Second Individual Paper

 Unfaithfulness

in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing

1. Introduction

This thematic interpretation will explore a particular moral idea: the “Unfaithfulness” in Much Ado About Nothing  and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In order to develop a better understanding of this apparently simple issue, the purpose of this thematic approach is to draw attention and focus on this theme in both works and explore how it is treated throughout the action of the plays, and throughout the attitudes of the characters towards adultery. “For in Shakespearean drama, as in life, ideas and actions are constantly at work, sometimes reinforcing each other, sometimes contrasting each other. Sometimes a simple action will undermine a beautifully coherent idea (that happens all the time in Shakespeare); sometimes a simple action will confirm an important human truth.” [i]

2. Analysis:

Unfaithfulness in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing takes an ancient theme, that of a woman falsely accused of unfaithfulness, in this case “the unfaithful woman” is represented by Hero.  Hero as the source of the accusation, however, she does not take part in the action. The spiteful plans of Don John and Claudio’s gullible and jealous nature are the source of the misleading and unfair situation of Hero. Claudio is a dreamy young lover whose naïve and jealous tendencies nearly cost him the loss of his true love twice. First when the masked prince Don Pedro woos Hero for him, he is told that Don Pedro has wood Hero for himself and Claudio is quick to believe Don John’s lies. And later, when everything seems to be restored, Don John convinces Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is not as virtuous as she first seems by arranging Margaret, mistaken for Hero, to talk out the window late at night with Borachio. This alone does not seem enough evidence for Claudio to renounce her publicly, but his gullible nature readily accepts Don John’s slanders and his active imagination willingly sees that discourse as a proof of infidelity. That Don Pedro should agree with Claudio’s interpretation of events is troubling, because it indicates that he is also suspicious of women’s honesty.[ii]

The term ‘unfaithfulness’ applied to A Midsummer Night’s Dream is much complex and difficult to explain than the former play since unfaithfulness is taken into action by four characters: Oberon, Demetrious, Lysander and Titania. In an overall view, we have more ‘sinners’ and in fact mostly they are male characters, this contrasts with the only ‘sinful’ Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. In order to draw a clear analysis, first it is important to look into this “Character constellation” summary[iii]

Lysander & Hermia

· Their love first impeded by Demetrius’s claim to marry Hermia

· Later, Lysander will be bewitched to love Helena.

Demetrius & Helena

· Helena loves Demetrius;

· D. has abandoned her, intending to marry Hermia (cause of dramatic action).

· Love spell of the fairies re-establishes his love for Helena. Abandonment of his claim leads to dramatic conclusion.

Oberon & Titania

· Oberon accuses Titania to love Theseus

· Titania accuses Oberon to have had a love affair with Hippolyta

· Fight over a changeling boy. Oberon lays love spell on Titania, T., then, loves Nick Bottom. Oberon steals changeling boy and removes love spell; conflict settled.

“love-in-idleness”

· Cause of confusion and delay of resolution through flower “love-in-idleness”.

· Love flower connects the strands of action, Bewitches Lysander and Demetrius to love Helena, and Titania to love Bottom.

The rules and principles of a traditional love relationship seem to break up and the strings attaching a couple are no longer important in this context. Love is a game throughout the play, the characters experience ups and downs in their ‘made-up’ relationship and they fall in and out with one another. The play seems to overlook the strings and rules, and the usual commitment becomes infidelity: Lysander breaks his eternal vows for Hermia and falls in love with Helena, Demetrius loved first Helena, abandoned her for Hermia and finally re-establishes his love for Helena, Oberon had a love affair with Hippolyta and Titania falls in love with Bottom. Here the confusing way in which the play proceeds is caused by one of the more central metaphors, the flower called "love-in-idleness" (MNDII.1.168)[iv] manipulated by Oberon and Puck. While Much Ado About Nothing uses the wicked purposes of an individual to ruin a situation, A Midsummer Night’s Dream focuses on an object acting as the main cause of the confusion and most importantly adds the fact that it is at the same time the source of resolution. [v] [vi]

The other central metaphor of conflicts in A Midsummer Night's Dream is the forest versus the city. The forest represents the mystical powers and the lawlessness. The latter is shown when Lysander is speaking of the need to go through the forest to get to his aunt's house where "the sharp Athenian law/Cannot pursue" (MND I.i.157-163)[vii] them. The city, like Theseus and Hippolyta, represents order. The city is where people get married, where they discuss things civilly, and where reality is not blurred. In the forest, reality often fades to fantasy, magic distorts perceptions, confusion reigns supreme and a controversial issue like infidelity could be allowed in this context. We find a parallelism of the cruel reality on the city setting in both plays. Much Ado About Nothing is set in Messina, a coastal city on the island of Sicily and the false accusation and condemnation of infidelity in the play takes place primarily at the house of Leonato. When infidelity is found out in this case, Hero is harshly punished. Claudio accuses and horribly shames the innocent Hero at their wedding day and refuses to marry her, this creates a horrible turn of events, with Leonato’s desiring Hero die of shame for her sins:[viii] [ix] [x]

O Fate! take not away thy heavy hand.
Death is the fairest cover for her shame
That may be wish'd for.

(MAAN IV.i.118-120)[xi]

As in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the reality of the city of Athens is where the law can reach Hermia. Egeus condemns his daughter to death for disobedience:

As she is mine, I may dispose of her:
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death, according to our law
Immediately provided in that case.

(MND I.i.43-46)[xii]

On the one hand, we find two settings in A Midsummer Night's Dream: the city and the forest, order and chaos respectively. And on the other hand, Much Ado About Nothing is set uniquely in Messina, where chaos and order takes part at the same setting. Thus, in both plays, the incorrect behavior of infidelity (Hermia being desobedient to her father, and Hero being unfaithful to Claudio as well as being disobedient to her father) is punished in the city. As a counterpoint of this fact, when infidelity is set up in the woods of A Midsummer Night's Dream there is no punishment neither judgment.

Finally, almost all of Shakespeare's comedies end with a marriage, and often with several marriages. Marriage is treated as the natural satisfactory resolution to an unfaithful or misleading romance. Marriage is not only a weapon to affirm and guarantee the future, it is also the institution through which order is restored after the wild events of the preceeding Acts.

3. Conclusion

Unfaithfulness seems to be labeled as an incorrect moral behavior in the real society (represented by the city) condemned to death in both plays. However, Shakespeare creates a fantasy world in the woods of A Midsummer Night's Dream where everything is possible and the attitude towards unfaithfulness is not taken seriously. As if it were a game of love, adultery takes part in it. On the other hand, in Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare is trying to convey the idea of “the nature of truth and reality versus appearance, explores how one lover constantly tries to determine the other lover's faithfulness through outward signs and actions.”[xiii] Here, through focusing on this message, Shakespeare is playing down the exaggeration of the treatment of adultery. Shakespeare never draws a conclusion, he states the problem and questions it to the audience. The plays seem to be simplistic dealing with the plot, but when we try to draw a profile of an interpretation of a theme, it becomes a very complex and difficult task. Thus, my final contribution to this interpretation is not as clear as I would expect it to be, but mainly I believe that Shakespeare was far beyond the political or moral correct behaviour since he treats the theme from different angles and different points of view in order to question the established moral behaviour.