A central theme of Much Ado About Nothing is that of the literary tradition of a heroine within the social conventions surrounding women. The literary tradition of the time (and even, in many cases, to the present day) gives the conventional heroine beauty, modesty and etiquette, submissive and obedient to the will of men. Literary conventions also present the heroine with a variety of obstacles that she is forced to overcome, through no fault of her own. In the end, she prevails, and the Shakespearean tale usually ends with a joyful wedding ceremony, often an alliance between two families. However, the modern literary tradition breeds an unconventional heroine, an independent, assertive and articulate young woman, overcoming prejudice and injustice. In “Much Ado About Nothing,” Shakespeare introduces us to both the conventional and (the more modern) unconventional Elizabethan heroine of Hero and Beatrice, using a variety of effective literary methods to demonstrate the extreme differences in character. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get the original essayThe social expectations of women in Elizabethan society were that they should submit to their father's will, marrying men of the their father's choice, often as a way to form auspicious family alliances and remain submissive to their husbands. They had no role or autonomy in their own right, only in the context of their men. Expected to be handsome, modest and chaste, “fair” Hero, at the beginning of the play, fits the role perfectly. Claudio was indeed chosen as a husband by her father, Hero submitting without complaint to her duty to "be ruled by your father", thus corresponding to the social norm of the time. Indeed, she had initially believed she was being courted by Don Pedro, and yet, when Claudio was presented as the true suitor, she had no apparent hesitation in accepting his suit - she is simply at her father's disposal. the proxy solicitation reveals no suggestion that Claudio's pursuit might be rejected by Hero; the idea that she might have any free will does not even seem to be a possibility: “I will open my heart…. .. And the conclusion is that she will be yours". Shakespeare gives almost no speech to Hero in the first act, although she is the center of much of what happens, and she is at first presented simply as a good to be discussed and “allocated”. Traditional female modesty is clearly represented; on the eve of her wedding, her virginal anxiety shows through all her worries about her clothes, and in response to a ribald statement from Margaret, her modesty, even in private, is such that she exclaims "Trust you! You Aren’t you ashamed?” . Even the fact that Hero faints at the altar on her wedding day, when her honor is tainted, seems not only a dramatic device, but also a literary tool to demonstrate her feminine modesty and sensitivity. (It's hard to imagine Beatrice reacting this way.) Furthermore, the pretending to continue to die later is not the idea of ​​a hero, who would have shown her that she was taking control of her own destiny, but rather the idea of ​​another man, the Brother: “Publish that she is indeed dead”. Thus, even when her reputation, or even her entire future, is threatened, Hero remains passive, at the disposal of men. The fatal fainting, essential to Shakespeare's plot, is perhaps the pinnacle of female submission.Throughout the play, Hero is presented as the traditional heroine par excellence, the romantic ideal. The language used in her descriptions is flowery and tender: "jewel", object of "sweet and delicate desires", "the sweetest lady I have ever seen". Additionally, for such a crucial character, her actual speeches on any substance are rare, usually only speaking when spoken to, and almost always in blank verse - traditional female reticence is clearly demonstrated throughout. However, the Elizabethan tradition of submissive and meek women was violated by Queen Elizabeth I herself. A strong, confrontational, independent and intelligent woman, the Queen challenged contemporary perceptions of women and their place in society. One such woman was Beatrice. At the antipodes of the Hero, and completely in contrast to the traditional heroine, Shakespeare presents us, in Beatrice, a heroine that we are more used to seeing in modern drama. Shakespeare offers us a heroine capable of two different interpretations. Either we see a jaded, aging, cynical and embittered spinster, who uses her wit and wit defensively to attract attention, or we see Béatrice as an independent and fiery woman, courageous and loyal, determined not to falling into the expected role of submissive. woman." He who is more than a young person is not for me and he who is less than a man, I am not for him. "The Béatrice that I find in "Much Ado" is the atypical woman , strong and independent. Interestingly, this play is one of the few comedies in which none of the main female characters disguise themselves as men in order to speak frankly or bluntly. The character of Beatrice was written in such a way that this is her usual way of speaking. In her first exchange with Benedick, we see a woman who could not be more different from the reluctant and passive Hero. We are given a woman who wants to dominate the conversation, who is witty, aggressive: "he wears his faith but like the fashion of his hat; it always changes on the next block." Indeed, throughout the piece, she is so direct that she sometimes appears bawdy, with numerous references to jams and horns, allusions usually reserved for men. This provides a stark contrast to Hero's prudery mentioned above. Likewise, in what is usually a masculine style of conversation, Beatrice makes numerous allusions to hunting: "I will reward you by taming my wild heart into your loving hands." » (an allusion to falconry). Unlike Hero, Beatrice is not depicted as a father's gift to her husband. Rather, we are aware of a woman determined to take charge of her own destiny, disdainful of the tradition of romantic love: "I would rather hear my dog ​​bark at a crow than a man swear that he loves me" . Indeed, the first Beatrice even rejects the idea of ​​marriage, "Not until G-d makes men of a metal other than earth", and is again presented as the antithesis of the traditional heroine. (There is some evidence that his cynicism stems from a previous failed relationship with Benedick, which might explain his rejection of all romantic conventions: "once before he won me (her heart) with false dice." ) If this aggressive banter and rejection of feminine wiles and aspirations were all we saw of Beatrice, Shakespeare would have given us a very one-dimensional character, with little appeal. Instead, Beatrice appears much rounder. She is described as a very happy person: "There is little melancholic element in her" and is clearly devastated by the wrongs done to Hero. No.).