William Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing is mainly based on the battle of the sexes, and the relationships that are developed between the male and female characters of the play. Moreover, in Much Ado about Nothing Shakespeare does an astounding job at distinguishing the female stereotype of the Elizabethan Era, he develops this through the two main female characters Hero and Beatrice. Hero is portrayed as the typical female of the Elizabethan Era; Hero is of good keep and a well mannered girl. While on the other hand, Beatrice is the total opposite of typical female stereotype, she possesses a quick wit and a sharp tongue. Beatrice is never one to back down; she is an independent woman with a significant amount of self – esteem. Beatrice’s character illustrates that the play rewards both conventional and unconventional women and prejudice against women in unnecessary and unfair.

Hero was introduced in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play; she was introduced as the daughter of Leonato and Beatrice’s cousin. In the play Hero is represented as a very quiet, and shy girl, as she barely ever says anything and when she even speaks it is always in a very respectful manner. Throughout the entire Act one all she said was, “My cousin means Signor Benedick of Padua”. Similarly, Hero does not speak so much throughout the Act 2 Scene 1 most of what she says is “He is of very melancholy disposition” referring to Don John. The reader or the audience can see that Hero’s attitude is similar to the way typical women during the Elizabethan Era acted. Shakespeare might have chosen to present Hero in this manner to show the sharp contrast that exists between Hero and Beatrice. Moreover, it is apparent as the play goes on for the audience to see how much Hero does look up to her cousin Beatrice, for example is when Don Pedro asks to speak to Hero about Claudio she says: “So you walk softly, and look sweetly, and say nothing, I am yours for the walk, and especially when I walk away.” [2.1.78-79]. The audience can see that Hero uses similar replies much like the replies that Beatrice would use to tease the men around her.

By the same token, the character of Beatrice was also introduced in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play, and from the very beginning of the play Beatrice unlike Hero is represented as being a very clever and out spoken woman. Shakespeare makes sure that she comes off as a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind to anyone she comes across to. This is proven in act one, scene one when the messenger comes to deliver the message that the soldiers are on their way to Messina from the war. Beatrice and the messenger start a conversation about Benedick and the messenger tells Beatrice that Benedick is a “lord to a lord, a man to a man, stuffed with all honourable virtues” [1.1.53-54] she quickly replies, “It is so indeed, he is no less than a stuffed man, but for the stuffing – well, we are all mortal.” [1.1.55-56] Beatrice’s sudden answer shows the audience that she is a woman who is not scared to speak her mind to anyone and that she will never back down from an argument. I believe that Shakespeare wanted represent Beatrice in this manner to make a point that during the Elizabethan Era women were clever than men could imagine them to be. In addition during the Elizabethan Era that this play was first performed women had little or no power in the society a woman’s main role in this society was to get married and bear children, therefore, this was a way to prove the point that women were not the second class citizens that. Or in contrast, Shakespeare could have given Beatrice this character to simply just add a little humour into the play, because the thought of an independent and outspoken woman at that time was not taken seriously and was usually a joke.

Furthermore, in the present day while reading, watching a movie about a Shakespeare play or even watching a Shakespeare play live, the audience must understand that during the Elizabethan Era every character of the play would be played by a male, even if the character was supposed to be a female. For example when Beatrice says “Oh, that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come take hands, and then with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated rancour? Oh God that I were a man!”[4.1.300-305] during the Elizabethan Era this particular line would have had a very comical meaning to the audience, because it would actually have been a male portraying a female character who would says this particular line, the present day audience does not grasp this irony because today, women are allowed to have part in the theatre and are not excluded. In fact another interesting thing to note about the Much Ado About Nothing is that even though Shakespeare is a male writer he was not a bias writer and in this play he showed that by not always letting the male characters win arguments or come out on top of any situation. Surely, in many situations it was the female characters that would come out on top, a great example of this is when in Act 4 Scene 1 Hero was accused of being unfaithful to Claudio. At first, the Claudio seemed triumphant in accusing an innocent woman; however, by the end of the play he is embarrassed to know that he was tricked into believing that Hero was being unfaithful when all along she was true to Claudio. Another, wonderful example of a woman coming on top is when Don Pedro and Beatrice are talking in Act 2 Scene 1 and Don Pedro asks Beatrice to marry him and she rejects him in a gentle way:

DON PEDRO: Will you have me, lady?