Much Ado About Nothing focuses on the emotional development of two relationships that endure varying levels of deception. Although both couples get married at the end of the show, the deception that occurs throughout the show takes advantage of Benedick and Claudio's emotional instability: “A deception leads to social peace, to marriage, to the end of deception. The other deception generates conflict and mistrust and also leads Beatrice to desire Claudio's heart in the market square” (Henze 188). Many critics discuss the emotional flaws of the male characters and suggest that deception is necessary to reveal their true feelings. For example, Benedick must be tricked into admitting his true love for Beatrice; on the other hand, when Claudio is deceived, his “love” for Hero turns out to be superficial and destroyed. Furthermore, critics argue that the Claudio/Hero relationship is conventional compared to the Benedick/Beatrice relationship; however, as the deception establishes, the Benedick/Beatrice relationship is based on true love while the Claudio/Hero relationship is not. Not only is the emotional instability of men exploited in this way, but Shakespeare may also have wanted to criticize the conventional nature of marriage between strangers and the distrust and paranoia it creates compared to marriages based on true love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Benedick demonstrates emotional instability because he refuses to admit his true feelings for Beatrice until he is deceived by his friends. When the soldiers return to Messina, the audience witnesses the first meeting between Beatrice and Benedetto. During this exchange, both parties utter sharp words; in fact Benedetto first addresses Beatrice in a hateful way: “What, my dear Lady Disdein! Are you still / alive?" (Shakespeare 1.1.112-113). Benedick questions Beatrice's life and continues to insult her as she insults him. Although their conversation is tense, Benedick later reveals to Claudio his true feelings for Beatrice Benedick disagrees with Claudio's perspective on Hero; instead he describes Beatrice's physicality: “Here is her cousin, if she were not / possessed by a fury, she surpasses her as much in beauty as / the first of May the last. December” (1.1.180-182). Although Beatrice has a wicked tongue, Benedick admires her physical beauty, but before the audience can speculate about his romantic feelings towards Beatrice, he quickly changes the subject and talks about his love for her. he states that he does not want to get married and denies any future love in his life, because "not to love at all is an antisocial and antiromantic vow which corresponds to Beatrice's statement that she would prefer not to hear a man say that he loves her" (Henze 189). Benedetto demonstrates his emotional instability by denying his true feelings for Beatrice because he is afraid of rejection. He verbalizes his true feelings for Beatrice to Claudio; however his insecurities cause him to repress his sentimentalism. This refusal to love ends after Don Pedro tricks Benedick into believing that Beatrice loves him. Once again Benedick discusses Beatrice's positive qualities in a loving manner: They say the lady is beautiful – it's true, I can testify to them. And virtuous – that's how it is, I can't blame him. And wise, but to love me. In truth, this adds nothing to her ingenuity, nor a great argument in support of her madness, for I will be terribly in love with her. (Shakespeare 2.3.222-227) Although Benedick has already mentioned Beatrice's tender attributes, he reiterates these qualities because he is now able to openly admit his love. He becomes sure of his love for Beatrice because he is tricked into thinking she issuffering because of her love for him (similar to the way he suffered loving her without being able to tell her). Furthermore, Benedick attempts to deceive the audience into believing that his love for Beatrice only develops because she was exposed by Hero. Yet Don Pedro's trick would not have been possible if Benedick had not harbored true feelings for Beatrice: “To say that [Benedetto and Beatrice] are induced to love each other by false representations or appearances is surely insufficient. More important is the idea that the conspirators, by creating appearances, told the truth about the couple's artificially disguised emotions” (Babula 12). Benedick tries to portray his love for Beatrice as a coincidence, but without underlying feelings the deception would not have succeeded. Although this provides another example of emotional instability because Benedick refuses to admit his initial feelings for Beatrice, the relationship progresses as both characters finally express their love for each other. At this point, Benedetto is finally able to develop emotionally because he is no longer limiting his love for Beatrice; instead, he openly expresses his affection. On the other hand, Claudio proclaims his love for Hero based solely on appearances and social ideologies. He doesn't understand the complexities of love; however, he openly discusses his "deep" feelings for Hero with the other male characters. Unlike Benedick, who refuses to admit his love, Claudio is willing to share his feelings, but his feelings have no basis: “[Claudio] hadn't met [Hero] yet. He had seen her from afar, so he only knows her outward appearance” (Scheff 161). Claudio had no verbal contact with Hero; yet he is infatuated with her. Discussing Hero with Don Pedro, he expresses his infatuation as a real emotion: “That I love her, I feel it” (1.9.214). Claudio's superficiality is problematic because he confuses his infatuation with Hero with real feelings. Furthermore, Claudio asks for Don Pedro's help in courting her. The fact that Claudio avoids pursuing the woman he “loves” illustrates his emotional insecurity because he claims to have a real emotional connection with Hero and wants to marry her, but is afraid to approach her. Because of his reluctance to talk to Hero and his emotional instability, Claudio becomes the perfect target for Don John's deceptions. The first case occurs at the masquerade party. Although Claudio had asked for Don Pedro's help at the beginning of the play, Don John is able to manipulate Claudio's emotions because his love is superficial. After Claudio is led to believe that Don Pedro is interested in Hero, he abandons his initial feelings: “This is a time trial incident / Which I did not distrust. Goodbye, then, Hero! (Shakespeare 2.1.166-167). Rather than approach Hero and profess his love, he abandons his sentimentality towards her. This sudden change illustrates another example of Claudius' emotional instability, as in contrast to true love “Infatuation…involved little or no knowledge of the other” (Scheff 162). Since Claudio has had no verbal contact with Hero, he knows little about her other than information provided by others. This makes him vulnerable to the outside influences of others – like Don John – because he is exposed as a superficial and unstable man. Claudio's avoidance parallels Benedick's refusal to love for fear of rejection; however, Claudio openly discusses his "love" for Hero without any prior knowledge of her beyond her social standing and outward appearance. Benedick denies his love because he fears ridicule and rejection from Beatrice, but his fear is based on the belief that she despises him, perhaps due to a previous unhappy experience. At theLikewise, Claudio abandons his “love” for Hero, but is unaware of Hero's desires, illustrating his superficiality and emotional confusion. This emotional conflict continues even after the problem has been resolved. Claudio does not attempt to contact Hero; instead he proclaims to Don Pedro that he wants to get married immediately: “Tomorrow, my lord. Time goes on crutches till / Love hath all her rites” (Shakespeare 2.1.329-330). Rather than get to know Hero and develop his relationship, Claudio decides that he wants to marry a stranger: “Claudio does not know the internal qualities of his Lady and obviously does not feel the need to discover them through the discourse of reason; significantly, he neither suspects nor expects his lady to be wise. Rather, he simply assumes that his external good looks connote and imagine his internal beauty and virtue” (Lewalski 247). Claudio's refusal to get to know the woman he "loves" keeps his relationship in a vulnerable position, because his only perspective as a Hero is superficial in nature. Without any further knowledge of his personality, needs, desires, etc., Claudio can only make assumptions and listen to external sources. Once again, Don John acts as an outside source and attacks Claudio's insecurities by tricking him into believing that Hero is lecherous. Then, Claudio responds by publicly shaming and “killing” the woman he “loves.” Unlike Benedick, whose love progresses as he is deceived, Claudio's superficiality is exploited because Claudio humiliates a woman who claimed to have deep feelings without ever asking her point of view. Rather than discuss what he saw with Hero (similar to the problem at the masque), Claudio quickly jumps to an unfair conclusion and slanders an innocent woman. Because his "love" is based on infatuation, as discussed above, he is vulnerable to deception and lies, and illustrates his idealization as a Hero through his obsession with his sexual honor. Claudio is once again exposed as an insecure man because he does not trust the woman he claims to love; instead he feels justified in “killing” her for her infidelity: “Claudio effectively shows what happens when superficial romanticism and selfish, suspicious social concern come together” (Henze 193). Although he is married to Hero at the end of the play, Claudio exemplifies the difference between the stability of love and the erratic and uninformed nature of infatuation. Compared to Beatrice and Benedick, Claudio and Hero are considered by many critics to be the “conventional” couple due to the arrangement of their marriage; however, as demonstrated in the previous discussion, Claudio's emotions are superficial while Benedick has real feelings for Beatrice. While I cannot describe his motivations to the current audience of Much Ado, through these relationships Shakespeare may have intended to criticize the typical emotionally detached relationship versus a love-based relationship. When discussing Hero's public shaming, many critics argue that Claudio's actions would not be uncommon in the historical context of the play: “[Claudio's] rejection of Hero would not have seemed as cruel as it seems to us; her acceptance of another spouse would not have angered an Elizabethan audience accustomed to a professional attitude towards marriage” (Babula 13). Shakespeare provides his audience with a “typical” male reaction and response to issues such as sexual honor and chastity; however, in doing so, he exposes the harshness and unfairness that can arise from a man's insecurities and emotional instability. Additionally, Shakespeare illustrates an interesting contrast between love and infatuation through Benedict and Claudius. From the beginning of the show, Claudio claims to, 2006.