Much Ado About Nothing

Beatrice is the niece of Leonato, governor of Messina. Feisty and sharp-tongued, she subverts the Elizabethan expectation of the modest, dutiful maiden embodied by her cousin Hero, to whom she is fiercely devoted, and is frustrated by the lack of agency afforded to women in her culture. Her name means one who blesses, implicitly linking her to Benedick, whose name means blessed.

While some sources list Beatrice as Antonio’s daughter, there is more textual evidence to support her being an orphan: she is far more independent than the filial Hero and does not defer to Antonio’s authority at any point. Further, Antonio makes no attempt to control her or to cajole her into getting married when she initially refuses to take a husband. Indeed, no one seems very concerned by Beatrice’s refusal to marry – the other characters only conspire to bring her together with Benedick as a form of amusement.

Beatrice is free-spirited and unafraid to enter the world of male conversation. For example, in Act 2 Scene 1, she tells Claudio “speak, count, ‘tis your cue” and playfully teases him about being “something of that jealous complexion” in front of Don Pedro. She exhibits none of the modesty expected of a maiden eligible to be married. Far from detracting from her beauty, her disdainful humour beguiles both the audience and the other characters. In Act 2 Scene 1, there is an awkward moment in which Don Pedro asks “will you have me, lady?” – so attracted by her vivacious wit that he impulsively proposes to her. Beatrice wisely replies that “your grace is too costly to wear every day,” knowing that, as a commoner and an orphan, she would be an unsuitable wife for a prince.

As the more assertive, confident cousin, most critics believe Beatrice to be older than Hero. While Shakespeare does not explicitly state his characters’ ages, the suggestion of a past relationship between Benedick and Beatrice supports this view – see Act 2 Scene 1:

Don Pedro: Come, lady, come, you have lost the heart of Signor Benedick.

Beatrice: Indeed, my lord, he lent it me a while, and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one, marry once before he won it of me with false dice, therefore your grace may well say I have lost it.