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Analysis  of  When  Women  Have  Power  And  When  They  Don’t  in  ‘Much  Ado  About  
Nothing’  
 
In   ‘Much   Ado   About   Nothing’   it   is   to   be   concluded   that   overall,   Beatrice   is   the   woman  
with   the   most   power   and   capability   to   influence   the   actions   of   others
...
’   This  
particular  demand  is  extremely  arduous  for  Benedick  as  he  has  been  loyal  to  Claudio  for  
so   long;   Benedick   seems   disbelieving   and   reluctant   when   she   first   proposes   that   he  
murder   his   friend,   however   by   the   end   of   the   scene   we   see   that   he   has   agreed   to  
“challenge   him,”   showing   that   Beatrice   has   the   power   in   their   relationship   to  
manipulate   and   influence   Benedick’s   actions
...
 This  preoccupation  is  a  theme  throughout  the  play,  due  
to  the  Elizabethan  euphemism  of  ‘nothing’  being  female  genitalia;  characters  make  both  
bawdy   puns   and   subtle   reference   to   the   term,   when   Hero   is   slandered,   Don   Pedro  
proclaims  that  “on  my  honour,  she  was  charged  with  nothing”  which  ironically  means  
that  she  did  have  sex  with  another,  however,  actually  she  did  nothing
...
 Just  by  observing  the  
two  couples,  we  can  see  that  courtly  love  is  a  contributory  factor  in  the  subjugation  of  
women   as   the   women   are   expected   to   conform   to   the   subservient   role   as   demonstrated  
by   Hero;   she   is   a   very   quiet   and   submissive   character,   who   from   the   beginning   of   the  
play  accepts  that  she  is  to  “be  ruled”  by  Leonato  without  question
...
 It  is  therefore  suggested  by  one  article  that  discusses  the  implications  the  
genre  of  the  play  that  “there  is  little  doubt  that  the  aristocratic  men  and  women  of  the  
Middle   Ages   began   to   act   out   in   their   own   loves   the   pattern   of   courtly   behavior   they  
read  about  in  the  fictional  romances,”4  which  is  quite  likely  to  have  happened,  as  courtly  
love  was  a  very  popular  ideal  at  the  time  that  many  aspired  to
...
  This   is   apparent   when   we   are  
first   introduced   to   her   as   an   audience   in   Act   1   Scene   1;   she   “quickly   shifts   the   play’s  
focus  from  Claudio’s  deeds  of  war  to  Benedick’s  deeds  of  love,”2  introducing  the  theme  
of   love   and   simultaneously   suggesting   Beatrice’s   love   for   Benedick   as   the   first   thing   she  
says   is   regarding   his   welfare,   albeit   in   a   somewhat   sarcastic   manner,   “is   Signor  
Montanto   returned   from   the   wars,   or   no?”   This   immediately   introduces   the   ‘merry   war’  
between  them  as  ‘Montanto’  is  a  term  for  fencing  meaning  an  upward  thrust,  which  is  
an  example  of  one  of  Beatrice’s  few  bawdy  jokes  throughout  the  play,  as  the  up  thrust  of  
the   sword   is   an   undeniable   phallic   image;   phallic   innuendos   and   bawdy   humour   was  
more  accepted  in  the  Sixteenth  Century  than  compared  to  present  day,  which  is  ironic  

due  to  women  having  more  freedom  and  power  in  present  day,  yet  16th  Century  women  
had  more  verbal  freedom  in  terms  of  humour
...
   
Perhaps  the  most  profound  display  of  the  lack  of  power  of  women  shown  in  the  play  is  
when  Hero  is  denounced  as  a  harlot  by  her  fiancé  in  Act  4  Scene  1,  as  he  refers  to  her  as  
a  “rotten  orange”  in  order  to  metaphorically  convey  how  useless  and  unwanted  she  is
...
  This   scene   has   a   very   high   tension   featuring   a   lot   of   drama,   with  
major   elements   of   tragedy,   this   reflects   upon   the   observation   that   “until   halfway  
through   Shakespeare’s   life   dramatists   sough   variety   instead
...
  Tragedy   and   comedy   were   ingredients,   not  
definitions
...
  His   language   towards   Hero   clearly   expresses   his   disgust   towards  
her,   whereas   previously   he   was   very   much   in   love   with   her;   his   alteration   in   attitude  
towards   her   is   purely   due   to   the   fact   that   she   allegedly   cheated   on   him   and   is   no   longer  
a   virgin,   which   displays   the   importance   of   female   chastity
...
 The  reference  to  her  cousin  being  a  “copy”  of  her  suggests  that  a  female  is  only  
worth   her   appearance,   again   emphasising   the   infinitesimal   amount   of   power   typically  
possessed  by  woman  of  the  era
...
Zomparelli '07, Kristen, "Much Ado About Nothing's Criticism of the Renaissance
Patriarchy" (2007)
...
Paper
1
...
iwu
...
‘Shakespeare’s Comedies’ Carol Thomas Neely in ‘Broken Nuptials: Much Ado
about Nothing’ Ed
...
‘Shakespeare and the Traditions of English Stage Comedy’ Janette Dillon in ‘A
Companion to Shakespeare’s Works Volume III, the comedies’ Ed
...
‘A Guide to the Study of Literature: A Companion Text for Core Studies 6,
Landmarks of Literature’
[http://academic
...
cuny
...
html], Thursday, August
17, 2000

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