Beatrice of William Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing Essay examples

Beatrice of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing One of the most intriguing characters from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing must be Beatrice. An intelligent, well-spoken (and, perhaps more interesting, outspoken) young woman, she is an almost exact opposite of her cousin, Hero. What makes Beatrice so different than what one expects of a woman during Shakespeare’s time? Why did Shakespeare decide to make her such a strong female character? It begs the question of what women were actually like in the Tudor era, and if she was really so radical a character. Beatrice is very different than the common expectation of women by people looking back on Shakespeare’s period and of the public of Shakespeare’s time in many ways. As previously stated, she is outspoken, intelligent and does not wish to be married. This is strange, considering that around the time that Shakespeare was writing (give or take a few hundred years), women were being restricted in their studies, writing and in society (Wiesner, 3). There are many examples of women being restricted by the law in society, as Merry E. Wiesner stated in her essay: In regard to the basic obligations and duties of citizenship, little distinction was made between men and women; all heads of households were required to pay taxes†¦ and obey all laws. Beyond that, however, there were clear legal restrictions on what the female half of the population could do. Women differed from men in their ability to be witnesses, make wills, act as guardians for their own children†¦ These limitations appear in the earliest extant law codes and were sharpened and broadened as the law codes themselves were expanded. (4) With societal views such as this, it was no doubt odd to see such a... ... even a bit closer to the ideals about women presented at the time. In many ways, Beatrice is ahead of her time as far as how she is presented. In other ways, though, she is no different than real women, and is simply a representation of those real women on the stage (such as Queen Elizabeth I). Though she is almost the exact opposite of her more mainstream idea cousin, Hero, Beatrice is not so taboo or radical when it comes down to a deeper inspection of women, society and her character. Works Cited Marcus, Leah S. â€Å"Shakespeare’s Comic Heroines, Elizabeth I, and the Political Uses of Androgyny.† Women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. pp 135-153 Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Sim, Alison. The Tudor Housewife. pp 3, 126. Wiesner, Merry E. â€Å"Women’s Defense of Their Public Role.† Women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. pp 1-27.