The Elizabethan Era and "Much Ado About Nothing" Gender Roles This play dates back to the Elizabethan era, a time when men and women lived in a patriarchal society. In those circumstances, men were shaped by traditional beliefs; their loyalty and social rank depended on honor, camaraderie, and authority over women better sex, it was thought that women should be protected from men throughout their lives. In case a woman was unmarried, her father, brother or other male relative was supposed to take care of her until a partner arrived. male. Women were subservient to men; men were the leaders and women were their subordinates. For example, once married, men played the role of providing for the woman and the family; • The punishment for disobedience was beating Disobeying the male member of the family was considered a sin. Source: Lin, Kevin. “The Role of Women in the Elizabethan Age: None other than Shakespeare.” The role of women in the Elizabethan era: none other than Shakespeare. 2010. Network. June 1, 2015. https://sites.google.com/site/nothingbutshakespeare/role-of-women-in-elizabethan-times In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare exposes the sad truth about gender roles and on inequality in the Elizabethan era. era. Gender inequality is established in Beatrice's language, in the way the male characters view women within the play, and the concept of what sets this relationship apart is the fact that they don't fit the mold of roles of gender in a relationship, they share a mutual respect for each other, they are equal, which is what makes them compatible with each other. In the Elizabethan era, marriage wasn't about love, sometimes it happened and sometimes it didn't, it was more about social status. However, despite what the social norms were, Benedict and Beatrice both looked beyond their gender roles that they should assume in a relationship and decided to have an equal partnership with each other. Hero, Leonato's daughter and Beatrice's cousin, is the spitting image of the traditional woman of the Elizabethan era. Hero fits her gender role perfectly, she is passive, silent, obedient and feminine. He never talks about anyone, not even at a time when he should defend himself. The most convincing evidence of this is the wedding scene in Act IV; Scene I, (lines 30-55) when Claudio and Hero are standing before the altar and he publicly humiliates Hero and accuses her of treason