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Veil of Silence
By Mary Beth Miozza

          Shakespeare acquaints us with the ever-pleasing Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. Hero is a woman who stands behind a veil of silence in a culture that is drenched in a male dominance. Behind this veil was a woman whose self-esteem is dependent on the pleasure she brings to others. By remaining silent to the male rule, Hero is accepted in the culture in which she lives. The only time the veil of silence is broken proves to be a desperate attempt to defend her character. 
Hero is pleasing to society by way of her outward beauty. She is fair and pleasing to look upon. Claudio is so taken by her beauty that he falls in love with her the minute he cast his eyes upon her. He shares his feelings with his friend by asking, “Benedick, didst thou note the daughter of Signior Leonato” (1.1.156-157)? He is so overcome by her physical beauty he goes on to admit, “In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on” (1.1.181-182). Claudio’s attraction to Hero is based solely on her outward beauty. His desire to be with her is for the pleasure that her beauty gives him. 
          By following the direction of her father, Hero’s actions were pleasing to her overseeing uncle Antonio. Antonio compliments Hero’s submission to her father’s rule by noting, “Well, niece, I trust you will be ruled by your father” (2.1.50-51). Hero’s actions pleased Antonio to the point that he trusted her to fulfill his belief in her. She would be pleasing to her uncle as long as she was ruled, not by her own will, but rather by the will of her father. 
          Hero’s effort to be silent and pleasing to her father is also noticed by her cousin Beatrice. Beatrice acknowledges this by confirming her uncles belief, “It is my cousins duty to make curtsy and say, ‘Father, as it please you’” (2.1.50-53). She expresses the fact that it is Hero’s ‘duty’ to bow to her father’s rule and to also fulfill the obligation in a manner that is respectful by ‘making curtsy’. It is Hero’s ‘duty’ to voice not her own desires that please her, but rather submit to the desires that her father will have for her.
          Hero is directly obedient to her father as she stands beneath her veil of silence. She is submissive to his direction as to what her answer will be concerning the decision to marry Claudio. He does gently speak to her, but his reminder is direct and without room for question, “Daughter, remember what I told you. If the prince do so solicit you in that kind, you know your answer” (2.1.65-67). Hero silences her inner voice in order to be pleasing to her father. Her reply to the marriage of Claudio would be that of her fathers, and not her own desires.
          Hero’s role to be acceptable is so very important to her existence. In a desperate attempt to clear her name of wrongdoing she cuts open the veil of her silence. First, she franticly seeks help from the God she knows, “O, god defend me” (4.1.76)! Then, she boldly states about her name, “Who can blot that name with any just reproach” (4.1.79-80)? Her father’s belief in Hero’s dishonesty turns him against his only child, “I know not [the truth]. If they speak but truth of her, these hands shall tear her” (4.1.189-190). Knowing her true innocence Hero challenges her father by stating, “O my father, prove you that any man with me conversed…refuse me, hate me, torture me to death” (4.1.179-183)! She is willing to take the torture if he finds any defiled evidence against her. She counts her life as not having any worth if she is found to be displeasing in her father’s eyes.
          Hero lives under a veil of silence as a peaceful exchange for acceptance in a male dominated world. Her silence is pleasing to the men in her culture and this ensures her acceptance. It is only when her character is falsely threatened, and her acceptance jeopardized, that she is able to escape the veil of her silence and speak her true voice. In this desperate attempt we see a valiant mark in Hero’s character as she voices her true inner being to rightly defend herself.

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