Introduction
People have a tendency to develop various attitudes towards the concepts of honor, respect, and loyalty. On the one hand, an idea of honorable behavior pervades human activities, and it is necessary to rely on personal knowledge and skills to demonstrate the best examples. On the other hand, honor is mercantile and aims at confusing people. The significance of honor is perfectly described in many literary works, and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is one of the plays where the theme of honor serves as the basis of human relationships. Shakespeare is probably one of the best writers whose stories remind the reader about love and its impact on the quality of life. However, when love is determined by some virtues, plots are hard to predict. Men and women may have different understandings of honor but always use it as an excuse for their actions. As a result, gender inequalities exist and define social norms. In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare introduces honor as a specific quality that differs in male and female characters and can do more harm than good if it is wrongly interpreted or spoiled by rumors.
Play’s Themes
Love may have different forms and impacts on people, but its worth cannot be ignored. When a person decides to read Shakespeare, he or she expects to meet love-driven characters whose emotions and needs provoke a number of funny or dramatic events. Compared to many tragedies written by the playwright, Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy with a happy ending. Sen explains this play as the one that “stands out with its effective appeal and content” (42). Another critic proves that this work is interesting because of a perfect “depiction of the problems created by the inconsistent standards of honor set in place for early modern men and women” (Wilson 59). In fact, there are many reasons for admiring the plot of the play, but the discussion of gender roles and differences through the prism of honor helps understand families and societies of the 16th-17th centuries. Shakespeare does not use the same code of honor for men and women and develops his narration separately for characters, underlying the importance of patriarchal and feminist approaches.
Honor Significance
There are many virtues and qualities that determine human behaviors and relationships people want to have. In Shakespeare’s plays, honor is used to underline the importance of respect and high esteem for accepting the standards of what is right and what is wrong. Wilson focuses on the necessity to recognize the “contradiction between the appearance and reality of honor” (60). However, it is also crucial to remember about “having a good name” (Sen 42). Hero, one of the main characters in the play, is about to get married and tells that his fiancé, “indeed, he hath an excellent good name” and “his excellence did earn it” (Shakespeare 109). For a woman, honor was the necessity to say “father, as it please you” (Shakespeare 86). However, not all women in Much Ado About Nothing meet the same criteria, and this is what makes this story unique and interesting. The strength of this work is not only the comparison between what is honorable for men and women but the comparison of honor definition within the same groups.
Women’s Honor
The role of honor in women can be traced through the two characters of the play. There is Beatrice, “a pleasant-spirited lady” who has “little of the melancholy element” (Shakespeare 96). She is not ready to accept the norms where society chooses a patriarchal lifestyle according to which women make curtsies and try to please their men. Her intention to prove that “we are all mortal” serves as evidence that Beatrice does not consider herself as a leader or an independent woman (Shakespeare 73). She wants to support equality in the relationships between a woman and a man, telling about the “appearance of honor… not always be reliable” (Wilson 60). Human frailty cannot be neglected, and Beatrice’s honor is her possibility to resist the existing norms and imposed judgments.
On the contrary, there is Hero, a kind and gentle young lady who cannot allow thought about behaving the way she wants. She is the daughter of her father, who believes that “walk softly, and look sweetly, and say nothing” is the best image of an honorable individual (Shakespeare 88). Compared to Beatrice, who is able to talk about her feelings and make her own decisions, Hero shows an example of how the power of men defines the destiny of a woman. However, at the same time, her fidelity and desire to please her father or her future husband do not lead to a good end. It becomes easy to falsify a situation and make Hero “wrongly accused to have lacked these normative traits” (Sen 43). Being so obsessed with honor, respect, and order, Hero was easily slandered, so she had to “die” to return her good name and reputation.
In his play, Shakespeare likes to play with the multifunctionality of honor. First, he underlines the role of a father in a woman’s life and the inevitability of his decisions. Leonato orders, “Daughter, remember what I told you. If the Prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer” (Shakespeare 87). Second, the poet creates a contradiction to a male position in the form of Beatrice, who believes that “there is measure in everything… Wooing, wedding, and repenting” (Shakespeare 87). Her honor is not simple, and to prove it, she has to be dishonored. Finally, Hero is in the middle of the discourse, supporting men’s rules and respecting women’s rights. With the help of this character, the author illustrates that despite evident inequality in gender relationships, the patriarchal order has certain benefits for women, including the presence of support, protection, and guidance.
Men’s Honor
In addition to several strong examples of female honor, Shakespeare also focuses on the importance of male honor. According to Sen, Much Ado About Nothing “portrays the different normative parameters for men and women with regard to chastity and honor” (42). Men have to be noble and brave and prove their achievements in wars and business. It is not enough to have a good name, but it is more important to demonstrate what steps have been done to observe the required results. The author wants to know “how many hath he killed and eaten in these wars” (Shakespeare 72). In addition, men should find out if they connect their lives with modest ladies because this relationship could determine their future reputation. The examples of Claudio, Don John and Benedick show that honor could have a number of faces, and sometimes, the desire to stay noble is corrupted by gossips and jealousy.
Claudio is a good young man who truly loves Hero and wants to marry her because of her feelings, behavior, and general appearance. He believes that “friendship is constant in all other things,” but “all hearts in love use their own tongues” (Shakespeare 90). At the same time, he undergoes outside impacts and could change his attitude toward a person not because of some individual concerns or failures but because of the information that is spread in society. Don John does not want to lose his friends (who are not many in his life) and try to create a dark scheme and dishonor a woman who, as he knows, cannot resist or show her disobedience. The honor of this character has nothing in common with the true meaning of this word. His intentions are weak, and his actions are mean, which makes him an antagonist who has a bad ending in Much Ado About Nothing. In Benedick’s case, honor is respect and recognition received from others. This quality may be gained and lost in a short period, and the people around help realize the worth of honor.
Honor’s Impact
Regarding the characters and their situations described in Much Ado About Nothing, honor could do more harm than good sometimes. On the one hand, it is correct to believe that every society is in need of specific norms and rules according to which people develop their relationships, exchange information, and make decisions. Men should “construct and maintain for themselves an appearance of social dignity and respectability” (Wilson 59). From this perspective, honor is an outcome and a means to achieve certain goals and statuses. It is important for individuals to stay honorable and use their best qualities.
On the other hand, as well as any value, honor may be challenged or changed as per different outside factors. The differences between men’s honor (eligibility to make choices) and women’s honor (chastity and fidelity) cannot be ignored (Sen 43). Honor is a reputation that can be gained and lost suddenly, and much depends on how people operate with available opportunities and coming threats. Shakespeare does not want to support one particular position in regard to honor and perfectly introduces different characters with their own, usually justified visions of honorable behavior.
Conclusion
In general, the works by William Shakespeare deserve the right to be one of the most popular and frequently referenced around the whole world. Although Much Ado About Nothing is not as popular as Romeo and Juliet or Othello, this play contains a number of crucial lessons about how to behave and stay noble in all situations. The theme of honor in men and women is one of the central issues of this work. If some people think that honor is always associated with positive characteristics, it is high time to open the book and read Much Ado About Nothing. Honor is never simple, and its cunning lies in people’s ability to cover up the truth and present the necessary information in the most favorable way. All characters, including Beatrice, Benedick, Hero, Claudio, and Don John, have their dreams, needs, and qualities, and Shakespeare successfully compares them within the frames of honor and social justice.
Works Cited
Sen, Avra. “Honor in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.” Spring Magazine on English Literature, vol. 2, no. 1, 2016, pp. 42-44.
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Edited by F. H. Mares, translated by Travis D. Williams, 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Wilson, Christa. ““Father, as It Please You”: The Problems of Patriarchy in Much Ado About Nothing.” CLA Journal, vol. 5, 2017, pp. 59-71.