A recurring theme, especially in Shakespeare's comedies, is love and marriage. Shakespeare often revealed the culture and society of his times and how they were changing in his works. In Shakespeare's time, love was still an insignificant factor when it came to marriage. In most cases, marriages were arranged by families as some sort of business arrangement or, if the families were important enough, as a political alliance. In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare plays with the idea that perhaps love should be a component of marriage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From the beginning of Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio realizes that he is in love with Hero and wants his father to marry her. This relationship is based on the typical patriarchal society of the Early Middle Ages. Claudio makes sure that she is rich and that Leonato intends to leave his money to them. The hero is shown as a weak and defenseless girl while Claudius is a strong military man. In Act 4, scene 1, Claudio shows his true nature by saying, "Here, Leonato, take it back: do not give this rotten orange to your friend." (4.1.29) Claudio no longer believes Hero is a virgin, so he compares her to a rotten fruit. Even when Hero is insulted and accused of being a prostitute she does not defend herself and instead says: "Is my lord well, who speaks so openly?" (4.1.59) This furthers the idea that Hero is weak and dependent on Claudio. Shakespeare demonstrates how the standard patriarchal model of marriage is flawed, but uses the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice to demonstrate that a relationship built on love and trust can lead to a stronger marriage. Benedick and Beatrice both swear that they will never marry, but as the story continues and they are somehow tricked into loving each other. Their relationship is not superficial like that between Hero and Claudio but is instead a much deeper relationship. They constantly insult each other, however their hatred turns into love and they thrive more than Hero and Claudio. Even though Hero and Claudio seem to be the focus of the show, some critics say otherwise. Marta Mateo states that "Beatrice and Benedick's wit, verbal agility, intelligence and truth of feelings made them the true protagonists of Shakespeare's play, to the detriment of Claudio and Hero". (Mateo, 28) In his article, Variations on Much Ado About Nothing, he explains that Beatrice and Benedick are the main protagonists of the play and that Shakespeare intentionally wanted Claudio and Hero to be the least favorite couple. Shakespeare wanted to reflect that a marriage built on love is stronger than a marriage arranged like a business deal. It is also important to note that Hero and Claudio rarely speak to each other. In the article Gender Wars written by Thomas J. Scheff, he explains that the conversation between the two is unnecessary because the marriage that ultimately occurs was arranged entirely by others” (Scheff 161). She further explains that when Claudio told Benedick that he was going to marry Hero, he had not yet met her and only knew about her and her family. By not meeting Hero before declaring his love for her, it is obvious that love was not a factor in the marriage, but was purely a business matter. Shakespeare still makes all the characters disdain the idea of ​​love throughout the play, subtly suggesting it. it's a good thing. At a certain point Benedetto realizes his love for Beatrice and proclaims "...because I will be terribly in love with her!" (2.3.207). All characters see love as a bad thing, however BK Lewalski explains in his article, Love, Appearance and Reality: Much 245)..