A Woman without a Husband Is Like a Fish without a Bicycle

“In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits.”- Arnold Schwarzenegger. During the Shakespearean Era, it was expected that women stay and act as a helper to her husband and remain undemanding, quiet, and dull. Women who defied these “rules” and started to act the way a majority of women do today, would be shunned and treated as if they were inhuman. In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, Beatrice is described as a woman who completely defies the standards of a woman and acts as though she is equal to men. Shakespeare portrays Beatrice as independent and outspoken to praise her features as ideal in a woman that would otherwise be shunned during his time.

Shakespeare portrays Beatrice as an independent woman to show his critique on society’s views towards a woman. Instead of giving Hero advice to listen to her father, Beatrice advises Hero to protest against her father and say “Father, as it please me” (II.i.55). Beatrice doesn’t like to be controlled by anybody regardless of their gender. Beatrice wants Hero to act more independent like herself in order to show her defiance towards gender roles. Shakespeare tries to say that women should have a say in their destiny. During Shakespeare’s time, women listened to their fathers, but Beatrice doesn’t listen to her uncle’s instruction unlike Hero. When Beatrice is asked if she wants a husband, she says “He that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I am not for him” (II.i.30). Beatrice sets such high standards in order to preserve her independence and prevent the loss of her liberty. She doesn’t want to let someone else steer her to a previously chosen destiny. She let her freewill guide her to her own destiny. She doesn’t ...

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...t the problem. She doesn’t want to hope for the best; She wants to take action. She says that if she were a man she would kill him. Beatrice is not afraid to say her thoughts, which shows that she is very outspoken. In Conclusion, Beatrice’s outspoken attitude is repeatedly emphasized by Shakespeare in order to show that he supports this kind of personality in a woman and is appalled by society’s standards for women.

In order to applaud her independent and outspoken personality, Shakespeare portrays these traits as positive things even though they were frowned upon during his time. Shakespeare’s objective in creating a character like Beatrice was to show his support for women to stand up for themselves and his praise for women who act independent. In the long run Hero will have her destiny planned out for her, while Beatrice will have her destiny planned out by her.