Living in books @springnightingalepoetry - Tumblr Blog

“Finite games are won with intensity. Infinite games are won with consistency.” — Shane Parrish

the message of much ado is still so contemporary !! benedick is faced with a tragic situation caused by his best friends & he really has to question where his loyalties lie. does he stay loyal to his buddies without question or does he risk their friendship & do what's right? it's still a question that i think most men have to ask in their lifetimes.

& benedick is someone who does actually break off that friendship (& also resigns from his job, probably loses some social standing, & endangers his very life) not only because he loves beatrice, but also because he is convinced that she is right. however much he participates in & performs gender norms at the beginning of the play, he's ultimately the only character who abandons ingrained loyalty to his fellow men in order to do the right thing.

i love how, through benedick's character arc, we get to see the risks of standing & acting against a social system but then! we get to see the reward at the end & even in the midst of it all. he couldn't have that lovely "for which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me? / for which of my good parts did you first suffer love for me?" moment with beatrice if he hadn't rejected the blind misogyny of his friends first.

he risks so much of his power & comfort as a man & he gets a happy ending! he's a protagonist who the audience loves & roots for! we don't see this character cut off his friends & then face tragedy as a result. we see him become one of the only characters with a truly happy ending. & we're left optimistic about the capacity of men to change. we're left feeling that change is worth it.