Leonato's speech beginning "Why, doth not every earthly thing,’ in Much Ado About Nothing follows Claudio’s false accusations towards Hero, shaming her on their wedding day. This highlights the importance of women’s chastity in the Elizabethan era, reinforcing the idea of their obligations to men within society and marriage, similar to the theme of gender roles and conflict in The Taming of the Shrew.
This passage however portrays how the act of infidelity from women brings great shame upon her family as well as herself. The fact that Hero has been wrongly accused, however, brings about a problematic aspect of Leonato’s speech, as accusation alone seems enough to bare the shame of infidelity.
Leonato’s speech portrays Shakespeare’s intent to bring the comedy to the brink of tragedy, using vivid and emotional metaphors to further distinguish the extent of Hero and Leonato’s grief. Mulryne comments in Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing'that "if we are to appreciate the full richness of Much Ado we must be prepared to give due emphasis to this ‘tragic’ aspect."
Female Sexuality:
Female sexuality is confronted in Leonato’s speech, as without considering whether Claudio’s accusations are true or not, her infidelity is brought into question. Leonato, like Claudio points out the blush in Hero’s cheeks, which was commonly interpreted as female arousal and desire.
"Could she here deny
The story that is printed in her blood?"
The way he uses her mere blushing almost as a confirmation of her infidelity shows how quick Leonato is to believe Claudio’s accusations, as he comes across reluctant to defend his own daughter. The use of the word blood to describe the colour in her cheeks also reinforces how the shame inflicted on Hero follows though to bring shame upon her family.
The significance in this is emphasised in Claudio’s rejection of her, as Leonato is accused of trying to marry her off because of her impurity. The references to blood and flesh in the passage emphasises the grief and dismay amongst the characters, showing Shakespeare’s intent to push the play towards the border of a tragedy.
"To her foul tainted flesh."
The vivid use of flesh and blood can be most clearly related to Shakespeare’s tragedies Hamlet and Macbeth, suggesting these references to be deliberate. In Hamlet this imagery is used to confront the dysfunctions within family, again reinforcing Leonato’s problematic and unsympathetic reaction to his accused daughter.
Transition from Virgin to Whore:
Leonato, convinced of Hero’s infamy, thinks of his dishonour before considering the effects this accusation would have upon his daughter. He repeatedly comments on how he must bare this shame, and how he wishes he could deny it, portraying the fragile relationship between father and daughter.
"Why had I not with charitable hand
Took up a beggars daughter at my gates,
Who smirched thus and mired with infamy,
I might have said ‘No part of it is mine.’’
Leonato primarily wishes here that he could deny the actions of his daughter, and overall deny her as his own. This emphasises the importance of a woman’s chastity when preparing to wed, as the forceful and brutal wish we hear from Leonato here underlines the damaging effect ‘impurity’ had on a woman and her family.
His reluctance to consider whether Claudio even speaks the truth also shows the fragility of a woman’s reputation, as with little if not no concrete evidence Claudio has managed to convince almost every fellow character of Hero’s infidelity. Paul and Miriam Mueschke comment in their critical essay Illusion and Metamorphosis how "Leonato’s despair submerges his judgment, he accepts appearance for reality, perjury for proof; love turns to loathing, his cherished daughter dwindles from virgin to wanton."
Impossibility of Redemption:
The vivid metaphors used within the passage such as "she is fallen into a pit of ink," show how Hero’s redemption is deemed somewhat impossible. After all in order to restore her purity she pretends to be dead and is passed off as Leonato’s niece, rather than being given the chance to disprove Claudio’s accusations.
This shows how a woman’s entitlement to wed during the Elizabethan era centres around their purity and subjectivity to men, a difficult feature for a modern audience to accept. Shakespeare’s contrasting couple in the play however provide the sub-plot of Beatrice and Benedick, a relationship of taunting banter an audience today is more likely to connect with.
Sources
• Mulryne J. R. (1965) Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing London: Edward Arnold LTD.
• Scott C. (2007) Shakespeare and the Idea of the Book New York: Oxford University Press.
• Taylor M. (2001) Shakespeare Criticism in the Twentieth Century New York: Oxford University Press.
• Mueschke M. & P. (1967) ‘Illusion and Metamorphosis’ in Brown J. R. (eds),(1979) Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press LTD.
Helen Reakes - As a student studying English Literature at Swansea University, I have embraced my passion for detangling and analysing literature, and ...
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