what he does. Beatrice is crying because her cousin, Hero has just been slandered and killed by Claudio. Which is why she is asking Benedick to kill Claudio. Benedick laughs it off like it´s a joke the first time she asks. But, then he realizes that she is serious. ¨ As I have a thought”, “That’s enough for me”, “I’ll challenge him”, “I’ll kiss your hand”. This impacts the

In the beginning of the play, Benedick vows to never marry someone, however, this changes when Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato trick Benedick into thinking that Beatrice loves him. This leads Benedick into confessing his love to Beatrice in hope that she will tell him she loves him back. Benedick takes the opportunity to tell Beatrice about his love and tells her, “I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is that not strange?” (IV.i). At this point of the play, the characters are facing both confusion and anger. To ease the tensions steaming inside Beatrice, Benedick admits his love so she knows that he loves her back. So, when Benedick asks Beatrice if loving her is “strange”, he expects her to say that it is not and that she feels the same way. However, after Benedick reveals his love, Beatrice is shocked. In response, she tells Benedick that his love is not “strange”, but she cannot think about loving someone while her cousin was in so much pain after the devastation Claudio causes her at their wedding. Although it seems bizarre that Benedick would bring up his love for Beatrice at this time in the process of a relationship falling apart, but Benedick would most likely argue that it made sense to mention his love to Beatrice to either get her mind off of Hero or she would not even comprehend what he said because her mind is too busy thinking about what to do about

Claudio and Hero's views of love are very different to Beatrice and Benedick's, as they both vowed that they will never marry at the beginning of the play. Their relationship starts with witty insults as they were trying to deceive themselves that they do not love the other. However, they seem to throw their beliefs about love away as soon as they hear about someone loving them. “Here comes Beatrice. By this day, she’s a fair lady. I do spy some marks of love in her,” (2, 3, 244-246) this line shows how Benedick loves for Beatrice, and that he was trying to hide this love by always criticizing her. “And Benedick, love on; I will requite thee,

Throughout life every man and woman fits into a specific gender role. We are told what is expected of men and women from birth until death. Many people influence our view of how we should act and what we should say such as our parents, friends, and even the media. Males and females play very different roles and these differences are apparent in our every day lives. These differences are not the same as they used to be. Society has changed the way it treats men and women over time.

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.

By using the intense phrases like ‘I lose more blood’ this could also convey that love is something he knows he may be hurt by. Similarly Beatrice states that no man is good enough for her and then also declares her intentions of remaining bachelor. However Beatrice’s confident chatter can be just a cover of her inner insecurities. She may talk as if she definitely will not marry when really she is afraid of this as her age is rapidly increasing; this is a feeling of desperation. Overall, the similarity between their views and feelings sparks a kind of sweet compatibility between them. This shines through their obstinate attitudes reflecting the idea that a love relationship has the potential to evolve. However, this is also makes the end (where they are indeed in love) more surprising therefore presenting their relationship as quite volatile.

However, upon hearing of Beatrice’s love for him he is suddenly perplexed and it does not take him long to decide that he will give that affection back in return.  How easily persuaded Benedick is.  This may come from the way Claudio, Don Pedro, and Leonato (Benedick’s associates) depict Beatrice as the most wonderful woman in Messina.  They talk of Beatrice as if she were the most magnificent woman so that Benedick will do exactly what he does indeed do.  When Benedick hears of this he must be thinking of what he has said before about his desire for the perfect woman.  In his speech he says that “the lady is fair . . . / . . . And virtuous. . . / . . . And wise[,]” which is exactly what Benedick demands in the woman that he will choose to be his wife.  However, Benedick only believes these things about Beatrice because of what Claudio, Don Pedro, and Leonato have said about her.  They only said them to convince Benedick that Beatrice was deserving of him and that she loved him with all her heart.  They told Benedick just what he wanted to hear.  It is a scheme made of lies, but it works because Benedick is persuaded and begins to agree with what they have said.  By doing this he is already influencing himself to follow the opposite path from the one that he has adhered to for years.  Here he is already starting to fool himself into believing Beatrice is the one for him