You also see in another of Shakespeare plays his perceived role of women. This play is of course the famous Romeo and Juliet. In this play Juliet's parents decide on a man she should marry, this mans name is Paris, a highly eligible bachelor. In the story Juliet's parents come to meet her and tell her that they have found a suitable man for her, but she was deeply in love with Romeo. In that particular play her parents forebode her to marry Romeo, or any of his relations simply because of a family feud. This resulted in both of them committing suicide. This is a good example of why the attitude towards women at the time was a particularly poor one.
The first relationship I will discuss is the relationship between Claudio and Hero. Claudio was a young officer and was very close friend of the prince, Don Pedro; Claudio himself was a lord of Florence. He was a very rich man and owned a lot of property so he was an ideal husband for most women. Hero was the daughter of Leonato, who was the governor of Messina. This was a big incentive for Claudio to marry her because as Leonato’s daughter, Hero would inherit all of her father’s fortune, and as Hero’s husband he would control it. Hero was also very physically, which was another reason for Claudio to want to marry her. We can tell that Claudio was physically attracted to hero because Claudio say’s, “in my eye she is the sweetest lady that I ever looked in” this tells us that there was an attraction between them and it wasn’t just about money and power.
In the story Claudio has just returned from fighting a battle with his good friends Don Pedro and Benedick, as soon as he sees Hero he falls in love, as does Hero with him. But unlike today’s times where the women and man would probably have a relationship beforehand in order to grow accustomed to one and other, in the 16th century if the man liked the girl then he would approach the father and ask him for his daughters hand in marriage. If the farther said yes, that he may have his daughter’s hand in marriage, and then they would get married, the daughter had no say what so ever. We see this when Leonato say’s to Claudio that he may have his daughter, “Count, take of me my daughter, and with her my fortune. His grace hath made the match, and all grace say amen to it” this tells us that it was the men who decided who a girl got married to. Also there is this quote, “Daughter remember what I told you. If the price do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer” this tell us that the daughter would marry who her father tells her to, supporting the fact that the daughter had no say what so ever in who she married.
Men at the time of the 16th century expected their brides to be pure and virginal so when Claudio believes to see that Hero is no longer “pure” and “virginal” he decides to denounce her, but he say’s that he will do it in public to humiliate Hero. This conversation between Claudio and Don Pedro supports it, Claudio-“if I see anything tonight why I should not marry her tomorrow, in the congregation where I should wed, there will I shame her.” Don Pedro-“And as I wooed for thee to obtain her, I will join thee to disgrace”. This shows us that men thought that they could treat women how they want whether in public or not. This showed the dominance they thought they had over women. This also showed us that Claudio didn’t know Hero that well because relationships at that time weren’t long with sometimes the couple only meeting for the first time on the day of the wedding.
Another scenario that support men’s power over women is that Hero’s father, Leonato, was prepared to believe Claudio’s word over Hero’s, his own daughter, because of his status “Would the Two princes lie, and Claudio lie, who loved her so, that speaking of her foulness, wash’d it with tears? Hence let her die”. He was embarrassed to have a wayward daughter. He would have found it very difficult to find a husband for Hero now everyone thought that she was a “loose women”. In the end Claudio finds out the truth and they get married.
I think that this relationship between Claudio and Hero did follow the pattern of relationships at that time. All of what I have researched in the first part seems to be true with the relationship between Claudio and Hero.
Now here we come on to the next relationship of the book, Benedick and Beatrice. This relationship couldn’t be more different than to that of Claudio’s and Hero’s. If you lived at the time of the 16th century then you would differently not expect a relationship like this, they go against everything you would expected from a man, women relationship in the sixteenth century.
Benedick is a close friend of both Don Pedro and Claudio so he is obviously a very well respected person of high status. He is a very intelligent person as well. Beatrice is a woman who you would not expect to see in the 16th century. They both are intellectual equals and they contently insult each other thought out the play, “Why he is the prince’s jester: a very dull fool”, this is Beatrice describing Benedick saying that he try’s to be funny but instead he is not funny at all and is very dull. You wouldn’t see this in Claudio’s relationship because if Hero did say that then the marriage would have differently have been off because the relationship of Claudio and Hero was that of a normal one for the 16th century.
Benedick then goes on to say that he intends to remain a bachelor forever, “I will do myself the right to trust none; and the fine is, for which I may go finer, I will live a bachelor” but although he say’s that he does say that he thinks Beatrice is better looking than Hero, Claudio (talking bout Hero)-“In my eye she is the sweetest lady that I ever looked on,” Benedick-“I can see her without spectacles and I see no such matter”. So we suspect that Benedick does like Beatrice but is too afraid to admit it because of his principles.
We also see that Beatrice is not a normal lady of the time of the 16th century. I say this because in a later scene the Prince, Don Pedro, asks Beatrice to take his hand in marriage but she declines saying that his he is to high of status for her and it wouldn’t suit her to go out with him to dinner parties and play second fiddle to him. Don Pedro-“Will you have me lady” Beatrice-“No my lord, unless I might have another for working days; your Grace is too costly to wear everyday. But, I beseech your Grace, pardon me: I was born to speak my mind.” This also tells us that Beatrice is going to speak her mind and is not like normal 16th century girls who would not turn down the chance to marry a Prince because of their high status and wealth.
We see later in the film the love and respect Benedick has for Beatrice. Their friends play a trick on them to make each other think that the other one does love them and that the whole thing of them being nasty to each other is just an act because they truly do love each other as we see when Benedick declares his love for Beatrice, “When I said that I would die a bachelor. I did not think that I should live till I were married. Here comes Beatrice. By this day! She is a fair lady. I do spy some love in her,” this tells us, as I expected, that Benedick does have a soft spot for her and was trying to hide his love for her with witty comments he made about her.
In the end you get the impression that Benedick and Beatrice’s marriage will be much better and fairer one than the marriage of Claudio and Hero. I say this because the marriage of Claudio and Hero is a typical 16th century relationship because the man is in control of all decisions. It’s a different matter with the relationship with Benedick and Beatrice; to me their relationship is more like a relationship you would find in the 21st century. I say this because both the man and the women make the decisions and the women does not take a back seat to the man in fact if anything she very much in the front seat.
All in all I feel that Shakespeare was a chauvinist. I say this because all through out the play, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Shakespeare gives men a leading role in all the relationships par one. So he did have the view that men were better than women. Although he did try and give women a role, with the character of Beatrice so he did try and give them a chance. You do have to remember that Shakespeare was bought up in a time where men were the more powerful gender so that’s all he knew. So yes I do think Shakespeare was a chauvinist, because that is all he knew at the time, men as the powerful gender.
