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Much Ado About Nothing Gender Analysis

Decent Essays

Much Ado About Nothing explores many themes but we are going to mainly focus on the different roles of men and women in society as well as the establishment and maintenance of their honour. The play represents the injustice against gender roles in society and the inequality between men who have pressures in terms of expectation and the women who are portrayed as naturally unfaithful. Honour plays a big part in this play as it means that people earned the respect and nobility in their society. The illustration of gender and honour is clearly shown when Claudio disrupts the ceremony by shaming Hero of what he saw last night and blames her as an impure disgrace.

The play distinguishes the stereotypes set on females of the Elizabethan Era. The …show more content…

Proving that men always have the upper hand in any situation and that women were simply supposed to obey the strict social code. Beatrice wishes she can help her cousin but simply because she is a female she is unable to protest against the accusation of her cousin. The social traditions showed that men were ranked higher than women, meaning that they could do whatever they want and not get discriminated against. Hero’s father is quick to turn against Hero and easily believes Claudio as he is a man of higher status. It is much easier to believe a man’s word than a women’s because they were portrayed as naturally unfaithful. Nobody considered matters from Hero’s side because she is a women and thus she is in the wrong. Claudio and Don Pedro were easily convinced that it was Hero who they say last night by the window. As Hero is a women she has no say in this situation nor can she do anything because no one will believe her. Women never had a say in anything they were simply just to abide the rules given; only men had a voice in that society. The men also objectify the women making them seem

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