954 shakespeare, William
with philosophical exuberance, the relationships
between men and women in the play’s complicated,
appearance-obsessed location of Messina, Italy.
The main characters of the play, Beatrice and
Benedick, consistently disagree, often feigning
extreme dislike for one another. Because of the
crafty tricks of Don John, the prince of Aragon’s
illegitimate brother, Beatrice’s cousin, Hero, suffers
damage to her reputation. Beatrice decides, upon
seeing her cousin’s silently accepted injustice, to con-
coct a plan that will eradicate any belief that Hero
has been sexually promiscuous before marriage.
Unfortunately, because of the rigid social restric-
tions in Messina, all of Don John’s friends except
for Benedick believe in Hero’s guilt. It is only when
Hero falsifies her own suicide that the men recog-
nize the power of gossip and pride. Hero marries
her love, Claudio, and Beatrice, having witnessed
Benedick’s loyalty and honorable actions, falls in
love and promises to marry him at the play’s close.
Through the adventures of Beatrice and Benedick,
Shakespeare addresses issues of gender, pride,
nationalism, and identity in his comedy.
Much Ado about Nothing proves a delightful play,
happily concluded in the marriage of two couples.
Although Messina emerges as a complex city filled
with gossip, betrayal, and charlatans, Shakespeare
resolves his work with the hero’s triumph and a
couple’s kiss.
Susan Lee
Gender in Much Ado about Nothing
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing
takes place in Messina, a city governed by tradi-
tional gender roles of heroic masculine men and
submissive, silent women. As a result, the city’s
characters develop linguistic defense mechanisms
against emotional vulnerability in order to both fol-
low and protect themselves from patriarchal values.
The language of the play’s male figures centers on
jokes of cuckoldry, while Beatrice, Leonato’s niece
and the predominant female figure, relies on exces-
sive displays of wit to hide her emotional anxieties.
In each case, traditional gender roles influence the
behavior of the men and women of Shakespeare’s
play, drawing attention to the roles’ significance in
daily interaction.
The play begins with a messenger’s arrival at
Leonato’s court, delivering news of heroes returned
from war. Shortly afterward, Don Pedro, Claudio,
Don John, and Benedick arrive in person to speak
with Leonato. In this scene, the cuckold jokes oper-
ate as the center of verbal expression. When asked if
Hero is his daughter, for example, Leonato replies,
“Her mother hath many times told me so,” illus-
trating the governor’s mistrust of a woman’s word
(1.1.105). The conversation between Claudio and
Benedick develops the same ideas. When Claudio
reveals his love for Hero, Benedick chides and teases
him for his consideration of heterosexual love and
marriage, whereupon Benedick replies, “Go to /
I’faith; an thou wilt needs thrust thy neck into a
yoke, / wear the print of it and sign away Sundays”
(1.1.191–193). Later, Benedick continues, jesting:That a woman conceived me, I thank her;
that she brought me up, I likewise give her
most humble
thanks. But that I will have a recheat
winded in my
forehead or hang my bugle in an invisible
baldrick, all
women shall pardon me. Because I will not
do them
the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself
the right to
trust none; and the fine is, for the which I
may go the
finer, I will live a bachelor. (1.1.238–245)Benedick’s statements clearly reveal his concern for
appearances and his paranoid fear of being a cuck-
old since to be a cuckold means to play the fool. In
a city such as Messina, his livelihood as a war hero
and the respect of his peers depend on exhibitions
of strength and masculinity. Benedick’s language,
in particular the cuckold jokes, become his and the
other masculine figures’ masks of defense against
feminine power in Messina.
Just as the masculine figures fear emotional
vulnerability, so Beatrice acknowledges the same
threat. Beatrice’s predominant verbal defense mech-
anism is wit. From the beginning of the play, the
other characters remark on her creative banter. In