"Against her will, as it appears" Making Margaret Quiet and Good in Much Ado about Nothing

Abstract

Much Ado about Nothing, Shakespeare’s most frequently performed comedy,¹ often centers on the witty banter and relationship of Beatrice and Benedick. Though the dramatic plot centers around Hero and Claudio, the actors playing Beatrice and Benedick are nonetheless the first billed in theater and film adaptations, and the pair’s romance features heavily in Much Ado marketing. In their content advisory for example, the Utah Shakespeare Festival described their 2024 production of Much Ado by claiming that Beatrice and Benedick are one of Shakespeare’s “most popular and best-matched couples” and also warning that the play comes with “sexual puns and innuendo” and “themes of deceit and infidelity.”² Placing Beatrice and Benedick at the fore is a good marketing strategy, but the omnipresent “themes of infidelity” are often cut or softened in modern productions. One of these softening approaches is the routine abridgment of the character of Margaret—Hero’s waiting gentlewoman—who plays a key role in the central deceit of the play.