Patriarchy In William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

The female role during Shakespeare’s era is that of daughter, wife, or mother. There was no greater ambition to which women could aspire, especially for the women of the upper class. The only gain a woman could make was to find a good match for a husband. In Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare portrays the perceived faults, flaws, and fidelity the women of his time faced through the characters Hero and Beatrice. In Much Ado About Nothing, Hero and Beatrice, while cousins, are opposite sides of the same coin; and are as different as day and night. Hero is the height of respectable femininity as a quiet and dutiful daughter. While Beatrice’s witty, outspoken and opinionated personality is a mark against her beauty. Both of the women represent two very different versions of a female, yet, in the end, both of them are defined by the act of marriage. Stressing that the highest that these women could reach was for a husband.

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

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Shakespeare pushes the gender boundaries in Much Ado About Nothing as men were considered very much superior to women. Expectations of how they should behave was based on gender and class in society. Women were seen and not heard and were referred to constantly throughout the play as objects, untrustworthy,submissive and unfaithful.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare "Much Ado About Nothing" in fact has a great deal to say about love and marriage. What is Shakespeare trying to tell us about relationships between men and women? Compare the play's treatment of love with that in "Silas Marner" In "Much Ado About Nothing" there are many different forms of love and relationships that range from youthful infatuation to parental love. Shakespeare makes many comments about men and women and shows the audience a variety of both romantic and platonic relationships.

Drama text, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is a romantic comedy revolved around marriage, dishonesty and love. In 2007, the original play had been interpreted and adapted into a new film text; Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare Retold. This new film version is an adaption for the modern audience who’s views around love and marriage have changed since Elizabethan times. Brian Percival ‘Retold’ the original play, first published in 1623 by reinterpreting it into his own understanding of modern society with the focus of women’s roles nowadays. Whilst doing this Percival has maintained many of Shakespeare’s intentions.

In William Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing, love has played a major rule as theme in this play. Shakespeare discussed different kinds of loving relationships; romantic love, family support and loyal friendship, and he shows how different characters react to love in many different ways. The main plot of Much Ado About Nothing is that of the relationship between Claudio and Hero, and the hidden love between Benedick and Beatrice. Similarly, deception is a big concept to consider as a theme in this play. Each of the main characters being the victim of deception; Shakespeare in this play shows that deception is not inherently evil, but can also be pure.

Hero, the unfortunate damsel in distress, sacrificing her own marriage and pretending to perish in order to ameliorate the reputation of her family, compelled to work upon the words of other’, Hero is actually a hero according to the denotation of the word “hero” in “Much Ado About Nothing.” Born into royalty, Hero endures a traumatic incident, but eventually achieves her destiny. One of Shakespeare’s major themes is deception regarding gender roles. With his use of characteristic archetypes, he evokes that deception is what lies between perception and reality, which in this case drives Claudio to misconstrue the reality. A man’s superiority towards a woman is prominent throughout the play and Shakespeare recognizes that a woman’s place in society is much more than standing inferior to men. By portraying Hero’s death, he shows the immense guilt Claudio suffers form and merely suggests that Hero is more than just an object. She is a hero, who, with her sacrificial death, cleanses her family’s reputation and marries the man of her drema. Overcoming the abominable deception imprinted upon Hero, she proclaims herself a hero by fulfilling her goals and through her role, Shakespeare portrays the role of women via society’s views on gender roles.

William Shakespeare’s play Much Ado about Nothing traverses the complex social, and emotional trials and triumphs of romantic relationships; Shakespeare’s perspective on the subject is both very similar to ours today, and different. Although filled with sexual innuendos, and humorous trickery and shenanigans, Much Ado about Nothing also dives into the complexities of social anxieties, defense mechanisms to cope with the social pressures, and the emotions involved.

The theme for honour and fidelity apply for both men and women in Shakespeare’s play ‘much ado about nothing’. Honour and fidelity is represented very differently for men and women as it would have been for the people in Elizabethan times. In this first section of the essay, I will be exploring double standards and Shakespeare’s awareness of the double standards between sexes and his feminist approach, the differences of honour and fidelity for men and women and upper class and lower class comparisons.

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.

The distinction between social classes appears prominently in Shakespeare’s plays as the nobility contrasts greatly with characters of base rank in their language and demeanor. Although the outward appearances of the different classes remain consistent with stereotypes of Shakespeare’s time, he contradicts the expected behaviors of these groups. Through the portrayal of leaders of society, Shakespeare reveals that despite their significant power and privilege, the members of the upper class lack the sensibility to rule successfully, and they rarely act in an honorable manner, only using their power to benefit themselves while neglecting the people they preside over. This uniformity throughout all of the leaders suggests that Shakespeare believes

There are many perspectives on how Much Ado About Nothing can be read. The uncertainty is common in all of Shakespeare’s plays, however, it is different compared to ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. It is fair to say that Much Ado About Nothing is a sexist play. The mistreatment of women seems to be a common problem and is present in the arranged marriage between Hero and Claudio, Margaret not knowing what Borachio intended, and the idea becoming unsexed by Beatrice. The misinterpretation of Shakespeare’s liking to focus mostly on male characters must be thought carefully.

William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is supposed to be a comedy and for the most part it is, but tragedy still strikes even in the happiest of times. Leonato loved and cherished his daughter, Hero, but when her soon to be husband, Claudio, claims she was unfaithful, Leonato is enraged (page 58). This one pretension completely changes everything for Hero and Leonato. As a result of the claim, Leonato tells his once dear Hero “ … But fare thee well, most foul, most fair! … For thee I’ll lock up all the gates of love.”(page 60). Leonato’s reaction to hero’s supposed unfaithfulness alters their relationship

Shakespeare and the members of the Elizabethan era would be appalled at the freedoms women experience today.  The docility of Elizabethan women is almost a forgotten way of life. What we see throughout Shakespeare’s plays is an insight into the female character as perceived by Elizabethan culture.  Shakespeare’s female characters reflect the Elizabethan era’s image of women; they were to be virtuous and obedient and those that were not were portrayed as undesirable and even evil.