Much Ado About Nothing Quotes on Respect and Reputation – Flashcards
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"I find here that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honor on a young Florentine called Claudio."
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Speaker: Leonato Audience: Messenger Situation: Claudio's reputation precedes him, literally - we're introduced to Claudio's reputation before we meet him. It's important that in our first exposure to this central character, the man is judged not by his deeds, but by what people (in this case, Don Pedro) say about him. This ends up being the case for Hero also; her bad reputation doesn't come about from her actions, which everyone witnesses as pure, but based on Claudio thinking poorly of her.
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"Truly the lady fathers herself. Be happy, lady; for you are like an honorable father."
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Speaker: Don Pedro Audience: Hero Situation: Don Pedro grants Hero a positive reputation by saying she is her father's daughter. The important thing is that reputation is bestowed easily, so it can be taken away easily too. Looking forward, we know that even Hero's father, the source of her reputation, will denounce her, destroying her reputation.
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"If you swear, my lord, you shall not be forsworn. Let me bid you welcome, my lord. Being reconciled to the Prince your brother, I owe you all duty."
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Speaker: Leonato Audience: Don John Situation: Leonato deals with Don John justly, though the man is a proven villain. For Leonato, it's enough that Don John has made amends with Don Pedro. This seems to have restored his reputation, which makes Leonato trust the former villain. Again, reputation isn't based on deeds.
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"What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true? Stand I condemn'd for pride and scorn so much? Contempt, farewell! and maiden pride, adieu! No glory lives behind the back of such. And, Benedick, love on; I will requite thee, Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand."
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Speaker: Beatrice Audience: Self Situation: Beatrice is willing to love Benedick, but it seems that the main force behind the decision is to clear her own reputation. Beatrice overheard Hero say that Benedick loves her.
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"If I see anything to-night why I should not marry her to-morrow, in the congregation where I should wed, there will I shame her."
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Speaker: Claudio Audience: Don Pedro Situation: This is particularly nasty of Claudio. Rather than just canceling the wedding if Hero is disloyal, he's hell-bent on disgracing her in front of the whole congregation. His plan is more about vengefully ruining her reputation than it is about escaping a loveless, dishonest marriage.
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"Sweet Prince, you learn me noble thankfulness. There, Leonato, take her back again. Give not this rotten orange to your friend. She's but the sign and semblance of her honor. Behold how like a maid she blushes here! O, what authority and show of truth Can cunning sin cover itself withal! Comes not that blood as modest evidence To witness simple virtue, Would you not swear, All you that see her, that she were a maid By these exterior shows? But she is none: She knows the heat of a luxurious bed; Her blush is guiltiness, not modesty."
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Speaker: Claudio Audience: Leonato, Don Pedro, and everyone at the wedding ceremony. Situation: Claudio is hung up on how Hero appears - he thinks her image as a virtuous girl is false, masking her true nature. Reputation is linked with appearances - Hero blushes like a virgin, but Claudio thinks she isn't one. Her reputation as a maiden rests on how she appears; in insisting that how Hero seems is not how she is, Claudio effectively undoes her reputation.
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Speaker: "And seem'd I ever otherwise to you? Audience: "Out on the seeming! I will write against it. You seem to me as Dian in her orb, As chaste as is the bud ere it be blown; But you are more intemperate in your blood Than Venus, or those pamp'red animals That rage in savage sensuality." Speaker: "Is my lord well that he doth speak so wide?"
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Speaker: Hero Audience: Claudio Situation: It's interesting here that Hero, instead of simply stating that she is completely innocent, asks Claudio how she "seemed" to him. However, Claudio's entire point is that she seemed innocent, and was not. Unlike Claudio, Hero implies that her reputation should be based on her actions, rather than on accusations and other peoples' opinions.
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"She dying, as it must be so maintain'd, Upon the instant that she was accus'd, Shall be lamented, pitied, and excus'd Of every hearer; for it so falls out That what we have we prize not to the worth Whiles we enjoy it, but being lack'd and lost, Why, then we rack the value, then we find The virtue that possession would not show us Whiles it was ours."
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Speaker: Friar Francis Audience: Leonato, Benedick, Hero, and Beatrice Situation: The Friar thinks Hero's reputation will be restored once people think she's dead. She'll become the object of lamentation, and people will repent ever having thought bad things about her. It's the "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" idea. This continues to emphasize the point that reputation is not based on deeds; the Friar thinks that Hero's reputation will improve simply by manipulating the emotions of the public.
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"Dost thou not suspect my place? Dost thou not suspect my years? O that he were here to write me down an ass! But, masters, remember that I am an ass. Though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass. No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as shall be prov'd upon thee by good witness. I am a wise fellow; and which is more, an officer; and which is more, a householder; and which is more, as pretty a piece of flesh as any is in Messina, and one that knows the law, go to! and a rich fellow enough, go to! and a fellow that hath had losses; and one that hath two gowns and everything handsome about him. Bring him away. O that I had been writ down an ass!"
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Speaker: Dogberry Audience: Borachio and The Watch Situation: Dogberry lists all of the trappings he has that make him a gentleman, thinking he is actually securing his reputation. It's an interesting insight into Dogberry's insecurity, but it's also echoed by a later conversation between Benedick and Beatrice (see 5.2.73). When Benedick says he's wise, Beatrice points out he is unwise to say so. We wouldn't have believed Dogberry was a gentleman under any circumstances (given his backwards speech), but we're especially sure he isn't a gentleman now that he's insisted that he is one, because that's not gentlemanly thing to say.
