Beatrice of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
One of the most intriguing characters from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing must be Beatrice. An intelligent, well-spoken (and, perhaps more interesting, outspoken) young woman, she is an almost exact opposite of her cousin, Hero. What makes Beatrice so different than what one expects of a woman during Shakespeare’s time? Why did Shakespeare decide to make her such a strong female character? It begs the question of what women were actually like in the Tudor era, and if she was really so radical a character.
Beatrice is very different than the common expectation of women by people looking back on Shakespeare’s period and of the public of Shakespeare’s time in many ways. As previously stated, she is outspoken, intelligent and does not wish to be married. This is strange, considering that around the time that Shakespeare was writing (give or take a few hundred years), women were being restricted in their studies, writing and in society (Wiesner, 3). There are many examples of women being restricted by the law in society, as Merry E. Wiesner stated in her essay:
In regard to the basic obligations and duties of citizenship, little distinction was made between men and women; all heads of households were required to pay taxes… and obey all laws. Beyond that, however, there were clear legal restrictions on what the female half of the population could do. Women differed from men in their ability to be witnesses, make wills, act as guardians for their own children… These limitations appear in the earliest extant law codes and were sharpened and broadened as the law codes themselves were expanded. (4)
With societal views such as this, it was no doubt odd to see such a...
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... even a bit closer to the ideals about women presented at the time. In many ways, Beatrice is ahead of her time as far as how she is presented. In other ways, though, she is no different than real women, and is simply a representation of those real women on the stage (such as Queen Elizabeth I). Though she is almost the exact opposite of her more mainstream idea cousin, Hero, Beatrice is not so taboo or radical when it comes down to a deeper inspection of women, society and her character.
Works Cited
Marcus, Leah S. “Shakespeare’s Comic Heroines, Elizabeth I, and the Political Uses of Androgyny.” Women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. pp 135-153
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing.
Sim, Alison. The Tudor Housewife. pp 3, 126. Wiesner, Merry E. “Women’s Defense of Their Public Role.” Women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. pp 1-27.
In Dante and Difference, Jeremy Tambling asserts that “Beatrice is throughout dealt with in the Commedia with the assumption that she will already be a familiar figure” in order to make the point that the Commedia “is not offering itself as a single, separate, autonomous work”. While I agree with Tambling’s claim about the need to read the Commedia as a part of a greater work (and the possible ways of doing this are endless—Vita Nuova a preparation for the Commedia, Commedia as “sequel” to Vita Nuova, etc) there is something inherently flawed with the first part of his statement: the idea of Beatrice as “familiar” figure. For Beatrice is actually anything but familiar. Tambling is, of course, referring to the fact that anyone reading the Commedia who has read the Vita Nuova will recognize Beatrice—but the implication is that such a reader will have more knowledge of her than someone reading Dante for the first time. In actual fact, the opposite is the case. In the Vita Nuova , we have accompanied Dante in his breathless chase through visions and painstaking re-writings, elaborate lies and fainting fits in the arguably vain attempt to make sense of, to track or write down a woman who has always managed to be the proverbial two steps ahead. By the opening lines of the Inferno, Beatrice is only familiar in her unfamiliarity: we know her as the one who escaped the Vita Nuova unmarked and unwritten, leaving Dante to “no...
Beatrice is a woman who is very witty and does not believe that a husband is the right life path for her. She and Benedick argue with each other about marriage. To validate her point Beatrice says, “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me” (I.i.129). This shows that Beatrice is outspoken because she is saying that she would rather hear a dog bark over and over again and be annoyed at a crow than hear “a man swear he loves” her. Beatrice is not fitting the standards because she is very independent and does not feel like she needs a mad to be happy. As the story progresses, Beatrice disobeys traditional society by saying she doesn’t need a man and that she would publicly attack someone like a man. As Claudio publicly humiliates Hero, Beatrice is furious and says, "O, that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands, and then, with public accusations, undercover slander, unmitigated rancor- O god, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace” (IV.i.317). Beatrice is saying that if she were a man, she would fight. She would kill him with “slander” and “rancor” if she were a “man”. Beatrice would violently “eat his heart in the marketplace” Beatrice wants to hurt Claudio and it angers her that as a woman, she can not defend her cousin for what Claudio did. This defies the gender expectation of a Renaissance woman because as
A major concern in both the film and the original text is the ‘status of women’. This is represented through the differing roles of women and their denigration within the Elizabethan society. For instance, Hero is accused of committing infidelity; consequently her image in society is tarnished, In addition to this, Claudio insults Hero publicly without even considering confirming the accusation of her being unchaste. This is illustrated through Claudio slandering Hero through the use of usage of Greek Mythological allusions “You seem to as Dian in her orb, but you are more intemperate than Venus in y...
Much Ado About Nothing is a tale of two very different relationships. The relationship between Beatrice, the niece of the Governor of Messina and Benedick, a close friend of the Nobleman Don Pedro and that of a young soldier called Claudio and The Governor’s young and beautiful daughter Hero.
Two hundred years ago, during the reign of Queen Victoria in England, the social barriers of the Victorian class system firmly defined the roles of women. The families of Victorian England were divided into four distinct classes: the Nobility or Gentry Class, the Middle Class, the Upper Working Class, and lastly, the Lower Working class . The women of these classes each had their own traditional responsibilities. The specifics of each woman’s role were varied by the status of her family. Women were expected to adhere to the appropriate conventions according to their place in the social order . For women in Victorian England their lives were regulated by these rules and regulations, which stressed obedience, loyalty, and respect.
Viola and Beatrice both take on men's roles, Viola that of a manservant and Beatrice that of the perpetual bachelor and the clown: "I was born to speak all mirth and no matter," she says to Don Pedro [II.i.343-4]. They appear to be actors and manipulators, much more so than their female predecessors, who are mostly reactive and manipulated, such as Hermia, Helena, Titania, and Gertrude. None of these women seemed in charge of her own destiny, but tricked by the schemes of men and later scorned or humiliated as a result of male machinations. Viola and Beatrice, although they both seem fiercely independent and comfortable in a man's world, reveal themselves to have only the trappings of manhood, and not its full capacity for action. They are undone by unrequited love, made desperately unhappy by their inability to woo the man of their choosing. In the end, it is only coincidence and the plotting of other characters that bring the true nature of their affections into the open and thus force the plays to their respective matrimonial conclusions.
Beatrice is, without a doubt, one of the strongest female characters that Shakespeare ever came up with in his time of writing. Shakespeare shows, through Beatrice, how every woman should act in an era where only the men were even able to have control. In this era, or the renaissance time, no woman had free will; they were always told what they could and could not do, as well as, who they were to marry. In the play “Much Ado About Nothing” Beatrice has many qualities but the ones that stand out the most in the play are: her independence, her feistiness, and of course her openness to defy male subjection.
Rosalind and Beatrice, the principal female characters of Shakespeare's As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing respectively, are the epitome of Shakespeare's ideal woman. From these two characters, we can see personality traits and characteristics of what Shakespeare might have considered the perfect woman. Rosalind and Beatrice are characterized by their beauty, integrity, strength of character, intelligence, gaiety, seriousness, and warmth.
Greene, Lenz, Neely, eds. The Woman's Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1980.
In William Shakespeare's short play Much Ado About Nothing, he focuses on the social standings and the roles of women in 16th Century Europe. The female protagonist of the play, Beatrice, understands the restrictions placed upon her by society and how these restrictions should limit her as a woman, but she inexorably escapes them by refusing to succumb to the unifying hand of marriage. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displays his profound respect for woman as independent individuals who are fully capable of making their own decisions and suffering their own consequences. Through the plot, he proposes the idea that women who deviate away from the passivity that society expects them to perform attain a more active role in the determination of their future. Contrary to the roles of women of the 16th Century, Shakespeare depiction of Beatrice's independence is symbolic of his stance on the progression and transformation of women's reputation in society.
Beatrice is an extremely crucial character in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. She is one of the reasons that many plans and schemes fall into place to provide us with the outcome that the play finally reaches. Shakespeare depicts Beatrice as a very strong character who knows what she wants and how she wants to achieve it. Her characteristics of sharp wit and her ability to be acutely opinionated allow her to be a notable contrast from the other women in the play, whether this be in a positive or a negative way.
In conclusion, gender role in Elizabethan era is very complex with respect to women’s role. Men are the masters of the home and society; they preside over every aspect of life. They are however, expected to take care of their family and also be actively involved in politics, war, and they inherit their father’s properties. Women role varied a according to their social status. All women were raised to be subservient to men. Unlike upper class women, lower class women were denied any kind of education. And all women are expected to get married and bear children. The qualities Shakespeare gave Beatrice are very significant because it contrasts traditional Elizabethan theater. Gender role has evolved over time, especially women’s role and it will continue to evolve as long as there are women like Beatrice around.
They had similar characteristics Nevertheless, Beatrice was a unique woman in Shakespeare’s society. Beatrice occupies the complementary female role, the shrew who is curst with ill-temper and hatred of men. (Scheff)She was one of Shakespeare heroines who didn’t see herself as inferior to men in a difficult period for women. In addition, Beatrice was really proficient with words using this skill to make fun of other people. For instance, when she told Benedick: “A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.” (Shakespeare). Benedick and Beatrice were like the same side of a coin that way. Benedick making fun of other people was his life. For example, when he told Beatrice: “Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher.” (Shakespeare)Throughout the play, they use figurative language to make fun of other people which were quite amusing and fascinating. The dialogue between Beatrice and Benedick suggest the presence of undifferentiated versions of the same emotions. They claim to scorn love and to be looking for the ideal partner which was hilarious because after a great deceit they discovered they belonged
Differences between Beatrice and Hero in the early scenes of Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado about Nothing’
The play, The Merchant of Venice drastically altered the perception of women during the time as Shakespeare makes women during the Italian Renaissance appear independent and intellectual, such as the beautiful Portia and the young Jessica. This play shows that women are not only beautiful people to look at but also powerful and intelligent individuals. The characteristics of the women in this play show the possibilities of equality between men and