Monday, October 4, 2010

Are Minor Relationships Overlooked?

Are Minor Relationships Overlooked?

After reading the conclusion of Much Ado About Nothing, it seems to me that one of the most overlooked yet crucial points of the play is Benedick's trust of Hero. Although they interact very little, it is Benedick's perception of Hero as a flawlessly moral woman which allows his "merry war" with Beatrice to turn from an entertaining game into a more serious and genuine romance.

It is, in fact, Hero that brings Benedick and Beatrice together. In Act II scene iii, when Claudio, Leonato and Don Pedro hold their staged conversation to convince Benedick that Beatrice loves him, there is no sure way for them to get Benedick to believe them. Initially Benedick suspects that it must be a trick. Soon the three men resort to using Hero's name to lend them some credibility, and as they continue to claim that Hero is the source from which they have learned of Beatrice's affections, Benedick becomes convinced: "This can be no trick. The conference was sadly born. They have the truth of this from Hero." (2.3, 196-197) While Benedick is distrustful of his friends, he holds Hero's word to be absolute truth. Thus it can be said that Hero is the one who made it possible for him to realize his love for Beatrice.

So when in Act V scene i Benedick challenges Claudio to a duel for Hero's sake, it is not simply about Claudio's mistreatment of any woman. Benedick says to his best friend, "You are a villain. I jest not. I will make it good how you dare, with what you dare, and when you dare. Do me right, or I will protest your cowardice. You have killed a sweet lady, and her death shall fall heavy on you. Let me hear from you. (5.1, 143-147) Benedick is willing to fight his best friend, but it is not for the sake of Hero as a woman so much as what Hero represents to him. It is, after all, the use of Hero's name in the well-intended trickery from Act II which led Benedick to let go of his pride and accept his feelings for Beatrice. I think Benedick is grateful to Hero, who he believes revealed the truth of Beatrice's feelings toward him. If Hero is not as morally upright and faithful as Benedick thinks, then it is possible that she lied about Beatrice's affections; and Benedick, wanting to cling to the hope that Beatrice loves him, can't accept that there is some doubt.

Benedick's complete trust of Hero's word is very important to the Benedick/Beatrice romantic plot, and without it the plan of Claudio, Leonato and Don Pedro probably would have failed. It is interesting to me that so few people have pointed this out, but I think in all the other action of the play things like this can be lost—much like Don Pedro's brief proposal to Beatrice, which is a very minor part that hints at a larger problem of Don Pedro being the only one who doesn't enjoy a romantic happy ending. This may not seem so important because Don Pedro's conflict with the villain Don John is wrapped up, but Benedick notes that Don Pedro seems sad in Act V scene iv and urges him to "get thee a wife, get thee a wife" (5.4, 117). For Don Pedro it is not an entirely happy ending, just a resolution to the greatest of his problems. This, too, seems to be lost amid the other plots and the joy of the other characters' happy endings.

9 comments:

ladida said...

I love that you scrutinize the relationship between Hero and Benedick. It is interesting that the most misogynist man in the play is the only one who immediately asserts that Hero is innocent and comes to her defense, even willing to commit violence because of this conviction. Perhaps this is an instance of Hero's position of transformation in the play: she not only changes herself, but also causes the main attacker of marriage, the ultimate comedic goal, to change and accept love, marriage, and propagation. So, with Hero we find the character who brings us closest to tragedy (she actually reminded me of Cordelia) and who delivers us to comedy.
Your focus on the 2 Dons highlights that they are both excluded at the end of the play, which is rather strange when taken in conjunction with the rest of Shakespeare's comedies. In Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night it is the villains, Shylock and Malvolio, who are excluded. It is a willful exclusion, though. In AMND everyone is paired off and in MfM the Duke proposes to Isabella. The only comparable occurrence of exclusion is Antonio from MoV, who , like Don Pedro is one of the means through which two other characters are able to be paired off. The only reason I can think of for this is that at the close of both plays both characters have been emasculated: D. Pedro was so stupid as to not even suspect his brother's villainy and ANtonio had to be saved by a woman. Don Perdo isn't even the one who will punish him, even though he is the prince. It is Benedick who will do that. Unlike Malvolio and Shylock they are not totally rejected by their societies, but they don't fit into them nicely anymore.

ladida said...

This may be interesting: The Devil's Bride: A Sequel To William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Bride-William-Shakespeares-Nothing/dp/1594572895

Robert Cutrera said...

I didn't fully realize how much Benedick really trusts Hero until reading your post. He really does not know her very well and yet is willing to fight Claudio, his close friend. I completely agree that it is what she stands for that Benedick finds to be so worth fighting for. The fact that he has complete faith in Hero shows something about the ideals of Benedick and I think tells that he is a deeper and more understanding person than we are first led to believe.

Tiffany Atchison said...

I like how you pointed out Benedick's trust for Hero. I didn't realize this until reading your post. Good observation! I just thought that he was challenging Claudio because Beatrice had asked him to if he really loved her. However, I've taken a deeper look due to the point that you made and it makes more sense. Benedick doesn't really trust anyone and he does trust Hero and her words.

Steph Cryan said...

I'm glad you make this point, because in all honesty I hadn't noticed it myself. It does seem like a crucial point that gets overlooked by all and simply gets taken for granted even though without it things would fall apart. After reading your post and re-reading certain acts of the play, I see your point, without Hero and Benedick's seemingly non-existant relationship, its unlikely that a lot of this plot would have happened. It's an amazing observation and one I'm so glad you pointed out! It shouldn't be a relationship that goes so unnoticed.

Kshort said...

you make a great point in your post, many of the minor interactions and relationships within the play are overlooked. The demonstration Benedick shows to defend Hero's honor and believe her- which is all she really needs, someone to take her side, shows that his facade of being a misogynist isn't all he is. Throughout the play we see the layers of Benedick slowly peel back to show his true emotions he hides. So the fact that you picked up on the intensity of this subtle friendship is a very important point that can be related to Benedick's true self.

Gianna said...

I completely overlooked the whole relationship between Benedick and Hero!! Thank you so much for opening my eyes to it. It is super interesting. I wonder if it is in fact Hero who Benedick loves ( cause your right he totally describes her) and not Beatrice.hmmm... It would make for an interesting production to play that relationship up.

Unknown said...

Your post helped me to see a side of Benedick I didn't see before! It is true that Benedick trusted Hero but it seems because he wanted to just prove to Beatrice that he did love her and in order to do so Benedick had to build this trust in Hero. I enjoyed reading your post! I am happy that it gave me new perspective on relationship between Benedick and Hero as well as the one between Beatrice.

Cyrus Mulready said...

This is a very insightful way of thinking of these characters, Maryanne! Maybe this is a little too cynical of me to say, but I read Benedick's devotion to Hero as motivated primarily by his desire to impress Beatrice. Would he fight for Hero's honor if Beatrice hadn't put him up to it? I'm just not sure.