It was only through Benedick that Beatrice would be able to get what she wanted. Benedick was a respectable soldier, which meant that he had the means to confront Claudio and in this manner, restore Hero and her family’s honor. Benedick, by challenging Claudio, would be viewed in a heroic light, while Beatrice would simply be seen as a bystander because she could not challenge him herself. This shifted Beatrice’s position as a vocal and strong woman to a confined woman who could only accomplish something with the aid of a man, perpetuating a sort of damsel-in-distress image, “ I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving,” (4.1.316-317). The depiction of women in this position is common in Shakespeare’s work; in The Merchant of Venice, Portia, a young heiress, was only given power when she disguised herself as a young, male law clerk.…