The monologue by Juliet Act III, Scene II, shows how eager she is to lose her virginity. She has a sense of foreboding by discussing what will happen to Romeo after death, he will reincarnate as stars and everyone will fall in love with the night. The nurse enters and tells Juliet of a death, she mistakenly believes that Romeo is dead. When she finds out the Romeo is banished and Tybalt is dead, she goes through many mood swings in a short time. Her moods are very adolescent. The nurse attempts to lift Juliet’s mood by offering to go find Romeo and bring him to her. Juliet does not want to die a virgin and accepts the nurses’ offer. Juliet is very comfortable in the presence of the nurse; she talks freely and is able to express herself informally. Her mother plays a relatively small role in Juliet’s life. The nurse and Juliet share progressive views of women, which allow them to be open and free without the need for formality.
The nurse warns Juliet about her mother coming, this is important because Romeo is in her bed. Juliet would have great troubles if her mother found out that she had lost her virginity. In the exchange between Lady Capulet and Juliet, Juliet is, appearing to hate Romeo and wishes him ill will. Juliet is actually wishing to “wreak the love I bore my cousin” or make love to Romeo again. She tells her mother that she would be glad to behold Romeo dead, but I think she is implying the she will never be satisfied until she has him and that her heart is dead without him in her life. Her mother tells Juliet of her scheduled marriage to Paris and how caring her father has been in choosing such a deserving mate. She tells her mother that she will not marry Paris, that she would rather marry Romeo, whom she hates. There is a detached, impersonal feeling from all of the exchanges between Juliet and her mother. It seems to be a very unnatural relationship. Her parents refuse to listen to her thoughts about not marrying Paris. Juliet carries a handsome fortune as the sole heir to her father’s estate but she is powerless to oppose his choice of whom she is to marry; it is an arranged marriage and it will occur regardless. Her father tells her that he will drag her to church if she does not obey. The only person who tries to help the parents see Juliet’s view is the nurse, who also gets yelled at by the parents. Juliet’s mother is very angry because Juliet is not being submissive or obedient in accepting her marriage. The parents are behaving as adolescent as Juliet in their rash decisions and overreacting. The nurse suggests to Juliet that she should commit bigamy, which is illegal and considered a sin. Juliet cuts the nurse off from any further confidence. Juliet feels as if the nurse has betrayed her trust by even suggesting infidelity.
Act IV, Scene III finds Juliet in her bedroom ready to take the sleeping potion that will put her to sleep for 3 days. She tells the nurse not to sleep in the same room as her; this is in necessary to facilitate the master plan. Juliet has a lengthy monologue in which she talks herself into taking the poison. She feels terror at the prospect of taking the potion. She is determined to overcome her fears of going mad in the tomb. She almost has a nervous breakdown as she starts hallucinating to see Tybalt’s ghost seeking revenge on Romeo.
In Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Scene I, is the first time that there is a situation when there is no men present. Hero is planning to have her cousin, Beatrice, overhear a conversation about Benedick’s love and desire for Beatrice. Beatrice listens in secret as planned, as Hero and Ursula discuss how Beatrice would only belittle Benedick if she knew of his love. Beatrice has a complete change of heart and vows to love Benedick if he will have her. Hero is deceiving Beatrice in an attempt to manipulate her feelings. Hero should have been forthcoming and told Beatrice of Benedick’s love without the deception. Beatrice has a strong wit, which is used to hide her loneliness, she would rather look strong then vulnerable. She receives protection by using her quick wit to keep exchanges with others shallow. Through the entire play there is not much insight into Beatrice’s psyche.
Act III, Scene IV finds Hero nervously preparing for her wedding, while Beatrice acts lovesick and melancholy. Hero makes a statement that her heart is “exceeding heavy”, this is a foreboding statement of what is to come at the church. She feels that this marriage may not be right, but she is powerless to change the situation. Since Hero is the only heir to Leonato’s estate there is a great economic value to Claudio in this marriage. Claudio went through all of the socially correct channels to obtain Hero as his wife. The discussion in the scene is very shallow; of clothing and hair styles not of love, the future or of children.
The relationship between Hero and Beatrice, though close, does not feel very intimate. They do not share deep thoughts and moments. This may be because Shakespeare meant for this play to be a comedy and kept it platonic on purpose. There are not many scenes just between female characters. Hero is a very traditional character. She is submissive and obedient to her father and then to her lord, Claudio. She does not have a mind of her own. Even in the scenes with other women, Hero does not speak freely and think maturely, she is perpetually adolescent in her thinking and emotions.
Beatrice is a very progressive woman, she thinks for herself and is very smart and independent. She decides for herself that she loves Benedick, no one arranges this union. I think men of were afraid of Beatrice because of her humiliating quick wit. Her uncle, Leonato berates her for her sharp tongue, telling her she will never get a husband.
Hero is a victim in this play. She is convicted of a sin she did not commit, shunned by her lover, her father and almost all who knew her. She was dependent on a man to pull her back up again. That her father and all those that Hero knew did not believe her makes her gender appear untrustworthy. Her father would rather have her dead then live if she were indeed unchaste. The friar’s intervention saved Hero’s future and possibly her life. Hero should not have felt so dependent on men for her well being; Beatrice found her sense of well being from within.
Juliet has characteristics that are similar to both characters in Much Ado About Nothing. She is independent in making her decisions, similar to Beatrice, but yet dependent on men for acceptance, similar to Hero. I feel that Simone de Beauvoir’s “counter universe” is more present in Romeo and Juliet then in Much Ado About Nothing.
Gender issues are prevalent in Shakespeare’s plays Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth. Some of the key characteristics relevant to gender issues are masculinity, feminism, honor, bravery, and ambition. These issues will be examined through the dynamics of three couples, Hero and Claudio, Beatrice and Benedict, and Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. It is important to remember that these are two different genres of plays. Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy that satirically focuses on male-female relations. While Macbeth is a tragedy, which takes a serious tone where gender issues are subtly woven into the plot.
The first couple, Hero and Claudio, represent the 16th and 17th century Elizabethan norm in marriage. Claudio is the model of masculinity and a gullible romantic. Hero is the modest docile young woman. They seem to have the picture perfect expectations of marriage. This optimism combined with the cuckold fear of the times allows Claudio to be easily deceived into believing the fabricated story of Hero’s infidelity. Such an action is the ultimate betrayal to Claudio’s honor. Similarly, the public accusation made by Claudio is a black eye to the honor of Hero’s family. But in the end, Hero was the virtuous lady everyone wanted her to be. Hero and Claudio play the foil to the pessimistic couple, Beatrice and Benedict.
Beatrice and Benedict are the cynics of love and romance. Their attitudes and relationship often breaks from the gender norms. In the beginning of the play both preached that marriage is an institution not meant for either. Beatrice is a free and uninhibited strong female. She eventually consents to marriage after she expresses her objections to the traditional voiceless role of the woman in a relationship. Her constant verbal sparring with Benedict shows she will not be the typical apathetic female in the marriage. Benedict is a fanaticizer who becomes smitten with the idea of Beatrice being in love with him. Benedict also exhibits honor, bravery, and loyalty by challenging his friend Claudio to a duel after he was asked to do so by Beatrice. The courtship of Beatrice and Benedict sharply contrasts that of Hero and Claudio. Hero submitted to marriage and accepted her docile role while Beatrice chose marriage after showing her disapproval to the gender structure of marriage.
The gender issues in Macbeth are often skewed. Sometimes a character will fall into the proper gender identity, but often it appears that roles are reversed between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the beginning Macbeth is brave man of honor. He was loyal and defended his king’s honor as well as his own when he attacked the castle of the traitor, Macdonwald. Macbeth shows the masculinity of men as well as women. In Lady Macbeth it can be seen that some women are just like men in their quest for power and success. It is to the point where it seems Lady Macbeth is a man trapped in a woman’s body. She is filled with greed and envy and will use any person or thing to get what she wants. When learning of the witches prophecy she feared that Macbeth was not ruthless enough to ensure the attainment of his ambitions, “to full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” to murder Duncan. So she took it upon herself to make things happen. She calls upon heavenly powers to “unsex me here” and fill her with cruelty, taking from her all natural womanly compassion. Later she reinforces this rejection of her femininity by saying she would go so far as to cast off all motherly sentiments that go with it by bashing the brains out of hew own baby to attain her goals. Lady Macbeth taunts Macbeth for his fears and ambivalence, saying he will only be a man when he commits the murder of Duncan. She sees feminine virtues as being remorseful, peaceful, kind and soft and calls Macbeth womanish. Macbeth is indecisive, he knows right and wrong, but sees his biggest flaw is not a lack of moral values but a lack of motivation and gumption. On the other hand Lady Macbath has such a vision and drive for advancement that she makes the murder happen and pushes Macbeth into doing it by “pour spirits in [Macbeth’s] ear.”
If comparisons are made between the couples in both plays it can be seen that in public Lady Macbeth and Macbeth appear to be as Hero and Claudio, but behind closed doors there is a strong minded woman swaying her influence similar to the relationship between Beatrice and Benedict. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want to appear to be like Hero and Claudio, the flawless norm in marriage, so that they don’t bring suspicion upon themselves for the murders they have committed. Like Claudio, Macbeth needs to project an image of bravery and honor if he is to be respected as a king. Although they are fundamentally different in their heart, Beatrice and Lady Macbeth are similar in that they are both strong-minded opinionated women who have certain expectations of their man.
In Conclusion, Much Ado About Nothing shows two extremes of a couple, the cookie-cutter orthodox couple and the bantering couple of individuality. The couple in Macbeth has a strange and unnatural dynamic that often sways from the gender norms.
