A central theme in "Much Ado About Nothing" is that of the literary tradition of a heroine within the social conventions surrounding women. The literary tradition of the time (and, in many cases, to the present day) gives the heroine conventional beauty, modesty and etiquette, submissive and obedient to the will of men. Literary convention also presents the heroine with a series of obstacles that, through no fault of her own, she is forced to overcome. In the end, she prevails, and the Shakespearean tale typically ends with a joyous wedding ceremony, often an alliance between two families. However, the modern literary tradition generates an unconventional heroine, an independent, assertive and articulate young woman who overcomes prejudice and injustice. In “Much Ado About Nothing,” Shakespeare presents us with both the conventional Elizabethan heroine and the unconventional (more modern) heroine in Hero and Beatrice, using a variety of effective literary methods, to demonstrate extreme differences in character. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The social expectations of women in Elizabethan society were that they should submit to the will of their fathers, marry men of their fathers' choosing, often as a way of making auspicious family alliances, and remain submissive to their husbands. They had no role or autonomy of their own, only within the contexts of their men. Expected to be beautiful, modest and chaste, the "right" Hero, at the beginning of the play, fits the role perfectly. Claudius was actually chosen as a husband by his father, with Hero uncomplainingly submitting to his duty to "be ruled by your father", thus matching the social norm of the time. Initially, in fact, she believed she was being courted by Don Pedro, yet, when Claudio was presented to her as the real suitor, she had no apparent doubts in accepting his proposal: she is simply at her father's disposal. The discussions between Don Pedro and Claudio about proxy courtship reveal no hint that Claudio's cause might be rejected by Hero; the thought that she might have free will doesn't even loom as a possibility: "I will open my heart... And the bottom line is, she will be yours." Shakespeare gives virtually no speeches to Hero in the first act, although she is central to much of what is happening, and she is soon presented simply as a chattel to be discussed and "allocated." Traditional female modesty is clearly represented; on the eve of his wedding, his virginal anxiety shines through all his concern about his clothes, and in response to a ribald statement from Margaret, his modesty, even in private, is such that he exclaims “Shame on you! " . Even Hero's fainting before the altar on his wedding day, when his honor is besmirched, seems not only a dramatic device, but also a literary device to demonstrate his modesty and feminine sensitivity. (One can hardly imagine Beatrice reacting this way.) Furthermore, the subsequent continued pretense of death is not Hero's idea, which would show her taking control of her own destiny, but is instead the idea of ​​yet another another man, the Friar: "Declare that she is really dead." Thus, even when her reputation, indeed her entire future, is in danger, Hero remains passive, at the disposal of men. The death-like fainting, essential to Shakespeare's plot, is perhaps the height of female submission. Throughout the work, Hero is presented as the archetypal traditional heroine, the romantic ideal. The language used fordescribing her is flowery and tender: "jewel", object of "soft and delicate desires", "the sweetest woman I have ever seen". Furthermore, for such an important character, his speeches of any substance are few, he usually speaks only when spoken to, and almost always in blank verse - traditional female reticence is clearly shown throughout. However, the Elizabethan tradition of submissive and meek women was violated by Queen Elizabeth I herself. A strong, defiant, independent and intelligent woman, the Queen challenged contemporary perceptions of women and their place in society. Such a woman was Beatrice. At the polar opposite of Hero, and completely at odds with the traditional heroine, Shakespeare presents us, in Beatrice, with a heroine we are more familiar with seeing in modern drama. Shakespeare gives us a heroine capable of two different interpretations. Either we see a tired, aging, cynical and embittered spinster, who uses her wits and defensive jokes to gain attention, or we see Beatrice as an independent and exuberant woman, courageous and loyal, determined not to fall into the role expected to be submissive. wife. “He who is more than a youth is not for me, and he who is less than a man, I am not for him.” The Beatrice that I find in "Molto Noiso" is the strong, independent, atypical woman. Interestingly, this play is one of the few comedies in which none of the female protagonists dress up as men in order to speak frankly or bluntly. The character of Beatrice was written so that this is her usual way of speaking. In her first exchange with Benedick, we see a woman who couldn't be more different from the reticent and passive Hero. We are introduced to a woman who wants to dominate the conversation, who is witty, aggressive: "she wears her wedding ring but like the fashion of her hat; it always changes with the next block." Indeed, throughout the work, it is so direct as to be at times obscene, with many references to stuffing and horns, allusions usually limited to men. This provides a stark contrast to Hero's modesty discussed earlier. Likewise, in what is usually a masculine conversational style, Beatrice makes many hunting allusions: "I will repay you, I tame my wild heart to your loving hand." (an allusion to falconry). Unlike Hero, Beatrice is not depicted as a father's gift to a husband. Instead, we are very aware of a woman determined to take charge of her own destiny, disdainful of the tradition of romantic love: "I would rather hear my dog ​​bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me." Indeed, the first Beatrice even rejects the idea of ​​marriage, "Not until God creates men of a metal other than earth", and is again presented as the antithesis of the traditional heroine. (There is evidence that her cynicism stems from a previous failed involvement with Benedick, which may go to explain her rejection of all romantic conventions: "once before, he (her heart) won it for me with false dice." .) If this aggressive banter and rejection of female wiles and aspirations were all we saw of Beatrice, Shakespeare would have given us a very one-dimensional character, with little charm. Beatrice, on the other hand, appears much rounder. She is described as a very happy person: "There is little of the melancholic element in her" and is clearly devastated by the wrongs done to Hero. Not only is she given weaknesses like eavesdropping love which Hero, Margaret, and Ursula exploit to convince her of Benedick's "love" for her, but we also see fierce loyalty towards Hero when she is falsely accused of infidelity. In fact, Beatrice's loyalty to her cousin is such that it never comes to her.).