The dramatic comedy of Much Ado About Nothing is set in the coastal city of Messina on the island of Sicily in Italy. One of its main characters Beatrice, the witty heroine, is the cousin of Hero, who is Leonato’s daughter. Leonato is an affluent governor of Messina. Even though the main plot of the story is centered on challenges threatening to sabotage the union Hero and Claudio, Beatrice along with Benedick with their constant verbal jousting finds itself quite an interesting counter-plot (Anonymous).
Beatrice and Hero are very close but polar opposites. She appears to be the sense to Hero’s sensibility. They are only alike by virtue of their lineage and domicile. Beatrice’s cynicism is matched by Hero’s politeness; her witty and sharp behavior is juxtaposed against Hero’s respectful and gentle personality; and her feisty, spirited ways are tempered by Hero’s quiet reserve. Beatrice projects a hard impenetrable veneer however, beneath the layers lie a core of sheer vulnerability. Under the aggressive exterior laid a mesh of feminine sensibility.
Benedick, a Paduan lord, and soldier, constantly wage a battle of wits and dueling discourse with Beatrice throughout the story. She incessantly competes with Benedick to match wits and outdo one another with clever invective remarks. With a fantastic cache of raillery, Beatrice always surmounts as the victor. The story implies that she may have repressed feelings for Benedick, perhaps contributing to the constant feud between them. Beatrice can be described by some as being genuinely kind, winsome, and loving. Even though she and Benedick would frequently humiliate and mock others with their intricately woven web of sarcasm, derision, and clever remarks.
Beatrice is adamant to remain unmarried. Her views on marriage are riddled with cynicism. She feels that there exists no one who would support her attitude towards life. She figured herself to be too much of a liberated, renaissance woman to be subjected to the servitude of a husband. Her banter was laced with rebellion against social convention, but underneath she tacitly desired all the trappings of marriage. She finds the way women are treated to be quite disgusting, especially since she perhaps considers herself to be equal in intellect and abilities as any man. She has quite a strong opinion on women being treated as second-class citizens, which, is perhaps played out in her constant war with Benedick.
When her beloved cousin Hero is falsely accused of premarital dalliances with another than her betrothed, Beatrice gallantly comes to her defense. She lashes out at Hero’s fiancé Claudio for his mistrust and misrepresentation of her cousin. This further incensed her and she expressed her frustration about injustice to Hero and women in general. Her feelings were pronounced in the statement, “O that I was a man for his sake! Or that I had any friend would be the man for my sake!”… “I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving” (Hilton).
Beatrice could be described as a complex persona, schizophrenic psychology as the very thing she appears adamant about, is perhaps what she really desires. Her friendly banter with Benedick could be interpreted as hidden admiration. Her very interest in matching wits with him could be evidence of her desire to enjoy his company. Some may view her personality as unattractive and be put off, however, others will find her quite interesting and will only crave more and more.
References
Anonymous. Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare- Analysis of Major Characters. 2008. Web.
Hilton, Jeremy. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. 2008. Web.