Shakespearean Drama
By Fuat ÖZKUL, (May 23, 2006; METU – Ankara)
2. Much Ado About Nothing
Discuss how far Beatrice is an unconventional and how far a conventional girl.
As She Likes It
Beatrice is an unconventional girl because she is the witty, strong-willed, cynical, and courageous. She carries on an insulting witty tournament of words with Benedick, with whom she later falls in love. At the beginning of the play, Leonato declares that there is a “merry war” between Beatrice and Benedick: “They never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them” (1.1.50–51). Beatrice carries on this martial imagery, describing how, when she won the last duel with Benedick, “four of his five wits went halting off” (1.1.53). When Benedick arrives, their witty exchange resembles the blows and parries of a well-executed fencing match.
The “merry war” (1.1.62) between Beatrice and Benedick constitutes the verbal and intellectual comedic elements in the play. They display a carefully matched intelligence, humor, and humanity that is unmatched among the couples who people Shakespeare’s comedies.
Beatrice is an unconventional strong female character who marries only after asserting her disapproval for the traditionally voiceless role of women in marriage of the time..She refuses to marry because she has not discovered the perfect, equal partner and because she is unwilling to eschew her liberty and submit to the will of a controlling husband.
In her frustration and rage about Hero’s mistreatment, Beatrice rebels against the unequal status of women in Renaissance society. “O that I were a man for his sake! Or that I had any friend would be a man for my sake!” she passionately exclaims. “I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving” (4.1.312–318). She addresses the inequalities of 16th c. marriage and attacks the patriarchal nature of marriage in society.Marriage is for Beatrice, a logical choice to make the best out of a possibly undesirable social situation for women.
Beatrice is certainly a very unconventional as she is the play’s witty and cynical heroine.She speaks:
What should I do with him—dress him in my
apparel and make him my waiting gentlewoman?
He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he
that hath no beard is less than a man; and he that
is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is
less than a man, I am not for him. (2.1.28–32)
These lines constitute Beatrice’s witty explanation for why she must remain an unmarried woman and eventually an old maid: there is no man who would be a perfect match for her. Those who possess no facial hair are not manly enough to satisfy her desires, whereas those who do possess beards are not youthful enough for her. Beatrice’s desire for a man who is caught between youth and maturity was in fact the sexual ideal at the time.
One of the most significant lines is when Beatrice tells Benedick to “Kill Claudio” (4.1.287). She asks this as a way for Benedick to prove his love for her. Her demand essentially forces Benedick to choose between the brotherly love of men and the loyalty of a man to his wife. Beatrice knows that she must destroy Benedick’s former male bonding. Her order is therefore a command for Benedick to support her against Claudio, and represents the only way for them to have a mature relationship. Therfore she is really an unconventional girl who wants everything as she likes it.
Yet Beatrice is a conventional girl. Although she appears hardened and sharp, she is really vulnerable. Once she overhears Hero describing that Benedick is in love with her, she opens herself to the sensitivities and weaknesses of love. In addition like most women do she likes eavesdropping. When the women manipulate Beatrice into believing that Benedick adores her, they conceal themselves in the orchard so that Beatrice can better note their conversation. Since they know that Beatrice loves to eavesdrop, they are sure that their plot will succeed: “look where Beatrice like a lapwing runs / Close by the ground to hear our conference,” notes Hero (3.1.24–25. Each line the women speak is a carefully placed note for Beatrice to take up and ponder.
Beatrice’s vow to submit to Benedick’s love by “taming my wild heart to thy loving hand” (3.1.113), suggesting that Benedick is to become Beatrice’s master. Although she is also a confirmed bachelor, she plans to marry Benedick by the end of the play.
WORKS CITED
Shakespeare, W. Much Ado About Nothing. New York: Washington Square Press,1992.
