Much Ado About Nothing Respect and Reputation Quotes Page 4

Don Pedro is unduly harsh, but he doesn’t think so, as he earnestly thinks Hero is guilty. Not only has he compromised Claudio’s good name by linking the boy to a seeming harlot, but he’s also worried that his own good name is now on the line. Claudio and Don Pedro are selfishly worried about their own reputations.

Leonato raises a good point (though we are disappointed in him). It’s interesting to wonder why Hero didn’t deny more adamantly the charges against her. All she said was that she didn’t talk to a man at her window yesterday, but her whole person (not just that one night) was called into question. If her own father, who likely wanted to believe her, wasn’t convinced by what she had to say, we’ve got to wonder why Hero didn’t try a little harder to stand up for herself.

The Friar thinks Hero’s reputation will be restored once people think she’s dead. She’ll become the object of lamentation, and people will repent ever having thought bad things about her. It’s the "you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone" idea. This continues to emphasize the point that reputation is not based on deeds; the Friar thinks that Hero’s reputation will improve simply by manipulating the emotions of the public.