In Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare portrays Benedick and Beatrice as characters with one major flaw: both are full of pride. By using the masquerade scene as well as the orchard scenes, Shakespeare allows the characters to become aware of their abnormal characteristics. By realizing their mistaken pride, Benedick and Beatrice are able to correct this and not only become better citizens, but also fall in love. From the first scene of the play, Béatrice is presented as a very proud character and very protective of him. Benedick's phrase "What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you still alive?" (1.1.114) gives an idea of ​​Beatrice's pride. Benedick's reference to Beatrice as "Lady Disdain" shows how Beatrice thinks she is much better than everyone else. During the masquerade, Beatrice gives a perfect example of how she protects her pride. Her meeting with Don Pedro shows how Beatrice uses language as a shield of love, providing a solid basis for the giant sign declaring her autonomy. When Don Pedro proposes to Beatrice, her immediate response is "No, my lord, unless I can have another for working days – your grace is too costly to wear every day." (2.1.320), which is a clever joke to keep you away from love. Coupled with the metaphor of Don Pedro's wearing of grace, this diversion also shows how quick Beatrice is to assert her independence. Although Beatrice's personality starts out as a very proud and protective woman, Benedick doesn't turn out to be much better. Benedick's character starts off as not only an intelligent character, but also an arrogant one, especially for the female gender. First, Benedick is a self-proclaimed sexist. This is clear from his analysis of his own personality: “Would you have me speak according to my custom, as being an open tyrant to their sex? » (1.1.162-164). Furthermore, Benedick proves his own arrogance in his description of Hero: "it seems to me that she is too low for high praise, too brown for just praise, and too small for great praise" (1.1.166-168) . This description shows that Benedick feels that Hero is beneath him, even though she is the daughter of a high-ranking man. But probably Benedick's most striking characteristic in the first half of the play is that he is gravely opposed to love. Benedick's declaration to Beatrice: "it is certain that I am loved by all women... for, in truth, I love none." » (1.1.120-123) not only shows that Benedick's ego is so big that he feels that all women love him. , but also that he is so opposed to love that he will not love any woman, even if he can choose from all of them..