William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing presents a happy ending with the marriage of two couples. While both of the marriages are desirable by the majority of the play’s characters, it is the marriage of Hero and Claudio that is more important to the play’s ending. This is because the main conflict of the play revolves around the marriage of Hero and Claudio. The marriage of Hero and Claudio provides a satisfactory ending because their marriage provides resolution to the play’s primary conflict and because Hero and Claudio have similar personalities, making them more suited to each other and not to the other characters in the play.
The main conflict of the play occurs when Claudio accuses Hero of unchaste behavior and refuses to marry her (Much Ado About Nothing. IV. i. 1684). In doing this, Claudio has destroyed Hero’s reputation, which is one of Hero’s most valuable assets. Even Hero’s father, Leonato, views Hero’s reputation as ruined and wishes her dead because of the shame she has brought to herself and to her family: “Death is the fairest cover for her shame/That may be wished for” (Much Ado About Nothing. IV. i. 1763-1764). This line, spoken by Hero’s father, demonstrates the seriousness of the situation. Hero must then pretend to be dead until the end of the play, when her reputation is finally restored.
In order to restore Hero’s reputation, Claudio must repent and make amends. Claudio does repent and is sorry for what he has done, and he agrees to marry Leonato’s niece (Much Ado About Nothing. V. i. 2379). However, he instead marries a masked Hero, thus bringing resolution to the play (Much Ado About Nothing. V. iv. 2608-2615). As Hero states “One Hero died defiled, but I do live, and surely as I live, I am a maid” (Much Ado Nothing, V. i. 2614-2615). Both characters are redeemed by the marriage, because Hero’s reputation has been restored and because Claudio has repented his past actions.
Another reason why the marriage of Hero and Claudio provides a satisfactory ending is because Hero and Claudio have similar personalities and share similar values. The main personality trait is that Hero and Claudio are influenced by the other characters. Hero is influenced by her father and Claudio is mainly influenced by Don Pedro. Hero does not deny Beatrice’s statement that it is Hero’s “duty to make curtsy and say ‘Father, as it please you,’” demonstrating that Hero is led by her father (Much Ado About Nothing. II. i. 444-445). The lack of denial demonstrates that Hero is in fact led by her father. An example of Don Pedro’s influence over Claudio is when Claudio allows Don Pedro to woo Hero on Claudio’s behalf (Much Ado About Nothing. I. i. 290-300). By allowing Don Pedro to woo Hero on his behalf, Claudio demonstrates that he does as he is told. Most men would rather ask a woman to marry them himself, but Claudio has no such inhibitions. Thus, Hero and Claudio share an important personality trait that makes them suited to each other, as opposed to being suited to either Benedick or Beatrice.
The marriage of Hero and Claudio is a traditional union that reflects their traditional values. Hero believes that marriage is respectable, and illustrates her belief when she agrees to aid Don Pedro and the others in tricking Benedick and Beatrice because Hero would “help my cousin to a good husband” (Much Ado About Nothing. II. i. 746-747). Claudio likewise agrees to aid in this endeavor, an act that demonstrates not only Claudio’s values, but also his personality trait of being led by those around him (Much Ado About Nothing. II. i. 744).
Beatrice and Benedick would not have made suitable spouses for either Hero or Claudio. This is because Beatrice and Benedick have unconventional personalities. Beatrice is glad that she is not married (Much Ado About Nothing. II. i. 421-424) and, likewise, Benedick has no desire to marry (Much Ado About Nothing. I. i. 221). Whenever Beatrice and Benedick meet, they engage in a battle of wits (Much Ado About Nothing. I. i. 53-55), which is different to Hero and Claudio, who exchange little dialog. However, once in love, Benedick acts like he is in love. Benedick loves Beatrice, and proves this by challenging Claudio at Beatrice’s behest (Much Ado About Nothing. V. i. 2221-2272). Benedick chose his love of Beatrice over his friendship with Claudio, which is in stark contrast to Claudio, who chose his honor over his love of Hero.
The marriage of Claudio and Hero is a satisfying end to Much Ado About Nothing because it resolves the conflict and unites two characters who are alike in personality. Hero’s reputation is restored by her marriage to Claudio and she is thus brought back to life, where she is married to a man of similar personality and shared values.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Open Source Shakespeare. Web. July 5, 2014.
<http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php WorkID=muchado&Scope=entire&pleasewait=1&msg=pl>.
