Gender Roles In Much Ado About Nothing

Abigail Penn

Mrs. Mazzaferro

Honors English 2

March 6, 2023 On June fourth, 1919, the U.S. Congress passed what is now known as the nineteenth amendment- women’s voting rights. This legislation played an influential role in the transformation of defining women's rights. Our current generation remains focused on expanding these principles and bringing awareness to women’s rights. Unfortunately, before the nineteenth amendment, it was considered acceptable to demoralize women and judge them as nothing more than housewives. In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, the story was set in the 16th century. The novel revolves around Beatrice and Benedick- a classic trope of enemies to lovers. Beatrice evolves throughout the novel as she originally

One can claim that Beatrice’s personality is particularly altered due to deception and love, but Beatrice consistently remains steadfast when sharing her controversial yet clarifying judgments concerning women’s rights. Beatrice, both confident and witty, significantly impacts the book's claim regarding gender issues. Though it may not be socially accepted, Beatrice will speak her mind, no matter how much disrespect comes with her words. She wants to be heard, as she regularly makes it clear to others that she knows what she wants. Enduring her independence, Beatrice makes it very clear she has no interest in following patriarchal views when she rejects her uncle's advice of marrying a man. Shakespeare uses contrast to explain that Beatrice typically wouldn’t be preferred by men. Hero is the complete opposite of Beatrice. She rarely talks and does what she is

Claudio was under the false impression that Hero cheated on him; and instead of confronting her privately, he decided to brutally humiliate her at their wedding. Using extremely offensive language, Claudio and his friends describe Hero as a “common stale” and a “rotten orange” (IV.i.32-68). Not only did Claudio disrespect Hero; even Hero’s own father didn’t believe her. He doesn’t doubt any claim made by Claudio, as he wanted to die after hearing this information, saying “Hath no man’s dagger here a point for me?” (IV.i.114). After this situation, Beatrice plays a crucial role in bringing Hero justice. Beatrice is aware of the patriarchal standards set, thus she knew she wouldn’t be able to save Hero’s reputation. Beatrice claims that if she were a man, everyone would listen to her tell the truth. Beatrice then seeks a new alternative- Benedick. At this point in the play, Beatrice and Benedick are together. Benedick also agreed that Hero had been falsely accused. So, Beatrice asked Benedick to fight Claudio, in order to stand up for Hero. Initially, Benedick rejects the idea. He changes his mind when Beatrice threatens that if he loved her, he needed to prove it: “Use it for my love some other way than swearing by it” (IV.i.341-342). By pressuring Benedick, Beatrice makes it clear