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Annette Bochenek
Prof. Walsh
EN363
24 Nov. 2010
Lies and Love
In William Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, the element of love comes into play in
many different forms. Whether the love is shallow or pure, the plays serve to depict the evolution
of various romantic relationships. However, the road to love has its twists and turns through tests
of faith and loyalty, but is strengthened by overcoming these obstacles. In Shakespeare’s The
Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing, the women of the plays use varying forms of
deception—cross-dressing and feigning death—against the men as means to an, so that their
romances may be delivered from falseness into truth.
In The Merchant of Venice, cross-dressing is utilized heavily among the women of the
play, in order to manipulate the men. Portia uses this form of deception along with Nerissa, and
they each challenge gender roles through taking up portrayals of different figures of society. The
women disguise themselves from others through cross-dressing, so that they may be admitted
fully into the patriarchal society of the time and will therefore be able to defend Antonio in court.
Portia explains to Nerissa as to whether or not they will be seen: “They shall, Nerissa; but in
such a habit/ That they shall think we are accomplished/ With that we lack” (3.4.60-2). Through
logical arguments that prove to make Shylock seem ridiculous before the Venetian court, both
Portia and Nerissa are able to save Antonio from a cruel fate.
Portia is able to use her masculine disguise in order to test Bassanio’s fidelity. As a
woman, Portia presented Bassanio with a ring, which was meant to symbolize their relationship
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and loyalty to one another. When disguised as a lawyer, she encounters Bassanio and
immediately asks him to give her the ring as a token of thanks. Bassanio tries to persuade her
otherwise by lessening the value of the ring, but eventually tells her the truth of its importance.
“Good sir, this ring was given to me by my wife, / And when she put it on, she made me vow/
That I should neither sell, nor give, nor lose it” (4.1.441-3). Portia dismisses his excuses as lies,
and counters them by saying that if his wife is reasonable she will understand why the ring was
given away. With this word, she walks off in the satisfaction of knowing that her lover is faithful
to her, until Bassanio revises his priorities with the advice of Gratiano, and has him deliver the
ring.
By adopting a cross-dressed persona in addition to her own, Portia is able to empower
herself in her argument with Bassanio. She ceases her cross-dressing upon deceiving Bassanio,
in order to point out his infidelity and lack of seriousness toward their relationship. When she
asks him where the ring has gone, his explanation appeals to the advice of her previously crossdressed persona. Portia, however, continues to play devil’s advocate–being the incarnation of
both the lawyer and the wife–and counters each of his reasons with more powerful ones of her
own. “If you had known the virtue of the ring, / Or half her worthiness that gave the ring, / Or
your own honor to contain the ring, / You would not then have parted with the ring” (4.1.199202). She deceives him once again by presenting him with the same ring, and claims to have
slept with the lawyer in order to get it. At this point, Bassanio begs her for forgiveness after
experiencing the seriousness of disloyalty, and vows to be true to her. They swear their love for
one another not by disguises and alter egos, but by their souls. “Pardon this fault, and by my soul
I swear/ I never more will break an oath with thee” (4.1.247-8). Through Portia’s test, Bassanio
learns to remain constant to her at all times, instead of acting on impulse and breaking his word.
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It is a major failure on his part, and Portia’s deception teaches him to control his risk-taking
personality.
Cross-dressing is also utilized as a means of escape in the play, so that the females may
escape oppressive males and seek true love. Jessica is bored and oppressed under the terms of
Shylock, and wishes to explore freedom beyond the confines of her father, gender, and religion.
Her means of escape comes with her love for Lorenzo, even though he is a Christian and society
frowns upon her Jewish background. In order to have more happiness in her life, Jessica flees her
home in the disguise of a page. Jessica expresses shame for hating her father, and understanding
that she must flee from him in order to live her life. She promises, “O Lorenzo,/ If thou keep
promise, I shall end this strife,/ Become a Christian and thy loving wife” (2.3.19-21). She is
willing to conceal any part of her former identity so that she may accept a new one through her
life with Lorenzo.
In Much Ado About Nothing, the romance between Claudio and Hero is also affected and
strengthened after deception and drama. Although Claudio claims to love Hero at first sight, his
love is very shallow as he seeks the approval of others. “I pray thee/tell me truly how thou lik’st
her” (1.1.177-8). His love is also portrayed as being slightly materialistic when he compares the
acquisition of Hero to the ownership of a rare jewel. His love for Hero fades just as quickly as it
appears in the play, with Don Pedro and himself being tricked into believing that she is disloyal.
Claudio shames the innocent Hero in retaliation, and she must feign her death in order for
Claudio to repent. After the devastating moment of her shaming, the Friar Hero some
compelling advice to recover her reputation and initiate her deception: “Come, lady, die to live;
this wedding-day/ Perhaps is but prolong’d, have patience and endure” (4.1.253-4). Hero is
asked to pretend to be left for dead, so that Claudio will feel guilty and mourn over her loss and
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his foolishness. The plan would include having a burial for the dead Hero near the family
monument, with depressing epitaphs etched over her grave, in order to make the deception seem
more realistic.
The opportunity for the renewal and rebirth of Hero’s damaged character surfaces
through the event of her hiding. There is much less permanence in the strategy of hiding, and
Claudio is in the public eye instead of the shamed Hero–coming to terms with reality, and
suffering over his actions. Hero takes the Friar’s advice and agrees to this deception in order to
revitalize her reputation, and to regain Claudio’s trust. “Your daughter here the [princes] left for
dead, / Let her awhile be secretly kept in, / And publish it that she is dead indeed” (4.1.202-4).
Hero reveals herself to Claudio when he finally repents for what he has done, and realizes that
she was indeed chaste. After agreeing to marry another woman of Leonato’s choice, Claudio is
unaware that one of the masked women is actually Hero. While the love between Claudio and
Hero can be described as shallow and inconsistent, the use of deception and disguise as a plot
device provided a means to an end.
The love between Beatrice and Benedick also comes to fruition through the means of
deception. Benedick and Beatrice have a history with each other, but they do not allow their
romance to grow from witty banter. Beatrice has a retort to any remark made by a male, while
Benedick does not want to be tied down to any one woman, unless she is perfect. Both Beatrice
and Benedick disguise their true feelings for one another in their bitter arguments, and do not
feel comfortable enough to express this love unless one of them initiates it first. Due to their
stubbornness, the women and the men play tricks on the two, and misinform the bickering couple
that one loves the other. At this moment of deception, the idea of love existing between the two
is a shock, but becomes more acceptable and completely changes their attitudes. The love is not
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awkward, but seems to have existed while being heavily concealed in their arguments. The trick
allows them to hear what they needed to hear in order to acknowledge and build upon a romantic
relationship.
Additionally, more instances of deception and disguise occur in the masquerade scene.
The most notable moment occurs when Don Pedro exchanges witty banter with Beatrice, and
proposes to her. While Beatrice sees everything in life as a joke, this moment also shocks her
character, and leads her to rethink her actions. She sees that not all men are worthless, and that
Don Pedro has been taking her seriously throughout their entire conversation. Throughout the
play, Beatrice puts on the façade of bitterness, while Don Pedro counters her by being genuine.
Her realization occurs in this moment, and she understands that she needs to become a more
reasonable person in order to get her life back in order. After this realization, she is more careful
in her interactions with others and gradually allows the possibility of love to reenter her life
again.
Shakespeare’s comedic characters undergo several tests and transformations in order to
enhance their romantic relationships. In The Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing,
the females deceive the males in order to assert their own independence and prove the
importance of loyalty and fidelity to one another. While the females adopt different personalities
and situations, the men are tested by their interactions with each. These tests are usually
climactic and pivotal moments within the play, and reveal the importance of honesty in a
relationship. The situations in Shakespeare’s comedies serve to prove that love is strengthened
when it moves from the realm of deception into the reality of truth.