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Much Ado: Bi Ben Bea
Feb. 3rd, 2025 11:16 pmAfter sharing some of my thoughts about Much Ado About Nothing and getting prompted to share more thoughts about it I've got even more.
Long story short: I think Beatrice is an heiress cause she doesn't worry about her (financial) future, her family can't tell her what to do and she can step into a lot, but not all, male coded spaces. And then I just threw in there that I think Benedict is a disaster bi without explaining it any further.
Why do I think that Benedict is a disaster bi?
Part of it is probably whishful thinking. There is also the phenomenon that homosocial spaces easily transform into homoerotic spaces. Benedict comes directly from the army, arguably one of the (historically) most homosocial spaces there is. Then there is the fact that he makes it pretty clear that he'd rather spend the rest of his days with his fellow bachelors. But, as is implied, he keeps losing those fellow bachelors probably to marriage.
Then there is this thing that Shakespeare keeps doing in many of his plays, where he has people wooed by proxy. In the case of Much Ado we have the following:
So in summary the A Plot: Hero and Claudio, the fairy tale love story, including the dead princess coming back from the dead, is helped along by the very traditional means of 1. two powerful men (Prince Don Pedro and Governor Leonato) arranging a match in the name of their shared friendship and 2. two powerful men arranging a match to make peace.
The B Plot: Beatrice and Benedict, the contrast piece to the fairy tale, with characters who can't even rhyme if their (love) lives dependent on it 1, is helped along by the members of their homosocial spaces. This is not the usual way for how those things go, I don't think that needs much of an argument. I also think that both of them not getting their shit together on their own, explains the disaster part quite nicely. No one arranges anything here directly, both have to be tricked.
Beatrice as I've argued before is in a position where she has no pressure and no one can pressure her to marry. And Benedict is in a similar one 2. He appears to be a self made man through his military career, has no pressure to produce an heir, which probably means that he has no title, land or money to pass down. This is on one hand a form of freedom, not being bound to any duties towards a family or wife, but it comes with certain limitations.
Beatrice can't fight a duel, cause her potential opponent would laugh at her, not accept the duel and any attack would be a crime then.
Benedict can't live an independent life. But haven't I just said he has freedom by being a self made man? Yeah, well. He has made himself a name, he has a position as a military officer, but he seems to have no land or fortune (Claudio mocks him for not having a house) or a title. For money and influence he has to depend on others. At the moment that's Don Pedro and Claudio, who have titles and money. But Beatrice says that "he wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat, it ever changes with the next block." which means that Benedict sticks with whoever is useful to him at the moment.
Maybe that's another reason why he is so against having a wife - he can't exchange a wife depending on what he needs at the moment and to support a wife, when she needs the support and can't support him, he would be even more dependent on others.
In the very first scene of the play, around the hat metaphor, Beatrice asks first "Who is his companion now? He hath every month a new sworn brother." and a few lines down "But, I pray you, who is his companion? Is there no young squarer now that will make a voyage with him to the devil?" She asks, who is Benedict's friend right now, because that keeps changing and the messenger answers accordingly:
"He is most in the company of the right noble Claudio."
Just Claudio. Not Claudio and Don Pedro. Claudio is the newest addition to Benedict's ever changing collection of best friends. Don Pedro wouldn't be missed by accident, he is a prince and not just any prince. He was their leader, perhaps their general in the conflict against Don John, his brother. And between the three of them there is clearly a close friend ship, the way they joke and tease, but also a clear hierarchy going on. Don Pedro addresses both Claudio and Benedict as "thou". Claudio uses "my lord" and "you" for Don Pedro but "thou" for Benedict. And Benedict? Benedict addresses them both as "you" and "my lord".
Benedict is clearly at the bottom of the food chain here. But he's also pretty close with both of them. They all get into each other's business all the time.
You know when Benedict uses "thou"? In jest when he's mocking Claudio, when he's talking to Margaret, for Beatrice after his confession to her and at the very end after he kissed Beatrice as a symbolic wedding towards Don Pedro. Don Pedro asks him "How dost thou, Benedick, the married man?" and Benedict answers him from that point onward using "thou". Another point that shows that Beatrice should be an heiress, cause marrying her elevates her husbands station. This also shows that Benedict's station must have been pretty low.
So what the hell was he doing with Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon? How were they friends? Cause even if they are not using "thou" both ways, they are still close. And just marrying a rich woman shouldn't elevate Benedict so far that he is on the same level as The Prince of Arragon. But a close relationship + a fortune worthy of a noble man could do that, maybe? It's also kind of implied that while Benedict is switching friends Don Pedro is not on that list. That a friendship to the Prince of Arragon is hard to replace for someone of Benedict's station is self evident. But what does Don Pedro get out of keeping this guy around, who has neither influence, nor money, nor land?
I know my argument here is weak, a bit overly complicated and born out of wishful thinking, but at the end of the day it just feels right. Benedict and Don Pedro had a thing before Beatrice came along.
And just for the record: Don Pedro is just as much of a disaster in my books. A normal person doesn't go from proposing to someone (II,1 line 702) to setting them up with your bestie in under 5 minutes (II,1 line 724).
1 Just think about it for a moment. Two Shakespeare characters that can't rhyme. And not just any two, one of the most famous couples of his plays from one of the most popular comedies. And they are constantly contrasted with a couple that barely can speak in prose about each other let alone to each other. What do those two couples have in common?
2 There is a point to be made that, while Benedict is a capable military officer, he is also dependent on others. He is friends with a Prince and a Count. He is Signior Mountanto, montanto is a fencing term for an upward thrust. The first thing Beatrice does is calling him an upstart/jump-up/wannabe.
Edit:typos and wording, cause I wrote this in the middle of the night
Long story short: I think Beatrice is an heiress cause she doesn't worry about her (financial) future, her family can't tell her what to do and she can step into a lot, but not all, male coded spaces. And then I just threw in there that I think Benedict is a disaster bi without explaining it any further.
Why do I think that Benedict is a disaster bi?
Part of it is probably whishful thinking. There is also the phenomenon that homosocial spaces easily transform into homoerotic spaces. Benedict comes directly from the army, arguably one of the (historically) most homosocial spaces there is. Then there is the fact that he makes it pretty clear that he'd rather spend the rest of his days with his fellow bachelors. But, as is implied, he keeps losing those fellow bachelors probably to marriage.
Then there is this thing that Shakespeare keeps doing in many of his plays, where he has people wooed by proxy. In the case of Much Ado we have the following:
- Don Pedro woos Hero for Claudio and strikes the deal with her father
- The women (Hero and Ursula) woo Beatrice for Benedict
- The men (Claudio, Leonato, Don Pedro) woo Benedict for Beatrice
- Leonato convinces Claudio to marry his "brother's daughter" (who no one thinks could be Beatrice, therefore confirming my point that Antonio is not Beatrice's father) after Hero's "death"
So in summary the A Plot: Hero and Claudio, the fairy tale love story, including the dead princess coming back from the dead, is helped along by the very traditional means of 1. two powerful men (Prince Don Pedro and Governor Leonato) arranging a match in the name of their shared friendship and 2. two powerful men arranging a match to make peace.
The B Plot: Beatrice and Benedict, the contrast piece to the fairy tale, with characters who can't even rhyme if their (love) lives dependent on it 1, is helped along by the members of their homosocial spaces. This is not the usual way for how those things go, I don't think that needs much of an argument. I also think that both of them not getting their shit together on their own, explains the disaster part quite nicely. No one arranges anything here directly, both have to be tricked.
Beatrice as I've argued before is in a position where she has no pressure and no one can pressure her to marry. And Benedict is in a similar one 2. He appears to be a self made man through his military career, has no pressure to produce an heir, which probably means that he has no title, land or money to pass down. This is on one hand a form of freedom, not being bound to any duties towards a family or wife, but it comes with certain limitations.
Beatrice can't fight a duel, cause her potential opponent would laugh at her, not accept the duel and any attack would be a crime then.
Benedict can't live an independent life. But haven't I just said he has freedom by being a self made man? Yeah, well. He has made himself a name, he has a position as a military officer, but he seems to have no land or fortune (Claudio mocks him for not having a house) or a title. For money and influence he has to depend on others. At the moment that's Don Pedro and Claudio, who have titles and money. But Beatrice says that "he wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat, it ever changes with the next block." which means that Benedict sticks with whoever is useful to him at the moment.
Maybe that's another reason why he is so against having a wife - he can't exchange a wife depending on what he needs at the moment and to support a wife, when she needs the support and can't support him, he would be even more dependent on others.
In the very first scene of the play, around the hat metaphor, Beatrice asks first "Who is his companion now? He hath every month a new sworn brother." and a few lines down "But, I pray you, who is his companion? Is there no young squarer now that will make a voyage with him to the devil?" She asks, who is Benedict's friend right now, because that keeps changing and the messenger answers accordingly:
"He is most in the company of the right noble Claudio."
Just Claudio. Not Claudio and Don Pedro. Claudio is the newest addition to Benedict's ever changing collection of best friends. Don Pedro wouldn't be missed by accident, he is a prince and not just any prince. He was their leader, perhaps their general in the conflict against Don John, his brother. And between the three of them there is clearly a close friend ship, the way they joke and tease, but also a clear hierarchy going on. Don Pedro addresses both Claudio and Benedict as "thou". Claudio uses "my lord" and "you" for Don Pedro but "thou" for Benedict. And Benedict? Benedict addresses them both as "you" and "my lord".
Benedict is clearly at the bottom of the food chain here. But he's also pretty close with both of them. They all get into each other's business all the time.
You know when Benedict uses "thou"? In jest when he's mocking Claudio, when he's talking to Margaret, for Beatrice after his confession to her and at the very end after he kissed Beatrice as a symbolic wedding towards Don Pedro. Don Pedro asks him "How dost thou, Benedick, the married man?" and Benedict answers him from that point onward using "thou". Another point that shows that Beatrice should be an heiress, cause marrying her elevates her husbands station. This also shows that Benedict's station must have been pretty low.
So what the hell was he doing with Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon? How were they friends? Cause even if they are not using "thou" both ways, they are still close. And just marrying a rich woman shouldn't elevate Benedict so far that he is on the same level as The Prince of Arragon. But a close relationship + a fortune worthy of a noble man could do that, maybe? It's also kind of implied that while Benedict is switching friends Don Pedro is not on that list. That a friendship to the Prince of Arragon is hard to replace for someone of Benedict's station is self evident. But what does Don Pedro get out of keeping this guy around, who has neither influence, nor money, nor land?
I know my argument here is weak, a bit overly complicated and born out of wishful thinking, but at the end of the day it just feels right. Benedict and Don Pedro had a thing before Beatrice came along.
And just for the record: Don Pedro is just as much of a disaster in my books. A normal person doesn't go from proposing to someone (II,1 line 702) to setting them up with your bestie in under 5 minutes (II,1 line 724).
1 Just think about it for a moment. Two Shakespeare characters that can't rhyme. And not just any two, one of the most famous couples of his plays from one of the most popular comedies. And they are constantly contrasted with a couple that barely can speak in prose about each other let alone to each other. What do those two couples have in common?
2 There is a point to be made that, while Benedict is a capable military officer, he is also dependent on others. He is friends with a Prince and a Count. He is Signior Mountanto, montanto is a fencing term for an upward thrust. The first thing Beatrice does is calling him an upstart/jump-up/wannabe.
Edit:typos and wording, cause I wrote this in the middle of the night
