Student Essay on Much Ado about Nothing- Personality Differences

"Personality is to a man what perfume is to a flower." This quote by Charles Schwab describes the importance of personality to a person. The author of this quote is saying that personality is what defines each person and it is what each person is remembered by, as a flower is defined and remembered by its perfume. Personality can control and impact every aspect of a person's life. In Much Ado About Nothing, this is true for all the characters, but especially for the characters of Beatrice and Hero. The personalities of these two characters impact the aspect of their life that has to do with relationships. The conditions under which their marriages occur, their statuses in their relationships, and the ways that their relationships start were all impacted by their diverse personalities. The personalities of Beatrice and Hero vary greatly, leading them in opposite directions with their relationships, with Beatrice headed towards a good relationship and Hero towards a bad one.

The conditions under which Beatrice's and Hero's marriages occur are the effect of their personal beliefs, which relate to their personalities. Beatrice's view on the circumstances under which marriage should occur revolve around the fact that true love must be present. This is shown when Beatrice says,

With a good leg and a good foot, uncle, and money

enough in his purse, such a man would win any woman

in the world, if 'a could get her good

will. (2.1.14-17)

Here, she is saying that a man can possess all these qualities, but he can only have a woman is he can get her to love him. Beatrice believes in the principle of true love because she wants her husband to be faithful to her. This is obvious during a conversation between her and her father Antonio:

Antonio: In faith, she's too curst.

Beatrice: Too curst is more than curst: I shall lessen

God's sending that way, for it is said, "God sends

a curst cow short horns"; but to a cow too curst he

sends none. (2.1.21-24)

In this context, the word 'horns' is referring to the horns of a cuckold. When her father calls her 'too curst' she replies that 'to a cow too curst he sends none', meaning that by being too curst, she will have a faithful husband. When Beatrice is made to think that Benedick is in love with her, she seems to think that he really loves her and that he will be faithful to her, because she agrees to return his love when she says, "And Benedick, love on; I will requite thee," (3.2.111). This means that she really loves him secretly also, or else, her belief that a relationship should be backed by true love wouldn't hold true. Because of this belief of hers, it is more likely that her relationship will last longer because love is a commitment by both members of a relationship. In contrast, Hero's marriage by the end of the play seems to have only occurred to uphold the family honor. Hero's marriage is arranged with Claudio, whom she claims to love. Their plans of marriage break on the day however, under false accusations of Hero cheating. Hero's death is feigned after this, in order to gain more time to uncover the truth. This is accomplished, and she tricks Claudio into marrying her by pretending to be a look-alike cousin of Hero. This plan is introduce when Leonato says to Claudio, "

Be yet my nephew: my brother hath a daughter,

Almost the copy of my child that's dead,

And she alone is heir to both of us.

Give her the right you should have given her cousin,(5.1.289-292)

Claudio agrees to marry the "niece", and it is apparent that he is only doing so because of honor when he says, "Which is the lady I must seize upon""( 5.4.53). This shows that he just wants to take possession of a wife to uphold his own and Leonato's honor. The marriage of Hero and Claudio without the aspect of true love will lead them to have an unsuccessful married life because of the lack of commitment from both members. These different circumstances under which Beatrice's and Hero's marriages occur influence their dissimilar outcomes of their relationships.

The statuses of each of the characters in their relationships are determined by their contrasting personalities, and play a part in the end results of their relationships. One of the aspects of Beatrice's personality that leads her to leading a better love life is that she takes an authoritative role in the relationship because of her boldness. Beatrice is rash in her way of talking with Benedick, and at this point in time, it was quite unusual for a woman to be so bold while talking to a man. For example, while Beatrice is talking to Benedick, she says, "I wonder that you will still be talking, / Signor Benedick; nobody marks you" (1.1.112-113). She is not ashamed of being rude towards him or of her outward personality. One time where Beatrice takes an authoritative role in her relationship with Benedick is after Hero is falsely accused of cheating on Claudio. In this scene, Beatrice sets conditions for their relationship. Because Beatrice is so angry with Claudio, she asks Benedick to kill him. When Benedick refuses, Beatrice says, "I am gone, though I am here; there is no love/ in you. Nay, I pray you let me go!"(4.2.291-292). Then, soon after, when Benedick is still skeptical about her request but swears by his hand that he loves her, Beatrice replies, " Use it for my love in some other way than/ swearing by it" (4.2.324-325). Benedick is finally convinced that Beatrice really believes that Claudio wronged Hero, so he says, "Enough, I am engaged. I will challenge him" (4.2.329). This persuasion of Benedick by Beatrice shows how much control she exercises in their relationship in certain situations. This occasional exercise of control is good because this way, Beatrice will not be ruled completely by Benedick, but instead, they will both have an equal amount of control in their relationship. Hero on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She takes the secondary role in the relationship, by basically letting Claudio decide what goes on in her life. For example, at the first wedding, when Claudio accuses Hero of cheating on him, she says or does nothing to defend herself. She lets her fate be decided by Claudio, while she just stands there and watches their relationship end. This is unfortunate, because Hero has no say in the events that go on in her own life. If it continues to be this way, then Claudio will basically rule over Hero during their married life and there will be no equality present like in Beatrice's relationship. If Hero had the same boldness as Beatrice, she would not have let this happen to her, and if it hadn't happen to her, she would be in the position to lead a better love life. These different statuses of Beatrice and Hero in their relationships are results of their personalities, and will play a part in the opposite outcomes of their relationships.

The ways that Beatrice's and Hero's relationships started reflect their personalities also. The two very different ways that these two characters began their relationships impacted the fate of their relationships. Beatrice and Benedick's relationship was the result of a plot made by their friends to get them to like each other. Beatrice needed this plot to help her get over her detestation of men. Her nasty feelings towards men because of her unsatisfiable personality is obvious, when she says,

Not till God make men of some other metal

than earth. Would it not grieve a woman to be

overmastered with a piece of valiant dust? To make

an account of her life to a clod of wayward marl"

No, uncle, I'll none. Adam's sons are my brethren,

and, truly, I hold it a sin to match in my kindred.(2.1.59-64)

Here, she is insulting men and is saying that she will not get married until they change their ways. Beatrice also needed this plot to help her recognize her true feelings for Benedick. It is clear that she and Benedick have a past history, because at the beginning of the play, she says, "You always end with a jade's trick. I know/you of old,"(1.1.140-141). At the end of the play, when the plot is revealed, both hers and Benedick's true love for each other are unmasked, all thanks to their friends. This way of their relationship starting was good, because since they had a past history, they both already knew each other well, but just needed some help revealing their true feelings. Contrasting from Benedick and Beatrice, Hero and Claudio's relationship began with a decision that Hero didn't play a very big part in. Claudio was the one who first decided that he wanted Hero as a wife, and when action was taken, the marriage was arranged by Don Pedro and Leonato, as shown in these lines, " ...Here Claudio, I have wooed in thy name,/ and fair Hero is won. I have broke with her father, and his good will obtained..."(2.1.295-297). Hero was expected since the beginning to marry according to her father's wishes. This is shown during this conversation,

Antonio: [To Hero] Well, niece, I trust you will be

ruled by your father.

Beatrice: Yes, faith. It is my cousin's duty to make

cursy and say, "Father, as it please you." But yet

for all that, cousin, let him be a handsome fellow,

or else make another cursy, and say, "Father, as

it please me."(2.1.50-56)

These passages show that Hero's relationship was arranged from the beginning, and was not started because of personal choice, but was a result of her obedient personality. This is not the only part of the beginning of her relationship that leads her to having a worse love life than Beatrice. When Hero and Claudio are engaged, they are just mere acquaintances. Claudio just made his decision of wanting to marry her because of Hero's physical beauty. Because they had no past knowledge of each other, unlike Benedick and Beatrice, their relationship was established according to physical attraction, and not spiritual attraction. This physical judgment on both Claudio's and Hero's part was the result of their ignorant personalities, and will impact their relationship negatively.

The personalities of Beatrice and Hero vary greatly, leading them in opposite directions with their relationships, with Beatrice headed towards a good relationship and Hero towards a bad one. The circumstances under which their marriages occur, their statuses in their relationships, and the ways their relationships started all play a significant role in the probable outcomes of their relationships. Beatrice's belief in marriage only under the principle of true love, her authoritative status in the relationship, and the plot in which she discovers her true feelings for Benedick all work together to help her have a better relationship. Hero's contrasting beliefs of getting married only in order to uphold family honor, her secondary status in the relationship, and her arranged relationship with Claudio lead her in the opposite direction than Beatrice with her relationship. "Personality has the power to open many doors, but the same personality must keep them open." This quote, by anonymous, applies to Beatrice's and Hero's situations directly. Beatrice's and Hero's contrasting personalities had the ability to lead them into their relationships, regardless of the circumstances, but now their personalities also have to keep the relationships going, which is a tougher task.