Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic and comedic play written by playwright William Shakespeare, set in Messina, Sicily, in the 16th century. Shakespeare, through the play explores the aspects and ideals that was expected of women at the time that the play was written. During the Elizabethan era, women were extremely looked down upon by the men of the society, and being female meant that there were many expectations put upon you. Shakespeare, especially uses the characters of Hero and Beatrice to explain to the audience why it is important for women to maintain purity and obedience and also to aspire to get married. Hero, in the play, clearly exemplifies the importance of being pure and maintaining chastity in society. In Shakespeare 's
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This excludes Beatrice, however her only ambition in life seems to be to avoid marriage. By doing this, Shakespeare shows that in his society, the sole purpose in life for women seems to be to find a husband, and it is this which determines their success as females. Men, on the other hand, have other factors which determine their success, such as Claudio 's success as a soldier, or Benedick 's status as a nobleman. In both cases, it is not their wife, or lack thereof, that determines the men 's success; therefore, it is their personal actions. However, for Beatrice and Hero and many of the other female characters in the play, it is expected of them to get married as soon as they are of age, and are not expected to have any other goals in life. Leonato says to Hero during the ball, 'Daughter, remember what I told you. If the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer. ' This shows that Leonato expects Hero to get married, but even more so, tells her to get married, as if there were no other choice. Claudio, on the other hand, is introduced at the beginning of the play as a brave soldier, 'doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion, ' which displayed his success in the recent war. This illustrates how Claudio is defined by his courageous actions at the war, rather than his marital status. Shakespeare shows the importance of marriage and displays that it is marriage that defines a woman and their feminine role in
This excludes Beatrice, however her only ambition in life seems to be to avoid marriage. By doing this, Shakespeare shows that in his society, the sole purpose in life for women seems to be to find a husband, and it is this which determines their success as females. Men, on the other hand, have other factors which determine their success, such as Claudio 's success as a soldier, or Benedick 's status as a nobleman. In both cases, it is not their wife, or lack thereof, that determines the men 's success; therefore, it is their personal actions. However, for Beatrice and Hero and many of the other female characters in the play, it is expected of them to get married as soon as they are of age, and are not expected to have any other goals in life. Leonato says to Hero during the ball, 'Daughter, remember what I told you. If the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer. ' This shows that Leonato expects Hero to get married, but even more so, tells her to get married, as if there were no other choice. Claudio, on the other hand, is introduced at the beginning of the play as a brave soldier, 'doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion, ' which displayed his success in the recent war. This illustrates how Claudio is defined by his courageous actions at the war, rather than his marital status. Shakespeare shows the importance of marriage and displays that it is marriage that defines a woman and their feminine role in