Introduction
William Shakespeare is deservedly considered one of the world’s greatest writers and dramatists. He created many notable works, including the play Much Ado About Nothing. The literary work describes how life and romantic relationships evolved in Messina in the Elizabethan era. Even though the play comments on many essential topics and problems, the theme of honor is central.
Honor refers to the reputation and respect that a person has among other people. In other words, an honored individual is trusted, welcomed, and respected in society. In the Shakespearean period, people paid close attention to the phenomenon, and the author clearly described it in his play. Much Ado About Nothing shows that the presence or lack of honor could significantly impact people’s lives, reveals the different expectations for men and women, and highlights the harmful nature of the phenomenon.
The Significance of Honor in Much Ado About Nothing
As already stated, honor was significant in the Elizabethan period, and Shakespeare skillfully depicted it in the play. In Much Ado About Nothing, the selected phenomenon drives the plot, describes characters, and motivates their actions. Readers become familiar with the critical concept at the very beginning, when Leonato states, “I find here that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honor on a young Florentine called Claudio” (Shakespeare 7). A significant aspect is that a person’s reputation travels ahead of their owner. This statement denotes that if an individual is honored, others will develop a positive attitude toward them.
Furthermore, the quotation above demonstrates an effective channel for establishing and distributing respect. Leonate started regarding Claudio not because the latter committed particular actions or achieved successful results, but because Don Pedro acted as his protégé. This information reveals that a particular individual’s words were sufficient to honor another person. Since characters in the play attracted much attention to the selected concept, it was surprising that respect was easily bestowed and distributed. This approach could result in a wrong person obtaining esteem in society, while worthy individuals are left without this acknowledgment.
The same strategy was effectively used to deprive an individual of social respect. At that time, a person without honor could not expect respect or even an equal attitude in society. The example of Hero, Leonato’s daughter, will be further described in detail to indicate how ordinary words can dishonor a woman and create significant problems for her and her family. At this point, one should only state that honor was equally important to men and women, and the disappearance thereof could have harmful consequences for a person.
Honor Differences for Women and Men
The information above has already been discussed, and both males and females depend significantly on respect. Public opinion and a person’s image in society effectively determine the place this individual occupies in the community. This section will present specific examples from the play and the scholarly literature to demonstrate the different honor expectations implied for female and male characters.
Female Honor
It is reasonable to begin with commenting on female honor, and the example of Hero seems suitable here. Women should have been chaste and obedient to earn respect in the Elizabethan era. These aspects were valuable, andClaudio wanted to discover whether Hero was a modest young lady when he decided to marry her (Shakespeare 17). At that time, “the idea of sexual purity was central to a woman’s desirability in the marriage market” (Bhattacharya 69). The importance of innocence was established because men wanted to be sure they would be the biological fathers of future children who would continue their family lines.
Another pillar of female honor was based on obedience and dependence on males. In Shakespeare’s time, women were often considered the property of their fathers and later husbands. This issue manifests on the wedding day when Claudio publicly betrays Hero because he believes she is unfaithful. He states, “she’s but the sign and semblance of her honor” (Shakespeare 125). The worst aspect of this situation was that the woman had no opportunity to defend herself. Everything she could do was to obey, even though the accusation was utterly false.
In addition, the play introduces the character of Beatrice to show a different type of female honor. Unlike Hero, Beatrice cannot be considered a woman of the Elizabethan era because she refuses to obey and seeks to avoid marriage. She earns respect because she is the only character who tries to defend Hero. Even though Beatrice chooses the unethical way to do it by asking Benedick to kill Claudio, readers are sympathetic to her because she attempts to restore justice (Shakespeare 143). In any case, the author clearly demonstrated that not all women shared or accepted the norms of the Elizabethan era, but all deserved to be honored.
Male Honor
Different principles and values were used to characterize and determine whether a man had honor in Shakespeare’s time. Unlike sexual behavior among females, males were often judged by their military achievements. For example, when Beatrice wants to know more about Benedick, she asks, “how many hath he killed and eaten in these wars” (Shakespeare 9).
In addition, men could earn honor based on their appearance and the words of others. It has been mentioned that Don Pedro’s positive appraisal of Claudio made Leonato respect the latter (Shakespeare 7). This information demonstrates that males had more opportunities to become honored in society.
The discussion of honor for men should draw specific attention to the fact that the presented assessments do not always reflect reality. For instance, it is reasonable to look at Claudio’s character to see how it works. This man is considered honorable at the beginning of the play, but the readers understand that this description is false.
Claudio appears insecure and suspicious since he believes Don John’s words about Hero’s infidelity without evidence (Shipley 100). Don John is another suitable example of this unfair phenomenon. Even though many characters in the play respect him, he intentionally engages in different intrigues to destroy Claudio’s marriage.
Two additional features describe honor for men. On the one hand, women’s misbehavior could significantly harm men’s honor because males were considered responsible for their wives, brides, and daughters. This idea made Claudio cancel his wedding because he wanted to distance himself from the unfaithful woman. Furthermore, when Hero’s supposed infidelity was revealed, her father became depressed and believed that death would be a fair punishment for her (Shakespeare 131). On the other hand, men were in a more advantageous position because they could defend their honor. Leonato decided to imitate his daughter’s death, while Claudio was forced to accept Benedick’s challenge to a duel.
Honor: Helpful or Harmful?
Even though honor is considered an overall positive phenomenon, one cannot state that it is helpful in the play because of numerous arguments. Firstly, it is unfair that little attention was drawn to specific actions when people decided whether a particular person was honored. Claudio didn’t need to prove his military achievements because he was respected by default after Don Pedro said it. This information denotes that friendship or connection with the right people was the only necessary aspect to gain societal honor during the Elizabethan era. There was no doubt that ordinary citizens could not reach this privilege.
Secondly, the harmful nature manifested in the community does not require evidence to form opinions about a person. When Don John decides to ruin Claudio’s marriage, achieving this goal is easy. He only fabricated a story about Hero’s infidelity and ensured that this information reached Claudio. Since Hero did not have an opportunity to defend himself, all people, including her father and Claudio, accepted this fabricated information as granted. As a result, Claudio refuses to marry Hero since she became dishonored, which is associated with numerous negative consequences for the two.
One should highlight that the events from the play could take place in real life during the Elizabethan era. Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy that explains why Hero escapes significant problems. However, real life is not a literary piece, which denotes that it is impossible to reach happy endings every time. Since people drew much attention to respect, a person could face harmful consequences if declared dishonored. That is why Shakespeare raised an important topic and showed that pinning labels was a harmful strategy.
Conclusion
Much Ado About Nothing is one of the best literary works by William Shakespeare. The play deserves attention because it clearly describes the norms of the Elizabethan era and shows how it was challenging for people to live during that time. In particular, the author reveals many challenges women faced because women were often considered being in possession of their fathers or husbands. Not all people liked these norms, and Shakespeare created the play to demonstrate that this state of affairs could result in significant problems for individuals. Since honor expectations differed for men and women, women were subject to more harmful effects.
In particular, Much Ado About Nothing emphasized that people in Shakespeare’s time drew much attention to honor. Whether a person has respect in society determines how this individual is approached. If Claudio had been honored, he would have been welcomed to Messina, and Leonato would have been glad to meet him.
However, the problem is that this honor was unfair because Claudio appeared suspicious and insecure. Another challenging aspect of the selected phenomenon was that Hero significantly suffered when she was declared dishonored. Even though this accusation was fabricated, the woman did not have an opportunity to refute it. Thus, Shakespeare demonstrated that the focus on honor was harmful to society during the Elizabethan era.
Works Cited
Bhattacharya, Saradindu. “Reading Masculinity in Much Ado About Nothing.” The Radical Teacher, no. 117, 2020, pp. 67-69.
Shakespeare, William. “Much Ado About Nothing.”
Shipley, Shelby. “ˈMen Were Deceivers Everˈ: Deceptive Appearances in Much Ado About Nothing.” Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism, vol. 13, no. 2, 2021, pp. 95-104.