Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Stereotypes in Much Ado About Nothing
In the play Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare presents stereotypes that fit with the times, not necessarily to teach a lesson or prove a point. The main stereotype he develops is that women are inferior to men. Throughout the entire play, we see the women being taken advantage of and pushed around. Hero, for example, hardly tries to stand up for herself when Claudio shames her publicly. She just spits out denials at all of his claims but it doesn't get her anywhere. After Claudio accuses her, her own father, who supposedly cared about her more than himself, yells at her like she is nothing. He tells her that she has shamed him. And he never even asked her what really happened! He just went off of Claudio's (practically a stranger) harsh words and assumed they were true without question. This shows women as fragile and and weak, with Hero as a perfect example. Another woman in the play who displays this is Margaret who gets pursued by Borachio. She is taken advantage of and used without even knowing it. Borachio and Don John take advantage of her affections and use her to ruin Claudio and Hero's wedding day. She doesn't realize something is wrong until later, and then Leonato once again assumes that she knew about it the whole time when really she didn't. Everyone assures Leonato that she wasn't involved, but he wouldn't have believed solely Margaret if they hadn't stepped in to confirm her validity. Margaret is one character who shows that women can step up and defend themselves. She is the only woman in the play who talks back to men and stands up for Hero when no one else would. Her character and personality show off a more powerful woman that is not shown elsewhere in the play. She reminds us that women aren't weaker than men, and that they have strength too. Shakespeare tells us how the times were, and stereotypes about women being inferior to men were very common.
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5 comments:
I really liked how you brought up Margaret and focused on a more minor character in the play. But I have to say that I deisagree that she is the only woman in the play to stand up for Hero. Beatrice defends Hero and gets pretty upset when her cousin is accused, too.
Also, I love how you brought up that Leonato should have listened to his daughter before Claudio. It seems like he should trust Hero more than Claudio.
I don't quite understand how Margaret stood up for herself in the play. I think Beatrice would have been a better example, because she definately talks back to men, it's a huge part of her character. I never actually considered women being passive as a stereotype in the play, mostly because of Beatrice and her general behavior. But you backed up your idea with enough evidence so it makes sense. Nice analytical post.
I think it is an interesting point of view that he cultivated his characters around the ideas of the time more so that to teach us a lesson. But I definately see your point. Besides Beatrice, your stereotype about a woman's passiveness is well supported. I also really like your example of Leonato should have listened to Hero instead of Claudio, i mean seriously! He trusts some guy over the most important thing in his life. Wonderful, well thought out post!!
good job! i loved how you chose one broad topic or stereo type to branch off of instead of a lot of little ones. but i have to agree with kenzie on this one. beatrice is allways standing up for herself she is very oppinionative and willing to speak her mind. she also stood up for her cousin when no one else believed her. i think that beatrice would have been a better example. but picking up on the small characters is awsome too. great job!
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