Honour and Fidelity Varies for Men and Women in the play Much Ado about Nothing

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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. In order for men to be honourable, they should do great deeds in war which gives them good recognition. From the very beginning of the play we see evidence of this when Leonato says in act 1, scene 1. Leonato: ‘I find here that …bestowed much honour on….Claudio’. Deeds in war of course come hand in hand with reputation and a good name which plays an important role in the play. Another quotation showing the importance of a good name is where Hero talks to Ursula about Benedick in the garden scene in Act 3 Scene 1. Hero: ‘Indeed, he hath an excellent good name’. Another important aspect of honour and fidelity for men are friendship or comradeship. The men’s loyalty to their friends was very important as it showed that they were trustworthy and could bestow that trust upon each other. In 1:1:64 Beatrice says ‘He hath every month a new sworn brother,’ at this point Beatrice and Benedick aren’t getting on so well she states this as to mock him and later says that ‘He wears faith as the fashion of his hat.’ For women, honour and fidelity meant very different things to what it did for a man. In order for them to gain honour and fidelity, they had to do very things in order for it to be achieved. Women do not expect fidelity from men... ... middle of paper ... ...s many times as he likes ‘the more the better’ in a man’s world however if a women was to sleep around then she would be considered a ‘whore’ and would be slated for it. This shows that although women have a lot more rights in the modern world, the rules in sexuality and honour have not changed a great deal since Shakespearean times. In conclusion, Shakespeare has used the concept of honour and fidelity throughout the play. He shows many different aspects of honour and fidelity through his characters, the contrasting differences between men and women. He shows us what how important these traits are to Elizabethan society and if honour was ever lost in the upper classes the consequences were never too pleasant. Shakespeare even shows us the true loyalty between Benedick and Beatrice which gives and insight to his feminist views which were quite modern for the time.

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