Beatrice is a very important character in the play Much Ado About Nothing. At the start of the play, she is shown to be very sharp and strong-willed and complements this by actively being able to speak her own mind. Also she seems to have no interest in men or marriage and isn’t afraid to publicize this. As the play progresses however, she seems to accept this attitude as a fault and starts to show a softer side when it comes to loving Benedick. Nearing the end of the play, Beatrice is a seemingly changed woman. The events of the play soon reveal the vulnerable side beneath her “hardened” exterior. Once she is tricked into thinking that Benedick is in love with her, she soon reveals her sweet, sensitive side. However, it is hinted throughout the play that Beatrice was once in love with Benedick, but their relationship went sour: “I know you of old,” she scorns.
At the beginning of the play, Beatrice is very strong-willed, maybe even too much for her own good. Through the first couple of scenes she is not afraid to speak her mind, especially when it comes to Benedick. This can be shown in the following line ‘She speaks poniards and every word stabs’, which is spoken by Benedick and really outlines how malevolent Beatrice can speak to the other characters. As well as this, she seems to be very uninterested in the idea of men and marriage. Evidence of this is when she says ‘I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swears he loves me’. This characteristic proves to ruin Beatrice’s reputation to some of the other characters, namely Benedick, who says that he would rather ‘do any embassage to the pygmies, rather than hold three words conference with this Harpy’.
Further on in the play, Beatrice is able to realise these faults in her character and accept them, which allows her to change the way she presents herself to the other characters. This is shown when Hero says to Ursula in the Orchard ‘No truly, Ursula, she is too disdainful, I know her spirits...